‘Foreign hunters’ at lucrative golfing events

Before golfers start contemplating the Christmas break, competitive play continues in South Africa and
the U.S. this week and with different formats.

The tee-off on Thursday of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, Mpumalanga, marks the third consecutive tournament that is co-sanctioned by the domestic Sunshine Tour and European Tour.

It follows last week’s SA Open and the previous week’s Joburg Open, and will itself be followed by the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open next week in this symbiotic set-up.

Overall, six events have been co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and European Tour on the latter’s 2023 Race to Dubai (order of merit), as well as four Sunshine Tour events that are part of the European Challenge Tour (“B” Division).

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Notably, the Durban-based Jonsson Workwear Open has been elevated from the Challenge Tour schedule to the top-flight calendar and will now take place at Steyn City in Johannesburg next March for just its second edition.

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Thursday’s start of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek features several top South African stars who normally play abroad, including Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Dean Burmester and Oliver Bekker.

The prize fund is a handsome R27 million and the “foreign hunters” come from around the world.

Meanwhile, the U.S. PGA Tour focuses on the QBE Shootout from tomorrow at Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida.

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It is a team competition and has a different format each day. The 12 two-person teams will be hunting for a share of a purse that stands at $3,8 million (R65 million). Organisers say that one of the familiar teams returning include Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who have had six top-five finishes — including three wins — since joining forces in 2013.

Max Homa and Kevin Kisner, who finished fifth last year, will be together for the second time.

For the first time in tournament history, two female stars from the LPGA will be competing. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, playing in her first QBE Shootout, is paired with Denny McCarthy, while Lexi Thompson, ranked No. 7 in the world, returns for the sixth time and will join Maverick McNealy.

This year’s field features 10 of the top 50 ranked men in the world but no South Africans, which is partly due to the breakaway LIV circuit and the Alfred Dunhill Championship