Hat-trick for Plett Golf Club
Acclaimed Bitou course scores SA Senior Open for third straight year
The Sunshine Senior Tour (SST) announced on 28 August that the SA Senior Open will once again head to the Bitou region, to be hosted at Plettenberg Bay Country Club from 22 to 25 October.
SST chief operations officer Neville Clarke described his delight at the continued support from the town's authorities. “We are very happy to once again have Bitou Municipality hosting us in this beautiful region and on this great golf course. The event has become the highlight of the SST calendar and we cannot wait for it to start,” he said.
The SA Senior Open features four days of competition for 60 senior professionals, but contrary to many other tournaments, the first two days of competing are played as pro-ams with two professionals and two amateurs in a fourball. The first day of the pro-am will be the annual Mayoral Golf Day and seeks to raise funds for the upliftment of the Bitou community, while the second day is played to raise funds for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) to support their conservation efforts.
After the first two days, the pros then step up the intensity as it heads into the business end of the competition and they complete the final two rounds in a bid to be crowned SA Senior Open champion and usurp two-time defending champion in Plett, Mark McNulty.
Mayor Peter Lobese explained the importance of this event to the Bitou region: “We are an area that thrives on tourism and this competition not only brings in a large number of visitors to our region for a week but also generates significant exposure both locally and internationally about all we have to offer in the region.
"It is not only tourism that benefits however, with the event serving as a great fundraiser for us towards our community and uplifting them as well as protecting our wildlife through the assistance of the Endangered Wildlife Trust,” Lobese said.
With players such as McNulty, Chris Williams, Roger Wessels, Rocky Tlhabanyani and James Kingston all likely to feature in the field, the country club will certainly be worth visiting towards the end of next month.