City of Joburg to host SA Open
South African Open by merging it with the Joburg Open.
A TWO in one golf tournament will open the doors to a more lucrative approach for attracting local and international players to the City of Johannesburg.
It was announced on October 22 in Johannesburg that one of the most historic golf tournaments, not only in Africa but internationally, the South African Open, will combine with the Joburg Open to form one tournament.
The championship will, for the first time in its history, be a tri-sanctioned championship between the Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour, and it will retain the international qualifying opportunities of the Joburg Open.
“The new South African Open brings together the invaluable passion and support of the City of Johannesburg for professional golf with the second oldest national Open in the game, and the result is now one truly world-class golf tournament,” said Selwyn Nathan, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.
The City of Johannesburg is the proud new host of the South African Open and one of the most historic national Opens in golf will now be played at Randpark Golf Club from December 6 to 9.
The Sunshine Tour said that a decision was taken in partnership with GolfRSA, the City of Johannesburg, the European Tour and Asian Tour to create an even greater stage for the South African Open by merging it with the Joburg Open.
The South African Open, hosted by the City of Johannesburg, will be played on Randpark’s two championship golf courses, Firethorn and Bushwillow, and will feature a field of 240 professionals, including Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and former champion Brandon Stone,– competing for a minimum of R17.5-million in prize money.
The executive mayor of Johannesburg, Councillor Herman Mashaba, said he was delighted that the city will continue to position itself as the forefront of world golf through its hosting of a major championship such as the South African Open.
“We are extremely proud to be the new host city of the South African Open and to be able to translate the excellence of the Joburg Open into a new future for this historic championship. We look forward to continuing to showcase what Johannesburg has to offer, and to taking this message to Europe as well as Asia as we seek to use the global footprint of this tournament to benefit the residents of our city.”
This will mark the third time in its history that the South African Open will be played at Randpark. It was played here in 1995 when Retief Goosen beat Ernie Els by five strokes, and then again in 2000 when Swede Mathias Grönberg took the title.
As the official player-host of the South African Open, Ernie Els said he is looking forward to this next step in the continued growth of the championship.
In the meantime, the Soweto Country Club’s designed golf course by none other than golfing legend Gary Player, the Black Knight, is on track and needs a few months to reach playable stages.
“I am very pleased by the development of this course. It was a terrible course when I played it first in my heydays, but it I foresee that it will become one of the noticeable courses in South Africa in future,” said Gary Player.
The Soweto Country Club will also become the official legacy project to the South African Open. Working with the City and corporate South Africa, efforts are underway to ensure that the Soweto Country Club becomes a top golf destination.
For the City of Johannesburg, this represents an opportunity to not only create potential new jobs within the community but also to grow the sport of golf in previously disadvantaged communities.
In addition to this exciting new announcement, the Soweto Country Club will also become the official legacy project to the South African Open. Working with the City and corporate South Africa, efforts are underway to ensure that the Soweto Country Club becomes a top golf destination.
Player inspected the course on Monday and said, “This is a golf course that the community undertook to upheld and already the value of the properties are rising around it. This makes me proud of all South Africans who worked together on this project.”
For the City of Johannesburg, this represents an opportunity to not only create potential new jobs within the community but also to grow the sport of golf in previously disadvantaged communities.
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