South African Open (golf)

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, and 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 starting in 2011 it takes place at the Serengeti Golf Club in Ekurhuleni in November.

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.

Winners

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.

Prior to European Tour co-sanctioning

Multiple winners

Eighteen men have won this tournament more than once through 2010.

• 13 wins
  • Gary Player: 1956, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981

• 9 wins
  • Bobby Locke: 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955

• 8 wins
  • Sid Brews: 1925, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1949, 1952

• 5 wins
  • George Fotheringham: 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914
  • Ernie Els: 1992, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010

• 4 wins
  • Laurie Waters: 1903, 1904, 1907, 1920
  • Jock Brews: 1921, 1923, 1926, 1928

• 2 wins
  • A. G. Gray: 1905, 1906
  • Harold Henning: 1957, 1962
  • Retief Waltman: 1961, 1963
  • Bobby Cole: 1974, 1980
  • Wayne Westner: 1988, 1991
  • Tony Johnstone: 1984, 1993 (Dec)
  • David Frost: 1986, 1999
  • Mark McNulty: 1987, 2001
  • Trevor Immelman: 2003, 2004
  • Tim Clark: 2002, 2005 (Jan)
  • Retief Goosen: 1995, 2005 (Dec)

References

External links

• Official website
• Coverage on the European Tour's official site