Historic SA Open for Durban Country Club
10 March 2010, 14:25
By Suren Naidoo
Durban is not only gearing up for the World Cup in June but also for another honour: in summer the city's world-renowned Durban Country Club will be hosting the 100th SA Open - the world's second-oldest golf championship.
The tournament in December is set to be the most high-profile SA Open in years because of its 100th anniversary milestone and it is expected to attract some of the top golfers in the world, competing for prize-money of €1 million (R10m).
Durban has hosted the championships 21 times and the country club will be hosting the event for the 17th time - the most of any country club in South Africa.
The event will be even more special for the DCC because it comes in the wake of a R60 million revamp of the facility, which has seen it climb the ranks to 95 on the list of the top 100 country clubs in the world.
The DCC is the only club in South Africa featured on the influential US-based Golfing Digest list.
"Hosting the SA Open is going to be a money-spinner for the city with some 40 000 spectators expected and huge global exposure from being beamed live to some 970m viewers worldwide," DCC chief executive Ann Robbie said.
"It is a major event and we are already gearing up for the tournament, which is expected to further boost the profile of the DCC and Durban.
"This is a huge coup for us to be bringing back the SA Open to the DCC in this milestone year, not only for the tournament but South African sport in general in 2010.
"The centennial is going to be a gala celebration with big names expected, especially most of South Africa's top golfers, including Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and even Durban-born Tim Clarke among 150 starting competitors.
"Don't be surprised to see other international players compete because this is a special year and there's going to be increased exposure and activities around the event."
The SA Golf Association and championship promoters Maru Sport made the announcement in December, but Robbie says there will be a major promotional drive planned with Tourism KZN during May's Tourism Indaba in Durban.
"The SA Open has been taking place at the Pearl Valley Golf Estate in Franschhoek in the Western Cape and with the Dubai World crisis which impacted that estate, we managed to secure the landmark 2010 event," Robbie said.
"But we could not have done this without the support of the KZN provincial government, which has been incredible in giving financial support to bring the 100th SA Open to Durban this year.
"After the British Open, it's the second-oldest national open in golf in the world, having been contested since 1893.
"The SA Open remains one of the most sought-after titles in the game as the flagship event on the Sunshine Tour, and with it enjoying special status on the official world golf rankings by being the second event of the prestigious Race to Dubai rankings on the European Tour," she added.
"The last time the Durban Country Club hosted the SA Open was in 2005 and when Pearl Valley secured the event for a three-year period in 2007, many thought that it would be difficult to lure the event back to Durban.
"But we've brought it back here for the most important SA Open in the 2000s."
Making the announcement in December, Maru Sport chief executive Mosire Motsei said they were delighted to be able "to take the South African Open back to the one course in this country which has such close ties with the history of this great championship".
"In association with the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we look forward to celebrating 100 years of South African golfing history in what is not only a significant sporting year for the championship, but for our country as a whole," Motsei said.
Durban is not only gearing up for the World Cup in June but also for another honour: in summer the city's world-renowned Durban Country Club will be hosting the 100th SA Open - the world's second-oldest golf championship.
The tournament in December is set to be the most high-profile SA Open in years because of its 100th anniversary milestone and it is expected to attract some of the top golfers in the world, competing for prize-money of €1 million (R10m).
Durban has hosted the championships 21 times and the country club will be hosting the event for the 17th time - the most of any country club in South Africa.
The event will be even more special for the DCC because it comes in the wake of a R60 million revamp of the facility, which has seen it climb the ranks to 95 on the list of the top 100 country clubs in the world.
The DCC is the only club in South Africa featured on the influential US-based Golfing Digest list.
"Hosting the SA Open is going to be a money-spinner for the city with some 40 000 spectators expected and huge global exposure from being beamed live to some 970m viewers worldwide," DCC chief executive Ann Robbie said.
"It is a major event and we are already gearing up for the tournament, which is expected to further boost the profile of the DCC and Durban.
"This is a huge coup for us to be bringing back the SA Open to the DCC in this milestone year, not only for the tournament but South African sport in general in 2010.
"The centennial is going to be a gala celebration with big names expected, especially most of South Africa's top golfers, including Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and even Durban-born Tim Clarke among 150 starting competitors.
"Don't be surprised to see other international players compete because this is a special year and there's going to be increased exposure and activities around the event."
The SA Golf Association and championship promoters Maru Sport made the announcement in December, but Robbie says there will be a major promotional drive planned with Tourism KZN during May's Tourism Indaba in Durban.
"The SA Open has been taking place at the Pearl Valley Golf Estate in Franschhoek in the Western Cape and with the Dubai World crisis which impacted that estate, we managed to secure the landmark 2010 event," Robbie said.
"But we could not have done this without the support of the KZN provincial government, which has been incredible in giving financial support to bring the 100th SA Open to Durban this year.
"After the British Open, it's the second-oldest national open in golf in the world, having been contested since 1893.
"The SA Open remains one of the most sought-after titles in the game as the flagship event on the Sunshine Tour, and with it enjoying special status on the official world golf rankings by being the second event of the prestigious Race to Dubai rankings on the European Tour," she added.
"The last time the Durban Country Club hosted the SA Open was in 2005 and when Pearl Valley secured the event for a three-year period in 2007, many thought that it would be difficult to lure the event back to Durban.
"But we've brought it back here for the most important SA Open in the 2000s."
Making the announcement in December, Maru Sport chief executive Mosire Motsei said they were delighted to be able "to take the South African Open back to the one course in this country which has such close ties with the history of this great championship".
"In association with the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we look forward to celebrating 100 years of South African golfing history in what is not only a significant sporting year for the championship, but for our country as a whole," Motsei said.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on March 10, 2010
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