OPINION: No Grace and Schwartzel, but 12 SA golfers in hunt for Open glory

The world’s best golf tournament – the Open – tees off at St Andrews in Scotland on Thursday morning, with 12 South Africans in the field, all hoping to win the Claret Jug and be called champion golfer of the year.

South Africa’s most recent winner of the Open, Louis Oosthuizen, who triumphed at this very course in 2010 and was also runner-up in 2015, will be hoping to win a second Major, while Ernie Els, winner of the Claret Jug in 2012 and 2002, will also be in action, as a former champion.

Gary Player and Bobby Locke are the only other South Africans to win the Open Championship.

Unfortunately for South African golf fans wanting a new Major champion to celebrate, two of the country’s hottest golfers at the moment, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel, will not tee it up at the 150^th Open.

Grace, who finished in a tie for 24^th at last week’s Scottish Open and won the week before on the LIV Golf Tour in the US, and Charl Schwartzel, who won the first LIV Golf event in London a month ago, didn’t qualify to play this week.

However, with a total of 12 golfers in the field there are more than enough talented men to be in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

ALSO READ: Oosthuizen chasing second Major at St Andrews’ Open

Dean Burmester tied for 10^th at the Scottish Open, Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished in a tie for 16^th and Thriston Lawrence finished in a tie for 24^th.

The other well-known South Africans who’ll fancy their chances at the Old Course are Dylan Frittelli, Justin Harding, Garrick Higgo, Zander Lombard, Shaun Norris and Erik van Rooyen.

Aldrich Potgieter, the young South African who qualified to play in the Open after winning the Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes on June 18, is set for the biggest thrill of his life. He will play in a group with Russell Henley and former champion golfer of the year Henrik Stenson.

Four-time Major winner Rory McIllroy, who last week played a few rounds with Tiger Woods in Scotland for preparation, is the bookies’ favourite to win on Sunday.

Another thrilling few days of the Open await golf fans.

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