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By Michael Vlismas

Louis de Jager returns to this week’s Eye of Africa PGA Championship hoping to become the 10^th player in the history of South Africa’s second-oldest professional golf tournament to successfully defend his title.

De Jager won last year’s Eye of Africa PGA Championship in a playoff with Trevor Fisher Jnr. It was his fifth victory on the Sunshine Tour, but more significantly it was his first title won over four rounds.

“It was great to win because of the history of this tournament and to add my name to those already on the trophy. But it was just as big for me to win a tournament over four rounds. Before this victory, I’d won four tournaments on the winter leg of the Sunshine Tour, and all of them were over three rounds. It was my goal to win a four-round tournament and I was able to do it in this championship. It was great to achieve that,” De Jager said on the eve of Thursday’s first round of this Sunshine Tour event.

Having his name engraved on a trophy that was first played for in 1923 and which has been won by the greats of South African golf was prestigious enough. But this week De Jager can join an even more exclusive group including Jock Brews, Charles McIlvenny, Sid Brews, Bobby Locke, Jock Verwey, Harold Henning, Tienie Britz, Dales Hayes and Louis Oosthuizen who have won the Eye of Africa PGA Championship back-to-back.

In fact, should he do that this week, De Jager will have achieved something in this championship that not even Gary Player or Ernie Els have achieved.

“It’s definitely one of my goals to defend a title. It’s the fifth time I’ll be trying to achieve this. It’s not more pressure. It’s more a case of you’ve done well here before so you want to do well again. But it’s nothing I’m not used to,” said De Jager.

The experience of playing on the European Tour last year certainly has De Jager playing with more confidence.

“I had a good year on the European Tour last year, but unfortunately lost my card. But I gained a lot of experience and learnt a lot. I’ve improved certain parts of my game a lot, and I’m really looking forward to this year.

“The travelling on the European Tour takes quite a bit of adjusting. On the Sunshine Tour, you play three or four events in a row and then you can take some time off and prepare properly for the next event. On the European Tour, you’ve got to be sharp the whole time because there is no break, so there isn’t much time to work on your game. It’s much more about learning how to play and use whatever game you have that week and making the best of it. So mentally it’s quite tough.”

De Jager is also looking forward to the challenge of the Greg Norman-designed Eye of Africa golf course this week.

“It’s a pretty long golf course, but the fairways are pretty wide. My ball-striking was very good last year and that really helped me a lot. I’d say it’s a week for solid ball striking. But the condition of the golf course is looking very good. It’s always in good condition though.”

When he played the Eye of Africa PGA Championship as a rookie last year, Clinton Grobler’s aim was to make the cut and build a strong-enough base that he could keep his Sunshine Tour playing privileges.

He didn’t only make the cut that week but was the leading rookie at the end of the tournament, finishing in an impressive share of 11^th.

“Last year was good here,” admitted Grobler who sits fourth on the Rookie of the Year race after 16 tournaments, “I found that you have to be pretty straight off the tee here. I like a course where you have to hit it straight, and having the PGA guys here many of whom I knew, was also good. It was nice for me to finish the way I did because I played well in the week.”

His ambition is no longer to play for his card now as he makes his second appearance here as a professional.

“My aim was just to keep my card,” he says ahead of this year edition which tees off on Thursday at the Eye of Africa Signature Golf Estate, “and now the aim is a little bit higher than just keeping my card. I want to finish in the top 30 on the Order of Merit and it’s possible with the next couple of events that are coming up. They are big events and this week is another chance for me to climb up and finish a little bit better.”

He lies 51^st on the Order of Merit and a few results similar to the share of 11^th he got here last year or the second-place finish he got at Humewood in September last year, will surely take him there and he believes he’s got what it takes to move even higher up that Order of Merit before the season ends.

