The Sunshine Tour resumes its schedule after the summer holidays with the Eye of Africa PGA Championship to be held from 31 January to 3 February.
The event, which began in 1923 as a match play tournament, and converted to its current stroke play format in 1965, returns to the 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 when he defended his title.
The format:
72 holes 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:
Matias Calderon (Chile) became the only non-South African to win the tournament in the last 11 years. He defeated Combrinck Smit, who was hot on his heels, by one stroke on 17-under par 271 last year.
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 18th green, Norman and his team included extensive bunkering and attempted to integrate the course seamlessly with its stunning natural surrounds.
Recent winners:
2018 – Matias Calderon
2017 – Erik van Rooyen
2016 – Jaco van Zyl
2015 – DNP
2014 – Titch Moore
Photo: Petri Oeschger/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images
