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The last time a South African won a Major title was way back in 2012, though there have been a few threats to go all the way in recent times.
The last time a South African won a Major golf title was in 2012, when Ernie Els won the Open. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
South Africa’s long wait for another Major golf winner continues.
The last time a South African triumphed in one of the game’s big four events was in 2012 when Ernie Els was the surprise winner at the Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
Els finished his round early in the day on seven-under-par and had to wait to see how things would unfold.
Going into the final round, Australia’s Adam Scott was the leader after 54 holes at 11-under-par, with Els six strokes back, tied for fifth. Scott then bogeyed each of the final four holes, to miss out by one stroke at the end.
It was the last time South African golf fans could celebrate a Major win.
A year before that, Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes of his final round to win the Masters in 2011, and in 2010 his big friend, Louis Oosthuizen, won the Open at St Andrews.
In all, Els finished his career on the PGA and European tours with four Major titles (one other Open title and two US Open trophies), while in the early 2000s Retief Goosen won the US Open twice.
Trevor Immelman, now a commentator on the PGA Tour, won the Masters in 2008.
One then goes back to the days of Gary Player and before him Bobby Locke to find South Africa’s only other Major golf winners.
In recent times, Branden Grace came close to winning at the US Open at Chambers Bay in 2015, after leading with three holes to play but finishing tied fourth. Oosthuizen was tied second and Schwartzel seventh. In the same year Grace finished third at the PGA Championship.
Oosthuizen also lost in a playoff at the Open in 2015, and in another playoff at the Masters in 2012.
This last weekend, Schwartzel finished tied 36th at the Masters as one of only three South African golfers in the field. Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Thriston Lawrence, who finished fourth at last year’s Open Championship, missed the halfway cut.
Oosthuizen, who now plays with Schwartzel on the LIV Golf Tour, didn’t get to Augusta National, while Grace also now plays on the breakaway tour.
Other South African golfers who’ve featured at some of the Majors in recent times include Erik van Rooyen (tied eighth at the 2019 PGA Championship), Dylan Frittelli (tied fifth at the 2020 Masters and tied fifth at the 2021 Open), and Dean Burmester (tied 11th at the Open in 2022 and tied 12th at the PGA last year).
While there have been some solid, promising performances of late, one’s got to wonder who’ll be the next South African man to win a Major title and become a genuine contender when the big tournaments come around?
Will it be one of a number of promising young golfers on the SA golf scene, some of whom are already playing in Europe and America, or could the likes of Schwartzel, Oosthuizen and Grace still triumph on the biggest stages?
The year’s next Major is next month — the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina between 15 and 18 May. That’s followed by the US Open at Oakmont in June and the Open at Royal Portrush in July.
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