The second oldest open competition in golf, the Investec South African Open Championship, returns for its 115th edition this week at Stellenbosch Golf Club.
Not only does South Africa’s national open have a long history, it also boasts a rich past, with the likes of Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els having all made their mark on the event over the years. Let us take you through the highlights of this fascinating story.
The early years
In 1892, the first South African Open - then known as the South African Tournament - was contested as an exhibition match play event with Denholm Walker winning the inaugural edition, before D G Proudfoot went on to win the title eight years in a row from 1893 through to 1902 (no tournaments were held in the Boer War years between 1900 and 1901).
Laurie Waters and George Fotheringham soon took advantage of it becoming a formal event in 1903 – with the former winning the first 36-hole stroke play edition, and the latter triumphing five times before the outbreak of the First World War.
The Brews era and the emergence of Bobby Locke
The Brews family made their first mark on their national open in 1921, with Jock Brews winning the event for the first time at Port Elizabeth Golf Club. This heralded the start of the ‘Brews Era’ with Jock and his younger brother Sid dominating the golf scene for many years to come - Jock winning four of his national opens and Sid victorious in eight.
Another new venue, Parkview Golf Club, was chosen for the 1935 tournament, and with it emerged one of golf's superstars, 17-year-old A D 'Bobby' Locke. Scores of 70-76-75-75 brought Locke his first title and heralded the start of the ‘Locke era’, which was to last 20 years and see him win his home open nine times and The Open Championship on four occasions.
The Player years
The great Gary Player took over the mantle from Locke and continued to put South African golf on the map, eclipsing Locke’s list of achievements in the process. In the 26 years between 1956 and 1981, Player won the South African Open a remarkable 13 times.
That period included a five-year winning streak from 1965 to 1969, with the last triumph in that run seeing the South African card a sensational final round 64.
A star is born
Player had left a vast void to fill and after his final victory at the South African Open Championship in 1981, the tournament had eight different winners in the next nine years, with five of those champions coming from outside of South Africa. 1992 was to prove another year to remember for South African golf fans, though, as a certain Theodore Ernest Els prevailed less than three years after joining the professional ranks.
Retief Goosen, another future South African Major winner, took the glory in 1995 before Els won the second of his five home titles a year later.
The DP World Tour era
The South African Open Championship has been co-sanctioned by both the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour for every editon barring one since 1997, with a strong tradition of home-grown success continuing via 19 native victories.
Masters Tournament winner Trevor Immelman won in successive years in 2003 and 2004, with Els claiming the latest of his wins in the 2011 edition on the DP World Tour at a staggering 31 under par.
England's Graeme Storm memorably defeated World Number Two Rory McIlroy in a play-off in 2017 but South Africans have won the last seven editions.