“I feel much better than last week (at the SA Open),” he admits, “I’ve been on holiday for quite a long time and it wasn’t that great for my game. But, I’ve been practising hard this week and hopefully, it will show. I’ve done some adjustments on the grips of my clubs and hitting some nice butter-cuts, so, hopefully, it will show this week. I want to finish better than last year, a top 10 would be nice

In the four Eye of Africa editions of South Africa’s PGA Championship, which was founded in 1923 as a match play tournament, three have been decided in play-offs.

The tournament gets underway at 6.30am on Thursday, and defending champion Louis de Jager took the championship last season in a play-off with Trevor Fisher Jnr. He joined Jaco van Zyl and Erik van Rooyen as champions on the course. The latter two took their titles after tense play-off victories – Van Zyl edging out Dean Burmester and Van Rooyen winning his maiden Sunshine Tour title at the expense of Dylan Frittelli and Makhetha Mazibuko.

De Jager’s victory last year was particularly tense: After finishing regulation play in a share of the lead on 12-under-par with Fisher, the pair had to wait out a storm for nearly two hours before they could play their second shots on the play-off hole. In the end, De Jager was able to win with a simple par on the par-four 18^th, while Fisher made a bogey.

It was De Jager’s third play-off victory in three attempts, making him the most successful of the three who have won via that route at Eye of Africa. Although Van Zyl also has three play-off triumphs to his name on the Sunshine Tour, those came in six play-offs. Van Rooyen also has a 100 percent record in sudden-death, but he has only been in one such position on the Sunshine Tour.

Prior to the move to Eye of Africa, the last play-off in the tournament came at Country Club Johannesburg in 2002, when Michiel Bothma held off Mark Murless after both players had finished on 15-under. Bothma went on to win the title again at the same venue in 2010.

In other play-off victories since the tournament became a stroke-play event in 1965, Tienie Britz won in 1971, defeating Muss Gammon and Peter Oosterhuis of England in a three-way play-off at Huddle Park; Roger Wessels overcame England’s Mark James and American Hugh Royer Jr in 1991 at the Wanderers, and Nick Price of Zimbabwe managed to get the better of David Frost at Houghton in 1997.

So, with just four-play-offs in the stroke-play era of the tournaments until the move to Eye of Africa, the new venue has contrived to produce three more in four short years.

Could the 2020 edition of the tournament be headed in the same direction?

The Sunshine Tour moves on from the oldest national open championship in the world to another of the most venerable tournaments of South African golf, the Eye of Africa PGA Championship to be held from 16 January to 19 January.

The event, which began in 1923 as a match play tournament, and converted to its current stroke play format in 1965, returns to Eye of Africa Signature Golf Estate south of Johannesburg in Eikenhof. It boasts a prize fund of R2-million.

It was the first tournament in South Africa to be co-sanctioned by the European Tour when the 1995 Lexington PGA Championship was held at the Wanderers Golf Club and won by Ernie Els. Along with the South African Open and the South African Masters, it formed the ‘Triple Crown’ of South African golf.

Louis Oosthuizen holds the lowest winning score of 28-under-par 260 in 2008.

The format:

72 holes of stroke play. After 36 holes there will be a cut to the leading 60 professionals and those who tie on that score.

The field:

156

Defending champion:

Louis de Jager won the title last year in a play-off with Trevor Fisher Jnr after they both finished regulation play on 12-under-par 276.

The course:

This par-72 championship course spans over 7,222 metres and is designed by Greg Norman, built in collaboration with international developers, Medallist. The wide fairways and the A1A4 greens (a unique Greg Norman strain) on the course offer a fair challenge to golfers of all abilities. The course is played as a continuous loop, with the halfway house overlooking the ninth green.

From the first tee to the 18^th green, Norman and his team included extensive bunkering and attempted to integrate the course seamlessly with its stunning natural surrounds.

Form player:

Jaco Ahlers had a great South African Open, and it’s difficult to see him losing momentum ahead of a course where he finished in a share of eighth last year. He will bring some pretty special putting skills to the party, and if he is customarily long and accurate off the tee, he will have a lethal combination of attributes.

