Tournament. That’s how we can define what’s coming up this week at the Fancourt Golf State. It’s a different week since the Dimension Data is the only tournament of the year in the Challenge Tour that is played in Pro-Am format. The competition also has another ingredient and that is that it is played on three different courses: Montagu, Outeniqua and a spectacular The Links. Therefore, the cut-off is set on Saturday and not on Friday. The setting is amazing as we are located in one of the most impressive resorts in South Africa. As an extra incentive, the tournament is the fifth highest prize purse of the year with €341,000 in prizes, only behind the Final in Mallorca, the tournaments in China and the Challenge in Italy. The professionals who win the team competition take home additional income. Everything adds up.
Outeniqua is the shortest course, with 6800 metres of course, almost 500 metres less than the other two courses in play this week and where the players will try to get as many birdies as possible. Montagu can be considered the most demanding test. As an example, last year eight of the eleven holes with the most bogeys of the week were on this course. The third course in contention is the spectacular The Links which has hosted several top-level tournaments such as the Presidents Cup in 2003, the South African Open in 2005 and the Volvo Golf Champions of the DP World Tour in 2012. This is a more open course that in good conditions can yield good results, however, it is expected that in the first two days there will be wind and rain. Those who play tomorrow in the afternoon shift seem to be the most disadvantaged. Patience and good handwriting as in addition to the bad weather there will be four-player starts (two professionals and two amateurs). Calmness and go for it.
Football and South Africa is a combination that has given us the greatest football joy in our history. Andresito’s goal is the greatest thing that has happened in the history of the Spanish National Football Team, but let’s not kid ourselves, the reality is that in the Challenge Tour, the connection with South Africa is not very winning. In fact, in the five seasons that the Challenge has travelled to these parts of the planet we have not achieved victory (0/16). Just one top 5 when four years ago Santi Tarrio signed the fourth place precisely in this same tournament. Different story is the idyll of the first division of the European Circuit in South Africa.
Five of ours will try to turn the situation around and hear the silence this Sunday on hole 18 at Fancourt Golf State. Lucas Vacarisas, Joel Moscatel, Quim Vidal, Víctor Pastor and Javi Sainz are the ones in charge of trying. They have not been lucky as all five will start tomorrow in the last shifts of the day. Borja Virto is waiting for the opportunity as he is currently the first reserve.
In this start of the season, among the Spaniards, the good performance of Ángel Ayora and his top 10 in the first tournament of the year and Pastor’s victory options last week stand out. However, the Armada seeks more, wants more and this week in South Africa they have the opportunity to break the curse. If there is an opponent, it is the local country itself that had not started without a victory in any of the two initial tournaments of the year in their country and they will not want to let the third one escape in Fancourt. Among the big title contenders, the South African Oliver Bekker stands out, defending champion of this Dimension Data Pro Am, who last year won with a lot of authority and a total of 22 under par.
