The Joburg Open is a men's professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
tournament that is held in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, South Africa. It is an event on the Southern Africa-based
Sunshine Tour
The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...
and co-sanctioned by the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
, which attracts a larger prize fund and stronger fields. It is one of several tournaments in South Africa on the European Tour's international schedule, and until 2017 was one of the events where high-finishing players earned entry into
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
if not already exempt.
History
The event was founded in 2007 and was played at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
until 2017. The tournament was contested over both the West and East courses for the first two rounds, enabling a large field of 210 competitors, with the final two rounds being played over the East course following a
cut
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut (ea ...
to the top 65 and ties.
Originally contested in January or February, the tournament moved to December in late 2017 and became a tri-sanctioned event with the
Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...
joining the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour in sanctioning the event; the number of players in the field increased from 210 to 240. The December 2017 event was part of the
2018 European Tour
The 2018 European Tour is the 47th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972 and the 10th edition of the Race to Dubai.
The Race to Dubai was won by Italian Francesco Molinari, who was also named Golfer of the Ye ...
. Having not been held in 2018 or 2019, in October 2020 it was announced that the tournament would be revived in November 2020, when it would be played at Randpark Golf Club.
The 2021 event was shortened due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in place in the UK from South Africa. Originally the event was shortened to 54 holes to allow international players to travel back home in time. However, the following day rain and the threat of lightning shortened the event even further to 36 holes.
Thriston Lawrence
Thriston Lawrence (born 3 December 1996) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He claimed his maiden victory on the European Tour in the weather-shortened Joburg Open in 2021 and ...
was the eventual winner.
Winners
Notes
References
External links
*
Coverage on the European Tour's official siteCoverage on the Asian Tour's official siteCoverage on the Sunshine Tour's official site
{{Greater Johannesburg, sports
Sunshine Tour events
European Tour events
Former Asian Tour events
Golf tournaments in South Africa
Sports competitions in Johannesburg
Recurring sporting events established in 2007
2007 establishments in South Africa