Sentimental pick:

Thriston Lawrence had things going really well for him after the third round in the SA Open, but a closing round of four-over 75 saw him slip precipitously down the leaderboard to a share of 36^th. There is a sense, however, that a single bad round is not going to spoil his efforts for too much longer and he could be a winner of one of the most important tournaments on the Sunshine Tour schedule.

The bolter:

Toby Tree of England missed the cut in this tournament last year, but the confidence he has gained from earning his European Tour playing privileges as well as a sense of homecoming to the Sunshine Tour where he has played well over a couple of seasons recently will make him a dangerous – if unlikely – winner of the tournament. But not that unlikely.

Jaco Ahlers is two shots off the pace going into the final round of the South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Johannesburg – and he has to keep things in perspective ahead of that showdown.

He will be playing with defending champion Louis Oosthuizen at Randpark Golf Club on the Firethorn layout, and although Ahlers is a nine-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, that two-stroke edge Oosthuizen has over him looms large in his thinking as he chases the biggest title of his career.

“We’ve all got to chase King Louis again, and I’m looking forward to that,” said Ahlers. “I haven’t had a chance yet to go head-to-head with Louis. And in our national open too – it’s one we all grow up trying to emulate some of the great players who’ve won it. When you’re 11 or 12 and on the putting green, it’s either win the SA Open or at Augusta! I’ve got a chance, and that’s all I want.”

He will not want to get caught up in the chase, and will be pushing to keep his focus on his own game as the championships heads towards the sharp end. “I’ll just do what I want to do in the final round,” he said. “The first few holes will probably be a bit nervy, but I’ll get through that and just stick with what I want to do – pick a line, hit it to that line.

“I think it was Byron Nelson who said, ‘If you can find it, you can hit it, and if you can hit it you can hole it.’ So I’ll just try and find it and hit it again. It’s just another round of golf if you think about it.”

With the course set up at its most challenging over the weekend of the second-oldest national open in golf, Ahlers’ tally of six birdies in the third round was impressive but somewhat marred by three bogeys.

“There are mistakes to be made out there,” he said. “They tuck the pins in good positions and you should play safe and have a few good putts. But if you attack the pins and you miss them on the wrong sides, you are going to make bogeys. That’s what happened to me.

“I’ve largely stuck to my game plan this week, and the bogeys I made were ones where I missed on the wrong side. I’m trying not to do that. I’m trying to play to the bigger side of the greens. Most of the time I did that and I got rewarded for it, and if I hit it inside 10 feet, I had a chance on the putt.”

With two wins already in the 2019-20 Sunshine Tour season, a victory here would be some pretty thick icing on an already impressive cake. If it comes in the SA Open, an event co-sanctioned by the European Tour, it will make some of the heartbreak he’s endured trying to earn his European Tour playing privileges all fade away as he will be exempt for the rest of the European season.

He’s not thinking of that now. He’s thinking about what it will feel like duelling with Oosthuizen down the stretch. “Tomorrow should be pretty good, playing with Louis. I’ve got a shout at it,” he said.

Louis Oosthuizen, the Player-Host and defending champion of the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg, has an opportunity to become the first player in 16 years to claim back-to-back SA Open titles at Randpark Golf Club on Sunday.

Oosthuizen signed for a bogey-free 64 on Randpark’s Firethorn course to lift him to 15 under par and one stroke clear of the field. Trevor Immelman is the last player to have won back-to-back SA Open titles in 2003 and 2004.

Oosthuizen made three birdies in his first four holes and one more on the par-four ninth hole to turn in 31 as his search for a second victory gained momentum on Saturday. Coming home, it was more of the same as three more birdies went down on his scorecard.

“I worked a little bit on the putting and I found something that I thought might get my rhythm a little better,” said Oosthuizen. “The speed and lines were pretty decent today on the greens so I was happy.”

While he refuses to get carried away, especially with the host of players chasing him down for that top spot in the final round, it’s not escaped Oosthuizen’s mind that a win here on Sunday could throw him in a special club of players who have won this title more than just once, let alone back-to-back.

