The inaugural Steyn City Championship, a new 54-hole tournament featuring teams of two, gets under way on Tuesday with some eye-catching partnerships being established.
The ‘Augusta of South Africa’ will host the Steyn City Championship as the top 96 professionals take part in an exciting new format.
The teams will play 36 holes on day one of the championship, 18 holes of foursomes in the morning and 18 holes of greensomes in the afternoon. There will be a cut to the top 25 teams after the second day.
The final day will feature a betterball format. The team with the lowest aggregate strokeplay score will win their share of the R1-million prize fund purse.
Top among the favourites this week must be the youthful pairing of former top amateur Kyle McClatchie and European Tour member Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The duo are both in good form and will be hard to beat if their partnership gets off to a fast start.
Haydn Porteous is another European Tour member in town this week and joins Tyrone Ryan for the event. Porteous’ experience on the elite tour will no doubt come in handy over the two days.
Unsurprisingly, Stellenbosch duo Oliver Bekker and Justin Harding have joined forces as they look to take their Sunshine Tour practice day partnership into the pro ranks and will be hard to beat as they have some experience as partners.
While the exuberance of youth is definitely a threat this week, the combination of DiData winner Jaco Ahlers and in-form Vaughn Groenewald will take some stopping. Another team representing those with a few more years of golf under their belt, Trevor Fisher Jr and Ulrich van den Berg, would love to become the first team to engrave their name on the trophy.
Other pairings to watch this week are Cape duo Keenan Davidse and Peter Karmis, Jake Roos and Ruan de Smidt, Ockie Strydom and Daniel van Tonder, JC Ritchie and experienced Eastern Cape representatives Titch Moore and Wallie Coetsee.
Photo: Sunshine Tour
