Some of the world’s best golfers teed off in the annual 2020 South African Open Championship, hosted at the Randpark Golf Club on 9 January.
The star-studded line up of four balls included Shaun Norris, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Brandon Stone, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Zander Lombard, and Justin Harding among others.
Golfing heavyweight Louis Oosthuizen returns to the tournament as the defending champion.
The tournament will be played on Randpark’s two golf courses, Firethorn and Bushwillow, with the 240-strong field competing for R17.5 million in prize money.
Mayor of Johannesburg Geoff Makhubo launched the event and was to first to tee-off in the early morning’s cloudy drizzle.
He said, “We as the City of Johannesburg are honoured to host a tournament of this standard, and it means a lot. Golf is a growing sport and by hosting tournaments like this at a local level, the aim is to inspire our communities. We hope to make our city a mecca for, not only golf but various other sports too.
“I would like to give a give a word of good luck to all the players taking part in the tournament.”
Oosthuizen is also this year’s New Player Host and will be the mentor to a record 11 amateurs who have entered the Open hoping to make a name for themselves against well-known golfing giants in the game.
The Open made history this year after the official pro-am was hosted at the Soweto Country Club for the first time to promote the sport at an international level on the course designed by Gary Player.
The first two rounds will be played on both the Firethorn and Bushwillow courses at Randpark. The final two rounds will be played solely on the Firethorn course.
The SA Open forms part of the Sunshine Tour and is co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
It promises an exhibition of golfing excellence from 9 to 12 January.
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