SA Open in Stellenbosch: Major incentive for Naidoo, Jarvis, Schaper and Co

There is plenty on the line besides the trophy and honour of being crowned SA Open champion when the 115th edition of the tournament tees off at Stellenbosch Golf Club on Thursday morning.

The other carrot dangling in front of the players is a direct pathway into two of this year’s Majors, namely the Masters in April, for the winner on Sunday, and the Open in July, for the top three placed men, who’re not already qualified.

There’s of course also the not-so-small matter of a winner’s cheque of $255,000, with the total pursue $1.5 million.

The defending champion this week is Dylan Naidoo, who won after a playoff against Laurie Canter in Durban last year.

“This has always been the one tournament that means the most to us as South Africans,” Naidoo told the DP World Tour website.

“There are a lot of events happening in the coming weeks in South Africa, but this is the one that has the weight, this one has the history, this one has the gravitas.

“It is a really, really exciting week. I am the defending champion, and I want to give it my absolute best.”

While Naidoo may well be in the mix later this week, fans will be on the look out for American Patrick Reed this week, the world ranked number 18 coming into the tournament on the back of two wins already this season on the DP World Tour.

Big-name stars in action

Local favourites include Casey Jarvis, who won in Kenya on Sunday, former winners Thriston Lawrence and Dean Burmester as well as Jayden Schaper, also a two-time winner on tour this season, and former five-time champion, veteran four-time Major winner Ernie Els.

Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Shaun Norris are also among the locals who’ll hope to raise the trophy on Sunday.

Stellenbosch Golf Club is hosting the SA Open for the first time since 1999, when David Frost won, and for just the second time in its history.

The course has undergone major changes since then, with it lengthened to 6,596 metres as a par 70.

A total of 15 tee boxes have been upgraded, with 10 of these built new or reconstructed, and five resurfaced. All 44 bunkers on the course have also been upgraded, and more trees have been planted in strategic areas on several holes.