The Challenge Tour is picking up speed. After last week’s season kick-off with the SDC Open in Limpopo, the second division of the DP World Tour makes a mandatory stop in Cape Town. The Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open is the second of four consecutive tournaments to be played on South African soil this season.
The tournament takes place at a legendary venue of South African golf, the Royal Cape Golf Club, the first course built in the country back in 1885 and which has hosted the South African Open on ten occasions. In 1996, the Open at Royal Cape was won by a legend like Ernie Els, with three birdies in the last three holes to beat Brenden Pappas by one. In the 1965 Open, Gary Player became the first player to shoot under 70 in each round of the championship. Quite something.
The course is set in an idyllic setting with the spectacular Table Mountain in the background. This course is very different from last week’s at Zebula. Royal Cape is old-fashioned, with narrow fairways and where it is very difficult to calculate the wind on each shot. The presence of many trees and gusty wind makes it difficult to know the real intensity and direction of the wind, with players even feeling a different wind at ground level when the ball exceeds the tree canopy. Calculations on each shot become much more complicated. The wind is expected to increase over the weekend.
The two editions that have been played exclusively at Royal Cape Golf Club (2023 and 2021) have ended 14 and 15 under par. Due to its difficulty, the third hole, a par four despite its 450 meters, and the 14th hole, which was a real card grinder last year, stand out. On the other hand, the par fives are the most ‘affordable’ and offer more opportunities to gain strokes on the course, it will be vital to take advantage of them.
Seven Spaniards will be in the running in Cape Town in search of the Armada’s first victory of the year: Borja Virto, Alejandro Cañizares, Víctor Pastor, Ángel Ayora, Quim Vidal, Lucas Vacarisas and Joel Moscatel. Javi Sainz is on the verge of being able to play the tournament as the first reserve. He will have a chance to play until tomorrow. He needs a withdrawal.
This is the fifth consecutive year that the Challenge is played on this course and so far the Armada has accumulated four top 10s among the past four editions: Two from Iván Cantero (2023 and 2022), one from Manu Elvira last year and another from Santi Tarrio. The three now with a European Tour card. We will have to try to at least maintain the statistic.
Ángel Ayora (19 years old) will seek to maintain the sensations obtained last week in Limpopo where he had a great tournament and finished twelfth. The Marbella-born player has started the season showing a high level. In Australia and Mauritius, DP World Tour tournaments, he finished in 21st and 33rd place and in his professional debut in the Challenge he flirted with the top positions all week. He will play the first two rounds alongside Benjamin Follet-Smith, last year’s champion. The spotlight is beginning to focus on Ángel’s shoulders.
On the other hand, Alejandro Cañizares, Borja Virto and Lucas Vacarisas will be looking for their first points of the year after not making the cut last week.
