Tournament director Theo Manyama says it is vital that the first two rounds are completed before the elements intervene as the Sunshine Tour moves to the Wild Coast Sun Country Club this week.
The Nashua Masters begins on Thursday, but with bad weather predicted at the weekend, organisers will be faced with the possibility of disruptions in play in the 72-hole event.
“We have 138 players and after two rounds we have a cut of 65 and ties,” Manyama said.
“I just hope we can get through the first two rounds before the cut, because if we have weather interruptions then we have problems.
“Unfortunately, the weather prediction doesn’t look too good for us … We’ll be ok on Thursday I believe, and we might get some storms from Friday.”
The tour moves from the Highveld, where James Kamte triumphed last week at the Glendower Golf Club, though the challenge in Gauteng was completely different.
“We just came from Johannesburg last week, and the greens were the best I’ve seen [at Glendower] but the fairways were a nightmare because we didn’t have any rain there,” Manyama said.
“This week, we’ve got the best tees, the best greens, the best fairways. Everything is superb … But you know with the Wild Coast, everything will depend on the wind … If the wind blows, it’s a monster. If there is no wind, it becomes a very short golf course, where the players can make lots of birdies.”
Any rough?
Manyama said the forgiving nature of the rough would give the layers a break in an otherwise unpredictable tournament.
“One thing that is on the players’ side, and I don’t know how it happened this week, is there isn’t any rough,” he said.
“The rough is really far. To reach that rough you really need a very bad tee shot.”
Due to the nature of the tight grass on the fairways, Manyama believed the professionals would prefer to be in the first cut of rough than on the short grass on certain holes.
“On a par five, you would like to be just off the fairway rather than being on the fairway because you’ll need a three-wood to get to the green,” he said.
“You would get a better lie in the rough than you would in the fairway.”
The field includes last week’s champion, Kamte, as well as George Coetzee, who has had an impressive run on the European tour this season, defending champion Warren Abery, whose game is suited to the course, and experienced campaigners Darren Fichardt and Jean Hugo. — Sapa