Tshwane Open relocates
The Pretoria Country Club in the suburb of Waterkloof, with a history dating back to 1910, will this year be the new home of the Tshwane Open Golf Tournament.
After two highly-successful tournaments on the golf course of The Els Club, Copperleaf in Centurion, the Tshwane Open Golf tournament will relocate to be hosted for the first time at the Pretoria Country Club in Waterkloof.
The 105-year old club is the oldest in Pretoria. In the past two years the €1.5 million Tshwane Open, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and European Tour, has gained significant international exposure, rising from a global television reach of over 201 million households in 2013 to over 217 million households last year.
The tournament will take place from 12-15 March as a 72-hole stroke play championship with 18 holes played each day with a field of 156 professional golfers.
Though Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa could not attend the official launch of the tournament, he said in a statement his council’s aim in the introduction of the tournament as a sporting and tourism event was to position the city as a preferred destination.
“In the past two years we have built significant awareness about the event. Now it is time to maximize the awareness with even greater exposure of a tournament that will be played in the heart of the city,” Ramokgopa said.
“By moving the tournament to Pretoria Country Club, we are continuing to showcase our high value leisure and sporting facilities, as well as fully leveraging the more than 430 accommodation establishments we have in the city, not to mention the restaurants and shopping malls that benefit from the influx of golfers and fans to the city.”
Another significant legacy of the tournament has been the development of the game at the Mabopane Driving Range north of the city. Last year, this facility hosted a golf development clinic with golfers from five schools in the area who were coached by several professionals on the Sunshine and European Tours.
The Tshwane Open has also played a role in the growth of the Sunshine Tour’s international schedule the past two years, helping to establish South Africa as one of the most successful hosts of European Tour events around the globe.
“We are proud of our partnership with the City of Tshwane and the growth it has shown in only two years,” said Selwyn Nathan, the executive director of the Sunshine Tour.
“Through our partnership with the European Tour, the Sunshine Tour is able to offer incredible value for a host city, translating into the kind of economic benefits seen through the Tshwane Open. This is the kind of stimulation of a local economy that professional golf can provide.”
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