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The Vodacom Origins of Golf series, the longest running series of tournaments on the Sunshine Tour, will be back on the Tour’s schedule in 2021 and 2022 after it had to be cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The five-tournament series will tee off in August, with the final tournament set to be played in 2022 and with a total of R5 million in prize money on offer throughout the series.

“We are delighted to welcome back the Vodacom Origins of Golf series to our schedule. Vodacom are one of our oldest partners on the Sunshine Tour and a loyal supporter of South African golf, and we’re extremely grateful for their ongoing support in these challenging times,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.

“The cancellation of last year’s Vodacom Origins of Golf series was beyond anybody’s control, and yet Vodacom still worked with us to host tournaments last year and give our members playing opportunities. But we are truly thrilled to welcome back the full Vodacom Origins of Golf series, which has been an important factor in the development of many of our leading professionals’ careers.”

The return of the popular pro-am series is a major boost for the Sunshine Tour. Since it first teed off in 2004, the Vodacom Origins of Golf series has been the backbone of the Sunshine Tour’s winter schedule and has provided stars such as Louis Oosthuizen, George Coetzee, Branden Grace and Justin Harding with some of their earliest professional titles.

The series has also established itself as one of the most influential in South African golf as it has supported the work of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) with golf clinics at every tournament throughout the country, helped to raise millions for charity through its support of amongst others The Smile Foundation, the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Foundation, New Beginnings and several other charities, and supported many of the Sunshine Tour’s development and charity initiatives over the years.

“We are extremely pleased to announce the return of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series to the Sunshine Tour. As the longest running series of tournaments on the Tour, we are immensely proud of the role it has played in the history of the Sunshine Tour and the careers of its leading professionals. But we’re equally proud of the contribution the series has made to the development of the game and charity,” said William Mzimba, Vodacom Business Chief Executive.

The series will tee off at De Zalze Golf Estate from 4-6 August. It will then travel to Sishen Golf Club from 26-28 August, followed by Durban Country Club from 16-18 September, and Humewood Golf Club from 1-3 October. The final will be played in 2022 with the date and venue to be announced in due course.

Jaco Beukes, Chief Executive of FLOOID, the rights owners of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, confirmed that the first tournament at De Zalze Golf Club will not feature the traditional pro-am element as an ongoing precaution in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

“After extensive consultation with the Sunshine Tour and Vodacom as well as the relevant health authorities, we’ve decided not to host a pro-am element for the first tournament in light of the current Covid-19 situation in the country. We’ll continue to monitor this over the coming tournaments and take a decision on those as and when applicable. But it remains the focus of FLOOID, Vodacom and the Sunshine Tour to ensure that all health protocols are strictly observed, and that we are able to play this year’s Vodacom Origins of Golf series in a safe and responsible way based on the number of successful Sunshine Tour tournaments that have already been hosted.”

Garrick Higgo and Gary Player share a passion for golf and a bond forged by tragedy. Now, as Higgo prepares for the Olympics, he arrives at a venue where his legendary mentor experienced success more than six decades earlier.

Louis Oosthuizen’s disappointment was in contrast with Dylan Frittelli’s delight as those were the only two South African flags left flying in the top five by the end of the 149^th Open at Royal St George’s on Sunday.

After three days of incredible golf, Oosthuizen was outplayed by Collin Morikawa and undone by his own cold putter as he watched the American march to victory.

Oosthuizen held the lead from day one and was one clear of the field going into the final round. But a closing 71 ended his hopes of a second Major as he finished tied third and four strokes behind Morikawa’s winning total of 15 under par.

Morikawa’s three successive birdies to close out the front nine took him into the lead, and a single birdie on the back nine was all he needed to claim the second Major of his career with a final round of 66 to become the first golfer in history to win two different Majors on debut after winning the PGA Championship in 2020. He finished two strokes clear of second-placed Jordan Spieth.

While Oosthuizen’s wait for a second Major continues, fellow South African Frittelli was delighted with his week at Royal St George’s.

Frittelli made the most of his late inclusion with a fifth-place finish on nine under par after closing with a 68. A performance he was justifiably very proud of.

“I got in on Monday morning and couldn’t have asked for much more. Just to be in contention on the weekend was my goal. I think I more than did that. I had a struggle on 11 today but besides that it was pretty plain sailing and I’m really proud of the way I handled everything. It gets me back in The Open the following year, so St Andrews is going to be awesome. I love that place and any Open Championship by me is tons of fun.”

