This year’s Joburg Open International Golf Championship saw 39 South Africans advance to the final two rounds of the tournament at the Houghton Golf Club, north of Johannesburg, Because of lightning the previous day, the second round had to be completed on Saturday morning. Around 75 golfers made the halfway cut and will now compete in Sunday’s final round for top honours and a lion’s share of the total prize purse of one million euros (R17 500 000).

Jordan Duminy, one of the City’s sponsorship invitees, was the final South African golfer to make the weekend cut. The 20-year-old Mossel Bay native was overjoyed with his chances of ultimate victory at the finals

Duminy praised the City of Johannesburg for giving him an opportunity to compete in this year’s edition of the 15-year-old tournament.

“I am honoured and delighted to have been given the chance to compete in the Joburg Open this year,” said Duminy, who turned professional at the age of 19.

Bongi Mokaba, the City’s Director of Events Management is pleased to play a part in the growth of South African golf.

“When we started the Joburg Open it was with the vision of it being a tournament that creates opportunities for the golfing fraternity and changes lives. This could be life-changing for Jordan Duminy, who made the cut to compete with the best in the world,” Mokaba said.

She added that having young golfers compete against seasoned professionals was a step forward in the transformation of the sport of golf, which is perceived to be elitist.

“I take pride in the City providing young players with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain international exposure,” Mokaba said.

The South African leading the crop of play into the final round is 31-year-old Boksburg-born Daniel van Tonder, who closed off in third place on 14 under par. He is three shots behind England’s Dan Bradbury, who leads the field on 17 under par. Second place is held by Finland’s Sami Välimäki on 16 under par.

Other notable South Africans in the top ten include Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Casey Jarvis on 12 under par, followed by fellow countryman Louis de Jager on 11 under par, Oliver Bekker on 10 under par, and Jbe’ Kruger on nine under par.

They all make up a strong local challenge of six South African golfers in the top ten as they seek to keep the coveted trophy on home soil in the Sunshine Tour and World DP tour co-sanctioned tournament.

Written by Luyanda Lunika