The 2021 Joburg Open Pro-Am saw 90 amateurs take to the greens paired with 30 professionals playing in a four-ball alliance, led by former City of Joburg Executive Mayor Cllr Mpho Moerane, Sunshine Tour Executive Director Selwyn Nathan, Stephen Nale of the City and a professional golfer Wilco Nienaber, a runner-up of 2020 Joburg Open, at the Firethorn Course at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg yesterday, 23 November 2021.
Adhering to Covid-19 compliance regulations and protocols for non-contact sports, similarly to when the 2021 Joburg Open gets underway at Randpark on Thursday, 25 November 2021, a smaller field of 156 players will take to the greens.
On arrival at the tournament earlier this week, each player, all caddies and tournament staff produced vaccination certificates and underwent mandatory Covid-19 testing. This will continue for the duration of the tournament. Everyone is expected to undergo daily temperature screening before play as stringent protective measures for all professional golfers, caddies as well as tournament staff.
Among the Pro-Am field today, two-time winner Richard Sterne, who claimed bragging rights in 2008 and 2013, was one of the heavyweights partnered with Patrick Makhubedu, General Solly Shoke and Ruth Mokgatle for the 2021 edition of the event.
Other notable figures included George Coetzee, a former Joburg Open Champion as well as previous top 10 finishers: Daniel van Tonder, Jaco Ahlers, and Justin Walters.
Thomas Abt, the Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said the Joburg Open – which tees off on Thursday 25 November – had showcased the City of Johannesburg to millions of TV viewers worldwide since its inception in 2007.
City of Johannesburg’s Director of Events Bongi Mokaba, who was the programme director at the prize giving ceremony, said she was pleased that the Joburg Open Pro-Am had gone exceptionally well.
She said this year’s edition was hosted in honour of the late City of Joburg Mayors, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo and Cllr Jolidee Matongo.
“2021 was a tough year for the City of Johannesburg. It has never happened anywhere else before where we lost two mayors in a short space of time, we decided to brand the 18th hole in the Firethorn Course with a beautiful picture of the two mayors of the City who lost their lives in a quest to serve the residents of Joburg,” said Mokaba.
A moment of silent was observed in respect of their passing. Makhubo and Matongo families were present at the event and were presented with tokens of appreciation in a form of silver memorial plates engraved with the former mayors’ pictures.
Group Head for Communications and Marketing in the City of Johannesburg Georgina Lefifi thanked the sponsors and partners for their commitment and continued support for Joburg Open over the years.
“Our gratitude goes to the sponsors and partners, your commitment and continued support of this tournament over the years is a testament and a clear indication of how public-private partnerships can yield better results in delivering major programmes,” concluded Lefifi.
Written by Luyanda Lunika