KEYMER ON HIS WAY ...
SA Open gets new title sponsor for Glendower showdown in the New Year
AMERICAN Kevin Na and double Major champion Martin Kaymer lead a flood of European Tour and PGA Tour stars who have been confirmed for this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.
A total of 28 golfers have been confirmed for Africa’s Major – teeing of on December 7 – with Na and Kaymer amongst the biggest names on the list of players announced yesterday.
Na makes his second appearance at the showpiece and heads back to South Africa in impressive form following a playoff defeat for the Frys.com Open as well as finishes of second and third in three of his last four tournaments.
Two-time Major champion Kaymer is making his fifth appearance in the Golf Challenge in a year in which he finished in the top 20 in the Open and the PGA Championship.
Of the 16 additional players announced, 11 have won on either the PGA Tour or European Tour this year.
Irishman Shane Lowry won a WGC tournament this year; Victor Dubuisson, Bernd Wiesberger, Byeong Hun An, Soren Kjeldsen, Thongchai Jaidee and Chris Wood are all European Tour winners this year.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat heads to Sun City having won twice on the European Tour, while Andy Sullivan is back in as the only three-time winner on the European Tour this year.
The field also includes two of the hottest young players in world golf in England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo.
Fitzpatrick won the British Masters in his rookie season, while in America, Grillo also impressed in his rookie PGA Tour season when he won the Frys.com Open. England’s Ross Fisher, Australia’s Marc Leishman and South Africa’s Jaco van Zyl have all had solid seasons in 2015.
“We have a great mix of stars from the European Tour and PGA Tour, Major winners, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players, former world No 1s, as well as the hottest young players in world golf,” said Alastair Roper, Sun International’s Tournament Director for the Golf Challenge.
“I think this is one of the best Nedbank Golf Challenge fields we’ve had in recent years and one of the most exciting in terms of the depth of talent we’ll have. We now have two spots remaining for our field of 30, one of which will go to the winner of the Alfred Dunhill Championship the week before the Golf Challenge.”
Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that the 105th South African Open Championship will again be proudly hosted from January 7 at Glendower Golf Club, with a new title sponsor in BMW South Africa, and it will again have Ernie Els as tournament player-host.
The second-oldest national open championship in golf returns to the scene of this year’s victory by England’s Andy Sullivan, at a course widely regarded as one of the best championship layouts in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the City of Ekurhuleni, Executive Mayor Mondli Gungubele said: “It is an honour to host one of the oldest golfing tournaments in the world. The SA Open is a very prestigious championship and we cannot wait to welcome some of the very best golfers in the world back to Africa’s first aerotropolis.
President of the SA Golf Association Gerhard Conradie said: “It is excellent news that the BMW South African Open has been announced ... we look forward to another successful event, worthy of the long and illustrious history of one of world golf ’s oldest Open championships.”
Ernie Els will once again fulfil his role as player-host, the Big Easy saying: “I’m looking forward to continue working with the Sunshine Tour to achieve our shared vision. I’m delighted to be part of an initiative which is putting a great tournament back on the map”.