Cape Town will host the finest young stars from both the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour in this week’s Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open which is the second of a run of seven co-sanctioned tournaments, and with recent champion Alexander Knappe declaring these events as a real gamechanger for their careers.
Knappe, the winner of last week’s Dimension Data Pro-Am, forms part of a strong field gathered at both Royal Cape Golf Club and Rondebosch Golf Club this week.
There are six former champions in the field this week including defending champion JC RitchIe as well as Jaco Ahlers, Rhys Enoch, Jake Roos, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Anton Karlsson.
There are also a host of players hungry to go one better than their second-place finishes in this tournament such as Jacques Blaauw, Zander Lombard, Peter Karmis, Ockie Strydom, Steve Surrey, Hennie Otto, Michael Hollick and Jaco van Zyl.
But as Knappe has pointed out, there is a greater benefit for every single player in terms of the opportunity created by this series of tournaments.
“These seven tournaments in Africa to start our season with are really important. We would usually start in May, and that is half a year off if we didn’t have these tournaments with the Sunshine Tour,” said Knappe.
“We’re grateful to the Sunshine Tour for co-sanctioning these tournaments with the Challenge Tour and putting up such great tournaments. The golf courses here are always great and the tournaments are so well run. And most importantly, it keeps us playing because we have a long season with a great schedule and increased prize money. It means a lot to us as players.”
Knappe’s view aligns perfectly with sponsor Bain’s Whisky’s philosophy for this tournament.
“Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky is expertly crafted in South Africa and celebrated internationally for its fresh approach on traditional whisky making, which has included winning the world’s best single grain whisky twice in the last decade. Similarly, we are proud to support a tournament in Cape Town that resonates with a global audience. Opportunity is a key ingredient to success and we’re delighted to support both the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour players with yet another opportunity to develop their careers,” said Kavir Gangiah, Distell Group Media, Sponsorship and Events Lead for Southern Africa.
The Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open celebrates its 10th anniversary this week, marking a decade of the city of Cape Town’s proud support of international golf on local fairways.
“I am delighted to welcome the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open and its participants to the Mother City. The Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open has remained one of the mainstays of the city’s annual events calendar over the last decade and has consistently increased in popularity,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“Council recently approved a new three-year agreement with the Southern Africa PGA Tour for the City of Cape Town to continue sponsorship of the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open.”
The tournament will be played on both the Royal Cape Golf Club and Rondebosch Golf Club courses. The first two rounds will be played on both golf courses, and the final two rounds will be played solely at Royal Cape Golf Club.
A maximum of 2 000 fully vaccinated spectators will be allowed per day.
Following this week in Cape Town, the remainder of the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour co-sanctioned schedule is as follows:
24-27 February – $250 000 Jonsson Workwear Open (Durban CC and Mt Edgecombe CC)
3-6 March – $250 000 Mangaung Open (Bloemfontein GC and Schoeman Park GC)
24-27 March – $250 000 SDC Open (Zebula Golf Estate & Spa and Elements Private Golf Reserve)
31 March – 3 April – $250 000 Limpopo Championship (Euphoria Golf & Lifestyle Estate and Koro Creek Bushveld Estate)
7-10 April – $275 000 Mount Kilimanjaro Klassic (Kilimanjaro Golf & Wildlife Estate)