Joburg Open can brag with Louis Oosthuizen as drawcard

South Africa’s highest-ranked golfer, Louis Oosthuizen, will be playing in the Joburg Open this year as the tournament moves to a new time slot in December and will also find itself at a new venue – the Randpark Golf Club in suburban Randburg.

All 11 previous editions of the Joburg Open have been hosted by Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club and held in January or February, but that course is in the process of being upgraded, necessitating the move.

“I’m very excited to be supporting the growth of what is one of the premier tournaments in world golf. I’m a proud winner on all three tours and look forward to playing in Johannesburg again,” said Oosthuizen.

In another landmark move announced yesterday, the Joburg Open will also now be a tri-sanctioned event between the Sunshine, European and Asian tours, the first South African tournament to enjoy such global recognition.

Randpark will use both their Bushwillow and Firethorn courses to host the December 7 to 10 event, which will now have an expanded field of 240 golfers.

As the penultimate stop on the Asian Tour schedule, it will also be crucial in deciding their order of merit, while the Open Championship will once again include the Joburg Open in their international qualifying series.

Herman Mashaba, the executive mayor of the City of Joburg, said the changes were in line with their strategy of positioning the city to a global audience.

“We are thrilled to welcome on board the Asian Tour and excited at the new markets this affords us in terms of coverage of the Joburg Open. Our aim from the start with this tournament was to showcase all that Johannesburg has to offer, and to now include Asia in this is a big step forward for us,” Mashaba said.

Selwyn Nathan, the executive director of the Sunshine Tour, said: “This is an exciting time for the growth of the Joburg Open and we welcome our new partners, the Asian Tour, in this endeavour.”