Rhys Enoch is relishing his return to the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open which takes place at Royal Cape Golf Club and Rondebosch Golf Club this week.
The Welshman, who now lives in South Africa after relocating with his wife and son, won the 2018 edition of the event and tees it up this week alongside five other past champions, including last year’s winner JC Ritchie.
Enoch is presented with a different challenge at this year’s Cape Town Open, having not played Rondebosch Golf Club before, but is excited at the prospect of spending a week in the Mother City.
“This year it’s slightly more difficult for me because I’ve never played Rondebosch before,” he said. “This is my seventh or eighth Cape Town Open at Royal Cape, so I’ve played here a lot. It’s a really nice old school track, very tree lined so you have to be accurate off the tee on most holes. Rondebosch is similar, slightly shorter, there’s a bit more rough.
“There are just so many different things to do within a half an hour drive of Cape Town. It’s just a special place, I don’t know what it is.
“That drive where you come over the hill and you can see the whole of Cape Town ahead of you, Lion’s Head in the distance. Every player loves to go to Camps Bay for an afternoon on the sand, by the sea, it’s just a special, special place.”
High winds are forecast for the first two days in the Western Cape and Enoch is expecting a battle with the wind swirling around the tree-lined Royal Cape Golf Club.
“I saw the forecast for 25mph winds for Thursday,” he said. “That makes it very tricky here, especially on the front nine at Royal Cape, it goes up and down and it switches, so you always seem to be into wind.
"The ball spins more in the wind and when it’s 25mph it’s very easy to hit the ball into the trees, so if the forecast is right then you’ll see some high scores on Thursday. If you can keep it to par or a couple under then you’ll be in nice shape.”
The Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open is the second of seven co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour events and Enoch, who won his first Challenge Tour title at the 2019 Slovakia Challenge, believes the relationship between the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour group presents an incredible opportunity for local players.
“I’ve got a few younger mates on the Sunshine Tour and it’s a huge opportunity for them to have good weeks,” he said. “One of my mates had a top ten last week, a Sunshine Tour player, so already he’s put his foot down on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
“It’s important for golf and it’s important for the Sunshine Tour, this relationship, and the European guys get to come and play some great courses, some great weather, meet some great people and, for them, it’s a long a lonely winter until May so it’s fantastic.”
The Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open will get under way at 6:50am local time on Thursday February 17, with Enoch teeing it up alongside Ritchie and England’s Lee Slattery at 7:10am.
