Africa title an open season
An impovrished South African contigent to give English free reign in East London
THE AFRICA Open begins today with high winds building up to gale-force speed expected to be whistling down East London Golf Club’s roller-coaster fairways for at least three of the four rounds, as English golfers attempt to once again blow away the South African challenge.
The Africa Open is the fifth European Tour event to be held in SA over the past three months, with golfers from England winning three of the four so far. Danny Willett captured the Nedbank Challenge while Andy Sullivan took the honours at both the SA Open in January and the Joburg Open, which finished on Sunday. Compatriots David Howell and Anthony Wall were among the handful of players who shared second place. South Africa’s Branden Grace, who won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in December, is the odd man out among the European Tour winners .
Grace, though, is in Miami this week for the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the Blue Monster course alongside compatriots Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Aiken and Danie van Tonder and their absence weakens the SA challenge here in East London.
“My game’s in a really good space right now and it would be great to once again keep the SA title out of the locals’ hands,” said 27-year-old Sullivan yesterday after a practice round in which the wind was pumping for the second day running following Tuesday’s pro-am.
“I actually don’t mind the wind because I grew up playing in it,” added the poker-loving golfer whose glittering amateur career saw him gain plenty of experience on the great, windswept, British links.
Clearly, this gamblin’ man appears ready to play his cards right again over the next four days here. Howell, who turns 40 this year, has won five times on the European Tour and was once ranked in the world’s top 10.
His victory in the 2013 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland saw him shake of a succession of injuries from previous seasons.
Now, following his strong showing in the Joburg Open, where he felt he played beautifully only to let victory slip through his fingers with one bad swing and one short missed putt in the final round, he reckons he’s ready to lift a trophy again.
“There were loads of positives at Royal Johannesburg and now I’m at an East London Golf Club course that suits my eye and suits my game. It’s short and pretty tricky in places but it needs wind to protect it, and it looks like where going to get it.”
If an Englishman does prevail this week, he will become the first overseas winner of the Africa Open which in its first seven editions has been dominated by South Africans.
Shaun Norris topped the leaderboard in 2008, Retief Goosen in 2009, Charl Schwartzel in 2010 – when it first became a European Tour event, Louis Oosthuizen in 2011 and 2012, Darren Fichardt in 2013 and Thomas Aiken last year when he nailed a 45-foot putt at the first hole of a suddendeath play-off to snatch the title away from Oliver Fisher (yes, another darned Englishman!).