South African Open (golf)

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South African Open
Tournament information
Location Ekurhuleni, South Africa
Established 1903
Course(s) Glendower Golf Club
Par 72
Length 7,564 yards (6,917 m)
Tour(s) Sunshine Tour
European Tour
Format Stroke play
Prize fund R 15,000,000
Month played January
Tournament record score
Aggregate 264 Ernie Els (2006)
To par −24 (as above)
Current champion
South Africa Brandon Stone
Glendower GC is located in South Africa
Glendower GC
Glendower GC
Location in South Africa

The South African Open Championship is one of the oldest national open golf championships in the world, and is one of the principal tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. Since 1997 it has also been co-sanctioned by the European Tour. As the flagship event on the Sunshine Tour, the tournament also receives special status from the Official World Golf Ranking, with the winner being guaranteed a minimum of 32 points regardless of the strength of the field.[1]

The first formal event was organised in 1903, following a series of exhibition matches that had been held over the preceding ten years. The championship was initially contested over just 36 holes until 1908, when it was extended to become a 72 hole tournament. Although non-whites had played in the South African Open before, most notably when Papwa Sewgolum finished second in 1963, it was not until 1972 that black golfers were allowed to compete.[2]

The South African Open formerly took place at Durban Country Club in Durban, but moved to the Serengeti Golf Club in Ekurhuleni in 2011. It moved to Glendower Golf Club in 2013.

Gary Player has been the most successful player in the tournament's history, with 13 victories over four decades between 1956 and 1981. Bobby Locke won nine titles, Sid Brews won eight titles, and George Fotheringham won the event five times.

Winners

Year Season Winner Country Score To par Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
Sun Euro
The BMW SA Open
2016 2016 2016 Brandon Stone  South Africa 274 –14 2 strokes South Africa Christiaan Bezuidenhout
South African Open Championship
20153 2014 2015 Andy Sullivan  England 277 –11 Playoff South Africa Charl Schwartzel
2013 2013 2014 Morten Ørum Madsen  Denmark 269 −19 2 strokes South Africa Jbe' Kruger
South Africa Hennie Otto
SA Open Championship
2012 2012 2012 Henrik Stenson  Sweden 271 −17 3 strokes South Africa George Coetzee
2011 2011 2011 Hennie Otto  South Africa 274 −14 1 stroke Austria Bernd Wiesberger
South African Open Championship
2010 2010 2011 Ernie Els (5)  South Africa 263 −251 1 stroke South Africa Retief Goosen
2009 2009 2010 Richie Ramsay  Scotland 275 −13 Playoff India Shiv Kapur
2008 2008 2009 Richard Sterne  South Africa 274 −14 Playoff Northern Ireland Gareth Maybin
South African Airways Open
2007 2007 2008 James Kingston  South Africa 284 −4 1 stroke England Oliver Wilson
2006 2006–07 2007 Ernie Els (4)  South Africa 264 −24 3 strokes South Africa Trevor Immelman
20052 2005–06 2006 Retief Goosen (2)  South Africa 282 −10 1 stroke South Africa Ernie Els
20052 2004–05 2005 Tim Clark (2)  South Africa 273 −15 6 strokes France Grégory Havret
South Africa Charl Schwartzel
2004 2003–04 2004 Trevor Immelman (2)  South Africa 276 −12 3 strokes Scotland Alastair Forsyth
England Steve Webster
2003 2002–03 2003 Trevor Immelman  South Africa 274 −14 Playoff South Africa Tim Clark
Bell's South African Open
2002 2001–02 2002 Tim Clark  South Africa 269 −19 2 strokes England Steve Webster
Mercedes-Benz South African Open Championship
2001 2000–01 2001 Mark McNulty (2)  Zimbabwe 280 −8 1 stroke England Justin Rose
2000 1999–00 2000 Mathias Grönberg  Sweden 274 −14 1 stroke South Africa Darren Fichardt
Argentina Ricardo González
Zimbabwe Nick Price
Mercedes-Benz – Vodacom South African Open
1999 1998–99 1999 David Frost (2)  South Africa 279 −5 1 stroke United States Scott Dunlap
India Jeev Milkha Singh
South African Open
1998 1997–98 1998 Ernie Els (3)  South Africa 273 −15 3 strokes South Africa David Frost
1997 1996–97 1997 Vijay Singh  Fiji 270 −18 1 stroke Zimbabwe Nick Price
1.^ Not an official record score because the 4th hole was unplayable during the 3rd and 4th rounds due to heavy rain. For scoring purposes, all players were deemed to have recorded a par for the hole.
2.^ Two events in 2005 due to rescheduling from January to December.
3.^ No event in 2014 due to rescheduling from November to January.

Prior to European Tour co-sanctioning

Multiple winners

Eighteen men have won this tournament more than once through 2016.

Wins Player Country Years won
13 Gary Player  South Africa 1956, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981
9 Bobby Locke  South Africa 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955
8 Sid Brews  South Africa 1925, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1949, 1952
5 George Fotheringham  Scotland 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914
5 Ernie Els  South Africa 1992, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010
4 Laurie Waters  South Africa 1903, 1904, 1907, 1920
4 Jock Brews  South Africa 1921, 1923, 1926, 1928
2 Arthur Gray  England 1905, 1906
2 Harold Henning  South Africa 1957, 1962
2 Retief Waltman  South Africa 1961, 1963
2 Bobby Cole  South Africa 1974, 1980
2 Wayne Westner  South Africa 1988, 1991
2 Tony Johnstone  Zimbabwe 1984, 1993 (Dec)
2 David Frost  South Africa 1986, 1999
2 Mark McNulty  Zimbabwe 1987, 2001
2 Trevor Immelman  South Africa 2003, 2004
2 Tim Clark  South Africa 2002, 2005 (Jan)
2 Retief Goosen  South Africa 1995, 2005 (Dec)

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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