“Another win here would mean a lot to me,” he said. “I mean, getting my name on that trophy again would really mean a lot to me. Defending any title is tough but If I could win here, being the defending champion and the Player-Host for the week, that would be special.”

A lot of work still lies ahead, though, because he has a slender lead over England’s Marcus Armitage.

Armitage carded the best round of the day, a nine-under 62, to get to 14-under and just a shot back of the defending champion. Hot on Armitage’s heels and two shots behind Oosthuizen is Jaco Ahlers, whose three-under-par 68 in round three pushed him up to 13-under for the week.

And talented 18-year-old amateur Jayden Schaper, as well as Branden Grace, are both just three shots off the lead.

By Michael Vlismas

Denis Hutchinson’s immense contribution to golf will be celebrated through a new tournament in his honour and in partnership with the Sunshine Tour, PGA of South Africa, GolfRSA and the South African Golf Association (SAGA).

The Denis Hutchinson Challenge Trophy will be played at Hutchinson’s home course of Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on a date still to be announced, and it will feature 10 Sunshine Tour professionals and 10 PGA of South Africa professionals competing as a team against a 20-strong GolfRSA amateur team in an annual challenge match.

Selwyn Nathan, the Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, made the announcement during the third round of the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg at Randpark Golf Club on Saturday.

“This year is the 60^th anniversary of Denis Hutchinson winning the South African Open as an amateur. Between all of us as the bodies representing South African golf, we wanted to celebrate this and build a legacy for Hutchy in years to come. Hutchy is a really special man. He is the voice of golf around the world. As a player, he has been able to transfer the skills he had to many professionals and amateurs, and for us to have someone as special as this in South African golf to honour is a great privilege.”

Grant Hepburn, the Chief Executive Officer of GolfRSA and Managing Director of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB), said they are delighted to be part of a tribute to a person whose influence in South African golf reaches all spheres of the game.

“I grew up listening to Denis commentate on television. He’s done so much for golf, and what he means for golf in our country is huge. We are so fortunate in South African golf to be able to work closely together with all of the golf bodies, and the Denis Hutchinson Challenge Trophy will further solidify that unity that exists in our golf while at the same time celebrating an amazing man who is leaving an incredible legacy in South African golf.”

Naadir Agherdien, President of the South African Golf Association (SAGA), said Hutchinson remains an incredible role model for the country’s amateur golfers.

“Denis Hutchinson represents everything of what we want our leading amateurs to be, both on and off the fairways. He is a true inspiration for our amateurs. An event like this will also give our amateurs an opportunity to test themselves against the professionals and see where their own games stand.”

Ivano Ficalbi, Chief Executive of the PGA of South Africa, said the challenge match is a fitting tribute to a PGA member held in high esteem by generations of PGA professionals and who gives back so much to the game in his role as Honorary Life President of the PGA of South Africa.

“Any PGA member who has qualified since the 90s will have Denis Hutchinson’s signature on his certificate of qualification. Denis has always been somebody our members have always looked up to not just for what he’s achieved as a golfer but also because he always has time for our members. I think this trophy will be played in exactly the kind of spirit that reflects Denis and his love for the game of golf.”

Teenage sensation Jayden Schaper heads into the weekend of the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg just one shot off the lead and looking to become the first amateur to win this title since 1959.

The 18-year-old climbed to 10-under-par for the championship with a second round of 67 on Randpark’s Firethorn course on Friday. He sits in a group of five players including Thriston Lawrence, Sam Horsfield, Jaco Ahlers and Trevor Fisher Jnr. just one shot off the 11-under-par lead of Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland, who signed for a 66 on Firethorn.

Schaper is seeking to make history as the first amateur since Denis Hutchinson over 60 years ago to win the South African Open.

“It’s just special to be near the top of the leaderboard and having played with one of my idols Louis Oosthuizen over the past two days,” said the country’s top-ranked amateur, who last year won a host of titles on home soil as well as the prestigious Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in the United States.