Justin Harding finished tied 19^th on four under, followed by JC Ritchie, Daniel van Tonder and Dean Burmester all in tied 40^th on one under par. Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished tied 53^rd on one over. – Sunshine Tour/European Tour/The Open

Louis Oosthuizen stormed into the weekend of The Open in record fashion when he added a 65 to his opening 64 to set a 36-hole scoring record in this Major at Royal St George’s.

Oosthuizen’s halfway total of 11-under-par 129 is the lowest in the history of The Open and has earned him a two-stroke lead going into Saturday’s third round.

American Collin Morikawa is his nearest challenger, while Jordan Spieth is next best on eight under par.

Oosthuizen is joined in the top 10 by fellow South Africans Dylan Frittelli (-7), Daniel van Tonder (-6) and Justin Harding (-6).

Van Tonder worked his way into a dream position as he finds himself well in contention.

Van Tonder, playing in only the second Major of his career, signed for a second round of 66 on Friday to climb to six under par overall.

“I’m here for the weekend and just enjoying every moment,” said Van Tonder. “I’m very happy. I did leave a few putts out there but other than that I’m happy with my performance. I was in trouble a few times, but I managed to muscle it out of there and recover from that.”

“I made a birdie on the eighth and from there it just felt a bit easier, with me and my wife just agreeing on everything, you know. She trusts my aggressiveness on the course with a few shots. Other than that, I just enjoyed it.”

And Van Tonder has no problem with conditions becoming tricky on the weekend.

“As long as the wind keeps on blowing, I’m very happy about that.” – Sunshine Tour/European Tour/The Open

Daniel van Tonder has worked his way into a dream position going into the weekend of his first Open Championship and finds himself well in contention at Royal St George’s.

Van Tonder, playing in only the second Major of his career, signed for a second round of 66 on Friday to climb to six under par overall. At the time of writing he was only three strokes off the clubhouse lead of nine under held by American Collin Morikawa.

“I’m here for the weekend and just enjoying every moment,” said Van Tonder, who has been on an incredible run of form. Since winning the African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship in August 2020, Van Tonder went on to win another four titles in seven months including a maiden European Tour victory. That run earned him a spot in his first Major, this year’s PGA Championship, courtesy of an invitation from the PGA of America.

And now he’s contending in the oldest Major in golf.

“I’m very happy. I did leave a few putts out there but other than that I’m happy with my performance. I was in trouble a few times, but I managed to muscle it out of there and recover from that,” he said.

“I made a birdie on the eighth and from there it just felt a bit easier, with me and my wife just agreeing on everything, you know. She trusts my aggressiveness on the course with a few shots. Other than that, I just enjoyed it.”

And Van Tonder has no problem with conditions becoming tricky on the weekend.

“As long as the wind keeps on blowing, I’m very happy about that.”

Fellow South African Justin Harding also kept himself in contention with a 67 that saw him join Van Tonder on six under going into the weekend. Shaun Norris finished his day on three over for the championship after a 71. Jaco Ahlers came into the clubhouse on seven over par following his 79.

Overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen was amongst the later starters and is still busy with his round, as are Dean Burmester, Dylan Frittelli, Erik van Rooyen, JC Ritchie, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Branden Grace, Ernie Els and Garrick Higgo. – Sunshine Tour/European Tour/The Open

Louis Oosthuizen made another strong push for a second Major when he shot to the top of the leaderboard on day one of The Open at Royal St George’s on Thursday.

Oosthuizen opened with a bogey-free six-under-par 64 on the par-70 English links to take the first-round lead by one stroke over Jordan Spieth and Brian Harman.

That puts the South African in contention once again in the Majors this year after he has finished second in the last two Majors in his bid to add to his sole triumph in The Open in 2010. And he came into this week with a career six runner-up finishes in the Majors, and “working harder than ever” to claim a victory.

“That was probably, in my mind, the most perfect round I could have played,” said Oosthuizen. “I didn’t make many mistakes. When I had good opportunities for birdie, I made the putts. So yeah, just a very good solid round.”

Oosthuizen praised his ability to remain patient during the round after he opened with seven straight pars before his first birdie at the eighth hole for a run of three consecutive birdies in that stretch.

“I’ve learnt over the years of playing Major championships that patience is the key thing, and even if you make bogeys, know that a lot of people are going to make bogeys. I was just very patient. I was trying to just hit my shots and didn’t really hit anything close enough to make birdies those first few holes, and then all of a sudden just made two good putts on eight and nine and got the ball rolling. It happened quickly, but you still need to put yourself in those positions, and I felt definitely that the last 10, 11 holes I gave myself a lot of opportunities.”

