Andy Capostagno Golf
The weather gods have smiled mercifully on Randpark for the 89th South African Open. After the ceaseless downpours that reduced last week’s Alfred Dunhill Challenge to 54 holes at Houghton, the sun has shone, the wind has helped the drying process and although more rain is forecast for the weekend, it should be of the thunder shower variety, rather than the type that persuaded Noah to seek a competitive price for four by two.
The field is a good deal stronger too, thanks to the presence of two men who inhabit the rarefied atmosphere in the top 10 of the world rankings. Lee Westwood of England is sixth and Nick Price of Zimbabwe eighth. Neither has won the South African Open which, after the British version, is the oldest Open championship in the world, Westwood because he has never played in it before, Price because he has been a little unlucky.
Price, who turns 43 next week, said, “When you look at the champions roster for this tournament it’s obvious that everyone who’s anyone in South African golf has won it. I definitely want to have my name on the trophy before I hang my clubs up.”
Westwood, too, was well aware of the event’s history, quoting Gary Player’s 13 victories and Bobby Locke’s nine. He was less sure of his victory chances, however, revealing that his practice round at Randpark on Tuesday was his first 18 holes since the last round of the Million Dollar Challenge in the first week of December.
It is asking a lot of both players to be in contention and Price also admitted that he had done little since the Million Dollar. He joined friends and family on a Caribbean cruise for the millennium celebration and admitted rather sheepishly to having never before spent the festive season outside Africa.
His love of cricket is well documented, however, and he was delighted with his early tee time on Friday which will enable him to watch South Africa play Zimbabwe in a one day game at the Wanderers.
In the circumstances both men could be forgiven for spending the tournament applying oil to a few rusty hinges, and the winner is more likely to come from those who slogged their way across Houghton last week. The defending South African Open champion is David Frost who finished joint fifth at Houghton, while the last time the tournament was held at Randpark (in 1995) the winner was Retief Goosen whose final round 66 propelled him to fourth last week.
The course was toughened up for the 1995 tournament with 36 new bunkers added. Good summer rains had turned the rough into jungle and Goosen’s five-shot victory over Ernie Els owed much to the fact that he never needed to swap a five iron for a machete. He was particularly impressive on the par fives and this year it will again be down to the big hitters to tame the course.
Westwood is as big as most, but he admitted to needing two drivers to reach the 544 metre fifth hole off the back tee in practice.
For the shorter hitters such as Mark McNulty and Tony Johnstone, reaching any of the four par fives in two is probably out of the question.
So the advantage is with those who can hit the ball reasonably straight and a long way, especially given the fact that the fairways are a lot wider than they were in 1995.
Unfortunately for the players who rely more on finesse than brute strength, it is the latter rather than the former that will be needed at two of the par threes as well. In fact the tournament could well be won and lost on the closing stretch of four holes of exceptional severity.
The 15th and the 17th are both par threes that require a wood off the tee for all but the very longest players. The 15th is 229m long and the elevated tee tends to make a mockery of club selection. The 16th is a beautifully conceived dogleg with a dam on the left and expertly placed bunkers to catch the unwary.
The 17th is Randpark’s feature hole, a 210m par three with water all the way down one side and bunkers and terrifying rough down the right. It is the kind of hole that persuades most high handicappers to dig an old ball out of the bag for the tee shot and if the pin is tucked away for the final round on Sunday, four shots would not be a disaster.
Finally the 493m 18th is a proper par five, with a wide stream crossing the fairway 150m out, bunkers everywhere and a green that seems consistently to allow the golf ball to defy the laws of gravity. Andrew McLardy, who grew up playing Randpark and now campaigns on the European Tour could be one to watch this week.
Legend has it that he once broke the course record and his father was so excited that he forgot to replace the flag after his son had holed out at 18. Instead he carried it into the pub where he was found eventually by the irate group playing behind who had no idea where to aim their approach shots. McLardy senior apologised profusely, explained the situation and was told, “If he broke the course record, keep the flag.”