The famous Gary Player Country Club at Sun City will play host to the South African Open, which has been confirmed to take place from 3-6 December.
The 110th playing of the second-oldest national Open in golf, with prize money of R19.5 million, will complete a thrilling three-week run of co-sanctioned events by the Sunshine Tour and European Tour on South African soil.
The event will mark a second edition of South Africa’s premier golf event for the year following the original 2020 SA Open, which was held at Randpark Golf Club back in January.
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‘We would like to thank everyone involved in making it possible for the South African Open to go ahead at Sun City under difficult circumstances. The hard work done by the Sunshine Tour and European Tour as well as the support of the sponsors have ensured that the SA Open will continue to be a tournament that we can be proud of,’ said Grant Hepburn, chief executive officer of GolfRSA.
The cancellation of the 2020 Nedbank Golf Challenge means that the iconic venue of Sun City will indeed get a chance to feature this year.
Thomas Abt, commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, also expressed his delight to be able to confirm such a strong run of co-sanctioned tournaments at the end of the year.
‘To have three big tournaments such as the Joburg Open, Alfred Dunhill Championship and South African Open Championship in a three-week stretch of international golf of the highest calibre on South African fairways is truly a testament to the incredible relationship we have with the European Tour, and our strong partnerships with our sponsors. We are extremely grateful to Nedbank and Sun International for their decision to support our national Open in this way.’
European Tour CEO Keith Pelley is also excited to have South Africa part of the Tour’s restart plans since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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‘Since our season restarted in July, we have taken a measured approach to our tournaments, informed every step of the way by our medical advisers and Government guidance in the countries we play,’ he said.
‘We have also tried to stage consecutive tournaments, wherever possible, in geographical clusters to reduce the onus on international travel, which makes today’s announcement, following on from the news of the Joburg Open and the Alfred Dunhill Championship in preceding weeks on our schedule, all the more pleasing.’