“The way I see it, it’s the same golf course and just a different field. I’ll just treat it as any amateur event I’ve played in. There will be a bit of nerves, but I kind of enjoy that. I’m just looking forward to the weekend. It would be pretty special to match what Mr Hutchinson did, but I’m just going to take it one shot at a time and if the opportunity comes I’ll try my best to take it.”

Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen heads into the weekend three shots off the lead despite what he said was a frustrating 69 on Firethorn on Friday.

“I hit it as good as I can but I just didn’t make any putts. I started doubting my lines and then made a few bad strokes. But it’s still fine. I’m three behind going into the weekend and that’s a good spot to be,” said Oosthuizen.

Fellow South Africans Branden Grace and George Coetzee are also just three off the lead.

By Michael Vlismas

Erik van Rooyen was sitting in the players’ area at Randpark Golf Club on the first day of the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg when his manager, Mitchell, arrived. The manager first handed Van Rooyen’s caddie, a Liverpool fan, a football jersey for his baby girl. Then he turned to Van Rooyen and said, “And here’s a gift for you”.

“I knew immediately what it was,” said a delighted Van Rooyen as he opened his invitation from The Board of Governors of the Augusta National Golf Club to participate in the 2020 Masters.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling. It’s a moment you dream of for a long time. It’s pretty special and I’m definitely going to frame the invitation and keep it,” Van Rooyen said on Friday.

This will be his debut in The Masters thanks to his finish inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of 2019.

“While I was at college in America we played a tournament nearby there in 2009 and they gave us tickets to the Monday practice round of the Masters. It was pretty cool to see. But to tee it up will be amazing.”

And he’s already been given his first bit of advice from fellow professional Branden Grace.

“Branden said that I’m going to spend all of my money buying Masters memorabilia – cups, flags, caps, anything. I’ll do that for sure. You never know what route this game takes you, but the first Masters will always be special. My folks will be with me as well. So it’s going to be really special.”

By Michael Vlismas

At the end of last year, Toto Thimba Jnr. was very clear on the biggest goal he had for 2020. “I want to win the SA Open”. The South African took a big step towards achieving this goal as he came through Thursday’s first round of the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg just two shots off the lead.

Thimba Jnr. opened with a seven-under-par 64 on Randpark’s Bushwillow course, putting him well within reach of leader Johannes Veerman of America who signed for a sublime nine-under 62 on Bushwillow.

Veerman is one stroke clear of the field, with Italian Nino Bertasio and South Africa’s JC Ritchie his nearest challengers.

Branden Grace came through day one with a 64 on the Firethorn course, which was the day’s best on this layout.

Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen opened with a solid 65 on Bushwillow. “It was decent. I drove it nicely. There were a few putts where I didn’t quite get the lines right, but I’m rolling it nicely. I would’ve taken six-under for my first round so I’m happy,” said Oosthuizen.

Top-ranked South African amateur Jayden Schaper also signed for a 65 on Bushwillow.

Thimba Jnr, a member of the Sunshine Tour’s Gary Player Class of professionals identified for support with their careers and who are pushing each other to greater heights, is playing with a true belief that a place on one of the most famous trophies in golf is not beyond his reach.

And he is well aware of the impact it would make should he achieve his goal of a victory in his national Open.

“If I win, it will open doors for a lot of Black golfers. That’s my goal and that’s what I want to achieve. I want to be an inspiration,” he said.

Thimba Jnr. claimed his breakthrough Sunshine Tour victory in the KCB Karen Masters in Kenya last year. And he was also inspired by the performance of Madalitso Muthiya in the last edition of this tournament as he challenged for the title with Louis Oosthuizen before finishing tied seventh.

“Anytime a Black golfer plays well it inspires me. You just have to stay patient, work hard and believe in yourself. I write the word ‘Believe’ on my golf ball to remind myself that I can win out here.”

Tournament leader Veerman was delighted to tee off the decade with a 62.

“It was a good round of golf. The course was set up to go low out there. The wind didn’t blow hard, the rough isn’t long, and the greens were receptive, so there was a good number out there,” he said.