– The South African Open was first held in 1903. It is one of the oldest golf tournaments in history, probably the third, after the Open Championship and the US Open. We say probably because even experts in the field do not always agree on when the first edition of a tournament should be considered. Be that as it may, according to the official count, this week will see the 114th South African Open. A Spaniard has never won. A Spaniard has never finished second.
– The tournament kicks off on Thursday and is held at the Durban Country Club, a living history of the event, hosting the South African Open on 18 occasions. The first time was in 1911 and the last in 2011. More than any other course. Another headache for the Armada. A lethal connection.
– It can be said that the South African Open is the DP World Tour tournament that offers the worst dividends to Spaniards. Since it was integrated into the European Tour calendar in 1997, that is, 27 editions, a total of 42 different Spanish golfers have played this tournament. The first thing to say is that we have played it little. Moreover, it is an event where, for example, Seve Ballesteros or José María Olazábal have never been, not even before it became part of the DP World Tour, and Miguel Ángel Jiménez, with his 723 tournaments in total on the European circuit, only visited once.
– The best result by a Spanish golfer in the South African Open was the fourth place achieved by Pablo Martín Benavides in 2010, a year it was held at Glendower and he led on Sunday with a one-shot advantage. It is by far the best performance by the Armada in this tournament. Additionally, in 27 editions, Spain has barely achieved six top 10s, another by Pablo Martín and four more shared between Nacho Garrido, Paco Cea, Alex del Rey, and Alejandro Cañizares. Only two top 5s have been achieved, by the aforementioned Pablo Martín and Alex del Rey, and twenty top 25s, which equates to much less than one per tournament.
– The Spanish golfer with the most top 25s is Jorge Campillo with four. Interestingly, the Extremaduran will become this week the member of the Armada with the most participations in the history of the South African Open, with a total of seven. He leaves behind Nacho Garrido and Pablo Martín, with whom he is currently tied at six.
– In 2025, seven Spanish players will participate, two of them debuting in the tournament: Ángel Ayora and Alfredo García Heredia. The others are Jorge Campillo, Alex del Rey, returning to the competition, Iván Cantero, Manu Elvira, and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Joel Moscatel could be the third debutant if he ends up entering the tournament. At the time of writing this article, he is the second reserve.
– The Durban Country Club has not been very favourable to Spaniards either. Three editions have been played since it became part of the DP World Tour calendar (1998, 2005, and 2011), and the balance is six different participants, three cuts made, and one top 10, the seventh place by Nacho Garrido in ’98. To make matters worse, Rafa Cabrera Bello was disqualified in 2011. Of those playing this year, only the Canary Islander has been there before.
– The best stroke average by Spaniards in the South African Open, always since it became part of the DP World Tour and with a minimum of 12 rounds played, is by Alejandro Cañizares with 70.
– Beyond the Spaniards, the Durban Country Club has produced winners of great prestige throughout history. Not to mention, in the last edition of 2011, the top four finishers were Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Louis Oosthuizen, and Charl Schwartzel. Quite something. Additionally, among the winners of the South African Open in Durban are Gary Player, in three of the thirteen times he won the tournament, Bobby Locke, Tony Johnstone, Wayne Westner, or Bob Charles.
– The Durban Country Club is a very short course, not reaching 6,200 metres. It’s curious. It starts with one of the historically most difficult holes, the 1st, and ends with the easiest, the 18th, a short par 4 that can be reached in one. This year it plays at 292 metres, while in 2011 it was barely 245 metres. Times have changed in fourteen years. Other challenging holes are the 5th and the 11th. In 2011, Ernie Els won with -31 and Retief Goosen finished second with -30. If conditions are not too challenging, we can expect to see very low scores.
