Who Els but Ernie tipped to play in SA Open
THERE were some significant developments on the golf scene this week with the announcement of the South African Open and the Dunhill Championship confirmed for later this year.
Both events will be co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour.
Then there was a huge shift and massive increase in prize money as far as the Saudi International which takes place from February 2-6 at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club just outside Jeddah. The Saudi International will now be sanctioned by the Asian Tour – it was previously sanctioned by the European Tour.
A brand new deal sees that event being held under the banner of the Asian Tour for the next 10 years.
The South African Open Championship will be played at the Gary Player Country Club from December 2-5 with a purse of $1.5-million (about R22m) on offer.
The defending champion, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, has confirmed that he will defend his crown.
And there are strong indications that Ernie Els, who last won the SA Open in 2010 in Durban, is expected to bolster the field.
Bezuidenhout, fresh from securing his PGA Tour card, will be joined at Sun City by fellow PGA Tour campaigner Dylan Frittelli, as well as European Tour champions Dean Burmester, Justin Harding and George Coetzee.
The list of local participants will grow and there will be a number of European Tour regulars on their way to Sun City as well.
With the Nedbank Golf Challenge not being played once again, Nedbank and Sun International have agreed to support the SA Open.
“We are so excited to have both
Nedbank and Sun International, two longstanding supporters of the Sunshine Tour, with us as we begin this incredible new chapter with the European Tour.
They have always been important in our quest to create the best opportunities for South African professionals,” said Thomas Abt, commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.
Grant Hepburn, CEO of GOLFRSA, also expressed his delight at what this new partnership brings to the national Open.
The 2022 Saudi International will mark the start of an historic chapter in golf, as the prestigious event will now be sanctioned by the Asian Tour as part of a new 10-year partnership.
It was previously a regular feature on the European Tour – an event won by Dustin Johnson (2019), Graeme Mcdowell (2020) and Johnson once again this year.
The tournament will be broadcast globally from Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, near Jeddah, and will be staged from February 3-6.
It will also feature an increased purse of $5m – up from $3.5m.
The Asian Tour partnership represents a revitalised strategy which is intended to elevate the well-established event in significant emerging markets around the world.
In 2021, the Saudi International presented one of the strongest fields in world golf, joining an elite group behind only the Majors and a small number of professional championships in the ranking points offered to competitors.
“It’s a significant development for our flagship event and our vision to strengthen the depth of world class golf events, both in the GCC and also on the international stage,” said, Majed Al-sorour, chief executive of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation.
WESTERN Province were crown the South African Inter-provincial champions at the 60th anniversary event at Kwazulu-natal’s picturesque San Lameer Country Club at the weekend.
After five games in the week-long championship they accumulated eight points while Central Gauteng were a point behind in second place.
North West were third while Gauteng North, beaten on the final day by the eventual champions, settled for fourth place.
South Cape, who have enjoyed a few years in the A Section, were the team who were relegated to the B Section for the 2022 championship.
Meanwhile Eastern Province had an amazing week – they were unbeaten in all five games – to win the B Section and with it promotion to the A Section for 2022.
They had a full house of 10 points while second-placed Kwazulu-natal ended up with eight and Boland were third followed by the Free State in fourth. Border were fifth and Mpumalanga were last in sixth place.