Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i Compleat Golfer

2 The Open Championship, Royal Portrush There are few things in professional sports that can compete with a golf tournament in Ireland. The Irish have developed a reputation across the globe as the most fun-loving bunch you could come across This stays true at any Irish golf event. So when the oldest championship in the sport went to Royal Portrush, there was a lot of hype to live up to. Oh, and did it. The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019 is without a doubt the best event I have ever played. The course was incredible, littered with some of the best links holes on this planet. Yet that wasn’t my favourite part of the week. There was a level of festivities around the place that is difficult to explain.…

01 it’s the one trophy that reduces grown men to tears. That’s what sport can do to people. As South Africans we have enjoyed sharing in the triumphs of our sports teams and individuals. The Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup three times, Bafana Bafana’s 1996 Afcon success. Olympic gold medals from Penny Heyns, Josia Thugwane, Caster Semenya, Chad le Clos, Wayde van Niekerk and others. Boxing’s great nights featuring Brian Mitchell, ‘Baby Jake’ Matlala, Welcome Ncita. Vuyani Bungu, Corrie Sanders, among others. Even Brad Binder’s historic MotoGP win in Portugal. But, golf somehow feels different. Maybe it’s because of the emotional rollercoaster that lasts four days. Like each time Ernie Els won his four Majors, Louis Oosthuizen took the 2010 Open Championship and Trevor Immelman and Chari Schwartzel won…

When it comes to a world-class parkland golf experience, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington is a standout location on the South African landscape. The club has hosted a wide variety of local and international amateur and professional events, with the East Course being a marquee attraction of which the members of the club are particularly proud. But when you speak of the West Course, there is a different level of enthusiasm. Because it is here where you get a golfing experience that allows you to fall in love with the game and, no matter the season, will provide a truly enjoyable way to spend a morning or afternoon. The story of the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club began back in 1890, A privately owned members club where visitors were welcome,…

Next time you’re teeing it up with new faces in a fourball – don’t you just love how golf can throw virtual strangers together for a few hours at a time? - try to stop yourself from doing what has become second nature. You simply won’t be able to resist. It’s the action of looking at the clubs in someone else’s golf bag. You probably even stretch out your hand and ask for a ‘feel’ of their driver, give it a few swings, and say, ‘nice’. That’s even before a ball has been hit off the 1st tee. And so it goes through a round. Feeling out someone’s putter, their irons. Sometimes even checking the pockets and compartments on their golf bag. That’s one of the beauties of someone else’s…

On the surface, ‘Qualifying School’ sounds quite lovely – the words would leave most people feeling hopeful and excited. It’s the chance to play a single tournament which could turn you into a professional golfer. Sign me up! But the truth is, these two words have never really captured the other side of the coin, as brutal realities of this event have laid waste to the careers of thousands of aspiring players over the years. It’s a rolling tally which is now multiplying exponentially before the first tee shot is even struck at the beginning of each new season, as more young players come through the amateur golf ranks seeking their shot at stardom. Qualifying School is more like playing for the only chance you will get to secure your…

When they turned professional in June 2019, Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa were ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd among the world’s amateurs. The trio represented the latest wave of youngsters entering the men’s professional game, at ages 21,20 and 22. Those watching from afar pulled their chairs a little closer to the TV. They all came with glittering CVs, having dominated the amateurs and here they were, already wealthy, having signed lucrative equipment deals. Morikawa was quickest out of the blocks and went 22 starts without missing a halfway cut, something only Tiger Woods has bettered starting out as a pro. Only two years have elapsed, but already Morikawa is a two-time Major champion and has reached a career-high No 2 in the World Ranking. Did we say…

It’s that time of the Sunshine Tour season when the big summer events are played, with a Lot at stake for the professionals. And that means a need to be extra sure of the rules. During the SA PGA Championship at St Francis Links, Steve Surry had the misfortune of incurring a penalty on the 16th hole in his third round. After searching for his ball in the rough left of the fairway, a ball was found in the thick vegetation for which St Francis Links is well known. The rules state you should identify your ball as part of your search for it, but they also say that you have to mark the ball first. Unfortunately, without even realising he had done so, Surry picked up his ball without…

KwaZulu-Natal’s Lyall McNeill got his senior golfing career off to a flying start when he won the 2021 South African Senior Amateur Championship on debut at Glendower Golf Club. The 50-year-old from Durban Country Club has had three wins and two runner-up finishes in his five senior starts and was selected to represent the Coastal team at the inaugural Coastal vs Inland Challenge at St Francis Links in December. ‘It’s been an amazing start and to stand here, holding the SA Senior Amateur trophy is incredible,’ said McNeill. ‘This was the first big tournament I played since I joined the senior circuit and I looked forward to it with some trepidation, but it has just been amazing. I feel honoured and proud to leave as the champion’ McNeill began the…

Sloths are known for their slowness of movement and spending most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the tropical rainforests of South and Central America. Reaching a top speed of 0.27km/h when threatened, they have made being ‘slothful’ one of the seven deadly sins. Lyle ‘Sloth’ Rowe is a three-time winner on the Sunshine Tour and, while his golf might not be quite as glacially slow as a sloth in full panic-mode flight, he brings a certain relaxed attitude to the way he goes about preparing for his tournament game. He’s been called ‘Sloth for as long as he has been on the Sunshine Tour, since 2009. And, if anything, he’s become even more calculated in the way he goes about things. ‘As you get older,…