The leaderboard included three South Africans within the top 10, with Dylan Frittelli (-4 66) and Justin Harding (-3 67) joining Oosthuizen.

Harding took full advantage of his early tee-off time.

“We got the good tee time. I think I’ve played in one Open in the past where I had like a 3:30pm tee time and it took forever to get started. I was pleased to get an early tee time and get cracking. I played well and managed my game nicely. I only really hit one poor tee shot where it kind of bit me, and ultimately, I’m just quite pleased with the way I finished the round off.

“The golf course is a tough test. There were some really tricky pins out there. I feel like the wind was picking up on the back nine as well. The course is only going to get firmer and faster. It should just be a good test throughout the week. You can’t hit it all over the place here and expect to play well. It’s one of those golf courses which will reward good golf and punish bad golf.”

Christiaan Bezuidenhout opened with a two-under-par 68 and said he was not only happy with his performance, but also thoroughly enjoyed playing in front of a gallery of fans.

“The golf course was pretty scoreable this morning. It played pretty soft and you could attack the flags. Overall, it was a solid day and I played solid golf from tee to green, so I’m really happy with where my game is at. It’s great to have the fans back, especially at The Open where the fans really enjoy their golf. They are really encouraging out there.”

Garrick Higgo didn’t get the start he wanted as he signed for a three-over-par 73.

“I just didn’t get it going on the greens to be honest. But my ball striking was better than it’s been for a while. It was a bit frustrating that I couldn’t get it under par. But I have a good group I’m playing in, so hopefully I can produce a nice low one tomorrow. I played the British Amateur here in 2017. Obviously the course is playing a lot longer than it did then. But it’s nice to play a Major on a course that you have played before. I love this course.”

Of the other South Africans in the field, Daniel van Tonder and Jaco Ahlers both signed for opening rounds of two under 68, Erik van Rooyen carded a 69, Dean Burmester posted a level-par 70, JC Ritchie signed for a 71, and Ernie Els, Branden Grace and Shaun Norris all opened with rounds of 72. – Sunshine Tour/European Tour/The Open.

Ernie Els will reach yet another major milestone in his career when he makes his 30^th Open appearance at Royal St George’s this week.

It’s a journey that began in 1989 when Els made his Open debut at Royal Troon after winning the South African Amateur title that year and missed the cut with rounds of 72 and 76. And it’s a journey that saw him twice win the Claret Jug in 2002 and 2012 and finish second in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Since that first appearance in 1989, he has only twice not played in the Open, and that was in 1990 and 1991 (there was no tournament in 2020).

This week, Els will lead a group of 13 South Africans challenging for Major glory on the English links, including Jaco Ahlers, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Dean Burmester, Dylan Frittelli, Branden Grace, Justin Harding, Garrick Higgo, Shaun Norris, Louis Oosthuizen, JC Ritchie, Erik van Rooyen and Daniel van Tonder. Louis de Jager has had to withdraw after contracting Covid-19.

It seems only apt that the man who has flown the flag for South African golf around the world for decades now, and who is the country’s last Major champion after winning the 2012 Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes, should lead such a strong group of South Africans in golf’s oldest and perhaps most celebrated Major.

And it brings him back to a style of the game which he has always loved, from the minute he first set foot upon the links in 1987 as a member of a touring South African amateur team.

“I don’t know if you’re born with it or you learn it. All I know is that I took to it like a duck to water. Links golf is the foundation of the game, and I just think I had a good feel for it from the start,” he says.

Els has gone as far as to say that links golf brings something totally different out of him, even to the point of feeling like he hits the ball more solidly and that his legendary languid swing even feels different on the links.

“I love hitting low three irons, and so on. Even with today’s equipment, if the weather is bad on a links course, that’s a true leveler.”

His love of the links has certainly showed in his Open appearances. After that missed cut in 1989, he returned in 1992 to finish tied fifth at Muirfield and then tied sixth the following year at Royal St George’s. He has described his fifth place in the 1992 Open as the door that opened for the incredible career he would go on to have.

It is hardly surprising that The Open is Els’s most successful Major with 13 top 10s. Perhaps even more impressive is that of those 13 top 10s, nine of them have been top 5s.

The Open and the historic links courses it is played on have combined for some of the greatest triumphs and deepest heartbreaks for Els. But through all the highs and lows, Els’s love for this Major has remained constant.

