A tough test lies ahead for the 364 golfers who will battle it out for the nine pre-qualifier spots available for the 107th edition of the BMW SA Open Championship next week.
Played over three golf courses – Irene Country Club, Benoni Country Club and Modderfontein Golf Club – the pre-qualifying round will afford players who were otherwise not exempt an opportunity to take part in the second oldest open championship in the world at Glendower Golf Club.
But, with only one round to play to earn a spot, players will know a simple and effective strategy will do.
‘You go all aggressive,’ said Ryan Cairns of how to approach what he calls a shoot-out bonus round.
‘I mean, this is like a shoot-out where if you get off to a great start, you just keep the foot on the gas.
‘It’s so tough but you also go into it with a relaxed mindset because you know there are only nine or so spots available, so you don’t go in like your life depends on it.’
And while Cairns isn’t too concerned about his own game going into this gruelling round of golf, members of the Gary Player Class of 2017-18 James Kamte and Jacquin Hess have been busy sharpening what they feel needs some work in their respective games.
Hess says while he has never qualified for this prestigious event before, he has been working hard to prepare for the round that might just earn him a spot in what would be his maiden BMW SA Open Championship tournament.
‘This, for me, will be the toughest qualifier I have ever played,’ Hess said.
‘I have one round there to take me to my first SA Open so the aim is to play positive golf and attack. I will go guns blazing because you never know what will happen. My strategy has been to play a solid first round in the events I have played and there will be no difference next week.’
Kamte, on the other hand, is playing his cards close to his chest regarding his prospects in the pre-qualifiers. He says he prefers to let the work he has been doing over the Christmas break speak for itself but, he too, is sure of one thing: playing the best round of golf he’s ever played.
‘This is a different ball game to the normal tournaments we play,’ Kamte notes. ‘I have to be at my best because if I bring a mediocre game, then I will not qualify and to me, the SA Open is a special event.
‘And, you know, if you qualify here, it gives you the confidence to perform during the main tournament so my aim is to play a solid round and get my spot so I can compete on the main tournament.’
This year’s edition at Glendower promises to be a spectacle, especially because some of the best local and international golfers will descend to South Africa with the hope of dethroning England’s Graeme Storm who won this title so dramatically in a third play-off hole last season against Rory McIlroy, to win his first European Tour title in 10 years.
Credit: Sunshine Tour
