South African Open (golf)

South African Open

Tournament information
Location	Ekurhuleni, South Africa
Established	1903
Course(s)	Glendower Golf Club
Par	72
Length	7,564 yards (6,917 m)
Tour(s)	Sunshine Tour European Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	R 15,000,000
Month played	January
Tournament record score
Aggregate	264 Ernie Els (2006)
To par	−24 (as above)
Current champion
Brandon Stone

Glendower GC

Location in South Africa

The South African Open Championship is one of the oldest national open golf championships in the world, and is one of the principal tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. Since 1997 it has also been co-sanctioned by the European Tour. As the flagship event on the Sunshine Tour, the tournament also receives special status from the Official World Golf Ranking, with the winner being guaranteed a minimum of 32 points regardless of the strength of the field.^[1]

The first formal event was organised in 1903, following a series of exhibition matches that had been held over the preceding ten years. The championship was initially contested over just 36 holes until 1908, when it was extended to become a 72 hole tournament. Although non-whites had played in the South African Open before, most notably when Papwa Sewgolum finished second in 1963, it was not until 1972 that black golfers were allowed to compete.^[2]

The South African Open formerly took place at Durban Country Club in Durban, but moved to the Serengeti Golf Club in Ekurhuleni in 2011. It moved to Glendower Golf Club in 2013.

Gary Player has been the most successful player in the tournament's history, with 13 victories over four decades between 1956 and 1981. Bobby Locke won nine titles, Sid Brews won eight titles, and George Fotheringham won the event five times.

Winners

Year	Season		Winner	Country	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
	Sun	Euro
The BMW SA Open
2016	2016	2016	Brandon Stone	South Africa	274	–14	2 strokes	Christiaan Bezuidenhout
South African Open Championship
2015^3	2014	2015	Andy Sullivan	England	277	–11	Playoff	Charl Schwartzel
2013	2013	2014	Morten Ørum Madsen	Denmark	269	−19	2 strokes	Jbe' Kruger Hennie Otto
SA Open Championship
2012	2012	2012	Henrik Stenson	Sweden	271	−17	3 strokes	George Coetzee
2011	2011	2011	Hennie Otto	South Africa	274	−14	1 stroke	Bernd Wiesberger
South African Open Championship
2010	2010	2011	Ernie Els (5)	South Africa	263	−25^1	1 stroke	Retief Goosen
2009	2009	2010	Richie Ramsay	Scotland	275	−13	Playoff	Shiv Kapur
2008	2008	2009	Richard Sterne	South Africa	274	−14	Playoff	Gareth Maybin
South African Airways Open
2007	2007	2008	James Kingston	South Africa	284	−4	1 stroke	Oliver Wilson
2006	2006–07	2007	Ernie Els (4)	South Africa	264	−24	3 strokes	Trevor Immelman
2005^2	2005–06	2006	Retief Goosen (2)	South Africa	282	−10	1 stroke	Ernie Els
2005^2	2004–05	2005	Tim Clark (2)	South Africa	273	−15	6 strokes	Grégory Havret Charl Schwartzel
2004	2003–04	2004	Trevor Immelman (2)	South Africa	276	−12	3 strokes	Alastair Forsyth Steve Webster
2003	2002–03	2003	Trevor Immelman	South Africa	274	−14	Playoff	Tim Clark
Bell's South African Open
2002	2001–02	2002	Tim Clark	South Africa	269	−19	2 strokes	Steve Webster
Mercedes-Benz South African Open Championship
2001	2000–01	2001	Mark McNulty (2)	Zimbabwe	280	−8	1 stroke	Justin Rose
2000	1999–00	2000	Mathias Grönberg	Sweden	274	−14	1 stroke	Darren Fichardt Ricardo González Nick Price
Mercedes-Benz – Vodacom South African Open
1999	1998–99	1999	David Frost (2)	South Africa	279	−5	1 stroke	Scott Dunlap Jeev Milkha Singh
South African Open
1998	1997–98	1998	Ernie Els (3)	South Africa	273	−15	3 strokes	David Frost
1997	1996–97	1997	Vijay Singh	Fiji	270	−18	1 stroke	Nick Price

1.^ Not an official record score because the 4th hole was unplayable during the 3rd and 4th rounds due to heavy rain. For scoring purposes, all players were deemed to have recorded a par for the hole.

2.^ Two events in 2005 due to rescheduling from January to December.

3.^ No event in 2014 due to rescheduling from November to January.