Its no secret that professional golf, across all Tours, is full of fearless and exciting young players. Jon Rahm, the world No 1, is only 26 years old, while the likes of Collin Morikawa (3rd), Patrick Cantlay (4th), Xander Schauffele (Sth), Justin Thomas (6th) and Bryson DeChambeau (7th) are all still in their twenties. Whereas in the past it may have taken some time for youngsters to find their feet on Tour, today’s rookies are feeling right at home from the start and are clocking up the tournament wins. The following players look set to light up world golf for a long time. 1 Collin Morikawa [24] It’s hard to believe the third-best golfer on the planet is only 24 years old. Barely out of university, Collin Morikawa has already…

A new golf comedy is soon to be released as a movie and while it might not hit the heights of Happy Gilmore or Caddyshack, at least it is inspired by true events. Phantom of the Open relates to the 1976 Open Championship when a 46-year-old set the worst score in the famous event’s history Maurice Flitcroft Is played by Oscar winning actor Sir Mark Rylance, who admits he was thrilled’ to be given the part The director did not need to look up a British actor who played golf when scouting tor the lead role, because Flitcroft was more conman. less golfer. He didn’t have a handicap and he lived in a small council house and the golf bug bit when he watched the pros on a new colour…

Hole No 5.105m.par three Among the standout features of the West Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington are the par threes; each different in just about every way, with the 5th hole in particular laying claim to the title of the course’s signature hole. Chris Bentley. the Royal johannesburg and Kensington CEO and PGA Professional of the Year 2021 shares his approach to the hole. ’When it comes to a hole that best defines the West Course, it is without a doubt the short par-three 5th Playing just over 100m from the club tee. it may seem rather straightforward and easy But design-wise it just offers so much, starting with the tee box. set among tail pine trees that narrow your focus on to the green. Most players with little…

South Africa’s No 2-ranked Kiera Floyd put on a display of superb shot-making as she surged to a 10-stroke victory at the Ladies A Division of Golf RSA’s Club Champion of Champions tournament. In the men’s division, things were a lot tighter, as former champion Bertie Steenkamp held on to beat Cole Cruickshank by a stroke. With men’s and women’s club champions from three divisions represented, there was plenty to celebrate at Kyalami Country Club as the dust settled on another year-long tournament, where players who won their club championships progressed to a regional final, before qualifying for the national final. Floyd was in great form in the latter part of the year, with three provincial titles since August. The 17-year-old club champion at Ebotse followed up her opening round…

DECEMBER PICK OF THE MONTH SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN GARY PLAYER COUNTRY CLUB 2-5 DECEMBER 2020 revisited: Christiaan Bezuidenhout became the first golfer in three years to win back-to-back events on the European Tour. What made it even more special for Bezuidenhout is that his victory came at the 110th South African Open. ‘It’s unbelievable to stand here with an Open win,’ Bezuidenhout said. ‘It’s any South African golfer’s dream to win a national tournament. It’s unreal.’ Bezuidenhout, who is from Delmas in Mpumalanga, earned his third win on the European Tour in 2020. Seven days earier, his win at the Dunhill Championship got him back into the top 50 in the World Ranking. He also landed in the top five of the Race to Dubai standings and would be a…

Fiji’s Vijay Singh used a borrowed driver to hold off a determined challenge from Nick Price to win the South African Open at Glendower. Singh who earned R529 300 for his 20th worldwide victory cracked his own driver on the range live minutes before he was due to tee off in the first round on the Thursday ‘My spare driver was at the hotel but fortunately I had a Great Big Bertha in my bag which had been lent to me by fellow pro Bruce Vaughan.’ he said. ‘I’d been trying it out the previous day and forgot I still had it with me. I didn’t have much option but to use it in the first round, but it worked so well that I used it all week.’ The 33-year-old…

It seems strange to call Cameron Tringale a ‘nearly man’ on the PGA Tour. After all, the American is only 34 years old and there’s plenty of time for him to rack up his first win on the Tour. He’s been a professional for the better part of 12 years, but is still chasing that elusive breakthrough. You would think that someone who has spent a decade on the PGA Tour and is ranked inside the top 60 in the world would have shaken off the bridesmaid’s tag by now. Not that he hasn’t come close. He’s been second four times on the PGA Tour, most recently at the Zozo Championship in October, where he finished runner-up to reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. One win will bring two, surely. Not…

A CORNER DEDICATED TO GOLF’S TRIERS I was sitting and thinking (sometimes I just sit) about Rory McIlroy the other day. I was thinking about his tearful interview at the Ryder Cup. when he seemed utterly distraught about the fact he couldn’t turn on a tap and play well Then, three weeks later, he won the Cl Cup in Las Vegas. That’s when I started thinking [took your time, says my wife). I was thinking about McIlroy’s standing in the game and how he might be remembered And I was thinking about how hard it must be to grow up in public. And I was thinking particularly about something he said after winning the CJ Cup. There was a lot of reflection the past couple weeks and this is what…