Speaking after his triumph at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2012, Els said, “It’s not the biggest trophy in the world, but it’s definitely the oldest one that we play for and definitely the most special one. This is it. This is where the game started. Everybody that’s anybody ever in the game has got his name on this, so it means a lot. Every single name (on the Claret Jug) has got a story.”

And the story of Ernie Els and The Open has certainly been one of the most captivating. – Michael Vlismas

The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour are delighted to jointly announce today a new landmark partnership which celebrates their already long-term relationship of over a quarter of a century and recognises South Africa’s contribution to the global game.

The European Tour has committed to help further develop the Sunshine Tour, improving the existing international pathway between the two Tours that has seen countless South African players benefit from over the years, and to recognise the sustained contribution of South Africa’s professionals and Sunshine Tour Chairman Johann Rupert in the development and growth of the game worldwide.

The PGA TOUR – the European Tour’s Strategic Alliance partners – are fully supportive of this new development in global golf which will focus on two key areas.

The first of these is the fact that the South African Open Championship – one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in world golf – is guaranteed as a co-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour through 2025, with a minimum prize fund of US$1.5 million for this period. Further tournaments to fall under this new co-sanctioning agreement will be confirmed in due course.

The Challenge Tour will also benefit from the new partnership with a commitment to not only continue to stage the existing three Challenge Tour events in South Africa, but also to create several new co-sanctioned events which will feature on both the Challenge and Sunshine Tours.

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “For many years the European Tour has greatly valued the relationship we have enjoyed with the Sunshine Tour and today’s announcement is the next step in that journey together.

“Through the leadership, vision and commitment of Chairman Johann Rupert, the Sunshine Tour has not only flourished and produced many of the game’s greats over decades, it is also part of the ecosystem that is at the very core of professional golf.

“We have been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sunshine Tour on this pathway for over a quarter of a century and we very much look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.”

Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said: “This partnership is an acknowledgement of the contribution that our Chairman Johann Rupert has made not only to the advancement of the Sunshine Tour and its legacy, as well as golf development, but also to the overall growth of the global game.

“We are delighted with a partnership that recognizes South African golf’s place in the history of this great game, and which has been showcased through our long association with the European Tour. Selwyn Nathan, our Executive Director, has been instrumental in forming this partnership with the European Tour with our Chairman and Board’s counsel, and which sees us in the position that we are in today. This partnership will open the door to even greater growth for our players.”

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, said: “We are thrilled to see these two leading golf organizations come together for the benefit of the global game, players and fans. The European Tour and Sunshine Tour each have rich histories, celebrated events and a proven record of developing some of the world’s best players.  This new partnership further illustrates the strengthening ecosystem of professional golf that we have all worked together to build for the betterment of the game.”

The shared history between the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour goes back over a quarter of a century to the first co-sanctioned tournament, the Lexington South African PGA Championship at the Wanderers Club in February 1995. From then until now the two Tours have combined close to 100 times.

The winner of that first event was Ernie Els and it is appropriate that the four-time Major Champion set the ball rolling as he remains the most successful South African player in European Tour history, having contributed 28 of the 160 wins to date; a total which sees South Africa ranked fourth on the list of the most successful nations in European Tour history; behind England, the United States and Spain.

Following the pioneering efforts of fellow Major champions Bobby Locke and Gary Player, Els is joined on the list of South African European Tour champions by Major winners Retief Goosen, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Trevor Immelman. He is also joined by Justin Harding, Daniel van Tonder, Garrick Higgo (a winner on the PGA TOUR as well), Dean Burmester, George Coetzee and Christiaan Bezuidenhout who have all triumphed on the European Tour recently – further proof of the Sunshine Tour’s status as a breeding ground for future international stars.

Louis de Jager has secured himself a place in his first Major after successfully qualifying for the 149^th Open at Royal St George’s.

The Sunshine Tour campaigner was one of 12 golfers from a field of 288 who qualified at various venues in England.

De Jager posted rounds of 67 and 70 at West Lancashire to finish second in his Final Qualifying tournament and thereby book his spot for the 11-18 July showpiece.

“This is amazing. It’s going to be my first Major and I don’t think there could be a better one to start off with. I know Ben Curtis won at Royal St George’s in his first time playing The Open so I think that is a good omen,” said De Jager.

“I am not very familiar with the course, so I will do some research and watch some YouTube videos of Darren Clarke’s win.

“I actually made a 9 on the 11^th in the second round. I spoke to myself and said I need to show a little bit of character. I had come so far and had been playing some good golf today. I birdied two of the last three including the last hole so I was quite pleased to be finished with a little breathing space.”