Prior to European Tour co-sanctioning

Year Winner Score Philips South African Open 1996 Ernie Els (2) 275 1995 Retief Goosen 275 1994^1 Tony Johnstone (2) 267 1993^2 Clinton Whitelaw 279 Protea Assurance South African Open 1992 Ernie Els 275 1991 Wayne Westner (2) 272 1990 Trevor Dodds 285 1989 Fred Wadsworth 278 Southern Suns South African Open Championship 1988 Wayne Westner 275 1987 Mark McNulty 278 ^PO 1986 David Frost 275 South African Open Championship Title sponsors unknown prior to 1986 1985 Gavan Levenson 280 1984 Tony Johnstone 274 1983 Charlie Bolling 278 1982 No tournament due to two events in 1976 1981 Gary Player (13) 272 ^PO 1980 Bobby Cole (2) 279 1979 Gary Player (12) 279 1978 Hugh Baiocchi 285 1977 Gary Player (11) 273 1976 Gary Player (10) 280 1976 Dale Hayes 287 ^PO 1975 Gary Player (9) 278 1974 Bobby Cole 272 1973 Bob Charles 282 1972 Gary Player (8) 274 1971 Simon Hobday 276 1970 Tommy Horton 285 1969 Gary Player (7) 273 1968 Gary Player (6) 274 1967 Gary Player (5) 279 1966 Gary Player (4) 278 1965 Gary Player (3) 273 1964 No tournament due to two events in 1963 1963 Allan Henning 278 1963 Retief Waltman (2) 281 1962 Harold Henning (2) 285 1961 Retief Waltman 289 1960 Gary Player (2) 280 1959 Denis Hutchinson 282 1958 Arthur Stewart 281 1957 Harold Henning 289 ^PO 1956 Gary Player 286 ^1 Tournament held in December 1993 (1994 season) ^2 Tournament held in February 1993

Year Winner Score South African Open Championship 1955 Bobby Locke (9) 283 1954 Reg Taylor 289 1953 Jimmy Boyd 302 ^PO 1952 Sid Brews (8) 305 1951 Bobby Locke (8) 277 1950 Bobby Locke (7) 280 1949 Sid Brews (7) 291 1948 Mickey Janks 298 1947 Ronnie Glennie 293 1946 Bobby Locke (6) 285 1941–45 No tournament due to World War II 1940 Bobby Locke (5) 293 1939 Bobby Locke (4) 279 1938 Bobby Locke (3) 279 1937 Bobby Locke (2) 288 1936 Clarence Olander 297 ^PO 1935 Bobby Locke 296 1934 Sid Brews (6) 319 1933 Sid Brews (5) 297 1932 Charles McIlvenny 304 1931 Sid Brews (4) 302 1930 Sid Brews (3) 297 1929 Archie Tosh 315 1928 Jock Brews (4) 297 1927 Sid Brews (2) 301 1926 Jock Brews (3) 301 1925 Sid Brews 295 1924 Bertie Elkin 316 1923 Jock Brews (2) 315 1922 Fred Jangle 310 1921 Jock Brews 316 1920 Laurie Waters (4) 302 1919 William Horne 320 1915–18 No tournament due to World War I 1914 George Fotheringham (5) 299 1913 Jimmy Prentice (a) 304 1912 George Fotheringham (4) 305 1911 George Fotheringham (3) 301 1910 George Fotheringham (2) 315 1909 Jack Fotheringham 306 1908 George Fotheringham 294 1907 Laurie Waters (3) 146 1906 Arthur Gray (2) 151 1905 Arthur Gray ^PO 1904 Laurie Waters (2) 143 1903 Laurie Waters 163 Tournament held over 36 holes prior to 1908

Multiple winners

Eighteen men have won this tournament more than once through 2016.

Wins	Player	Country	Years won
13	Gary Player	South Africa	1956, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981
9	Bobby Locke	South Africa	1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1955
8	Sid Brews	South Africa	1925, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1949, 1952
5	George Fotheringham	Scotland	1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914
5	Ernie Els	South Africa	1992, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010
4	Laurie Waters	South Africa	1903, 1904, 1907, 1920
4	Jock Brews	South Africa	1921, 1923, 1926, 1928
2	Arthur Gray	England	1905, 1906
2	Harold Henning	South Africa	1957, 1962
2	Retief Waltman	South Africa	1961, 1963
2	Bobby Cole	South Africa	1974, 1980
2	Wayne Westner	South Africa	1988, 1991
2	Tony Johnstone	Zimbabwe	1984, 1993 (Dec)
2	David Frost	South Africa	1986, 1999
2	Mark McNulty	Zimbabwe	1987, 2001
2	Trevor Immelman	South Africa	2003, 2004
2	Tim Clark	South Africa	2002, 2005 (Jan)
2	Retief Goosen	South Africa	1995, 2005 (Dec)

References

1. "How the System Works". Official World Golf Ranking. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
2. "South African Open Championship History and Highlights". South African Open Championship. Retrieved 2008-11-18.

External links

• Coverage on the European Tour's official site

Coordinates: 26°09′29″S 28°08′31″E / 26.158°S 28.142°E