The South African Open trophy hasn't left the country since 2018 – and Ben Coley doesn't expect that to change this week.
- Stellenbosch hosts SA Open for first time this century
- Patrick Reed goes for his third win of the year
- LIV Golf trio part of strong home challenge
Golf betting tips: South African Open
3pts e.w. Branden Grace at 22/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
3pts e.w. Dean Burmester at 22/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
In my opinion, the very worst (golf-related) opinion it's possible to hold is that you should be able to place the ball on the fairway if it has come to rest in a divot. Were this ever to become part of an already complicated set of rules, controversy would occur every single day on courses and tours the world over. Play would slow. And we'd lose part of the fabric of the game. Randomness and the idea of something unconquerable is kind of the point, something Scottie Scheffler spoke so wonderfully about last week.
Those who disagree may like to know that the last time the South African Open took place at Stellenbosch, Germany's Sven Struver lost the tournament in part because he had to make do with this unfortunate fate on the very last hole. Needing birdie to win and par for a play-off, Struver's drive did indeed find a divot. His second shot found water, he made double-bogey, and David Frost lifted the trophy instead.
Would it have been fairer had Struver been able to lift, clean and place his ball? Maybe. But what does fair really mean in golf? Why, in the uncontrolled environment of the outside world, should we strive for maximum control? Struver doubtless hit bad shots that contributed towards birdies that week. That a good shot led to his downfall is to his misfortune, but golf's overall benefit. Play it as it lies.
Reed all about it
Other than not wanting to talk about Casey Jarvis winning the Kenya Open, I'm not sure what the point of that was but let's hope for an equally dramatic finish to the South African Open, where Patrick Reed continues his pursuit of Race to Dubai points and another title on another continent, having captured the Dubai Desert Classic and the Qatar Masters since his shock departure from LIV Golf.
We know already that Reed will be returning to the PGA Tour in the autumn, and we know too that he'll eventually do so with his playing status boosted by capturing one of 10 cards available through the Race to Dubai. Already, his total of 2,259 points looks to be enough but he'll ease past 3,000 and his focus really ought to be on something bigger: topping the standings. To do that, perhaps 5,000 will be needed, and how he would love to deny Rory McIlroy his usual victory parade in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Some familiar faces will join Reed this week with Dean Burmester, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel all in the field, but the course won't be especially familiar to any of them. Stellenbosch has seen Sunshine Tour action since Frost won this title here but not since 2019, when Thriston Lawrence won in 15-under over 54 holes. That though was as a par 72 and it'll play as a stretched-out par 70 this week, at over 7,200 yards.
That's a chunky yardage for a course of this make-up – by way of example, only one non-major par 70 on the PGA Tour is longer – and unlike most events in South Africa, we're not at significant altitude here. With seven par-fours over 450 yards, including an eighth hole which was designed to play as a par-five, my sense is that we'll see strong off-the-tee players thrive. Reed even counts as one of those right now.
Rewinding to Frost, he said: "It’s a tough test. You’ve got to be so patient out here because the course can bite you at any time. It’s not necessarily about how good your good shots are, it’s about how bad your bad shots are." No wonder he felt that way, with five-under the winning score. Perhaps double-digits will be needed this time, but only just. With small greens to aim at, to me this looks like a demanding test of ball-striking and so it should be for such a historic title.
Of all the big-name South Africans in the field, Charl Schwartzel will be the one most desperate to win it. The former Masters champion is yet to get his hands on this trophy, which sets him apart among his generation, and at 41 years old, time is running out. He's been solid but unspectacular since finishing second at Doral last spring and while he's won at this level since joining LIV Golf, getting over the line in the one he really wants would be a serious achievement.
Preference is for BRANDEN GRACE, who is well worth another chance despite flattering to deceive in Joburg just before Christmas.
Grace was third with a round of the Alfred Dunhill remaining but couldn't buy a putt, particularly frustrating given his stats on the LIV circuit had been so good in the months leading up to his return home to South Africa.
There's no doubt the loss of a round and soft conditions were both against him though and as that was leg four of six top-10 finishes in a row, he really has found a return to something close to his best over the past few months. Setting aside the debacle of his return to LIV having been relegated and then failed to come through LIV Promotions, he's more than justified his place since.
Beginning this year, Grace closed with a round of 64 in Riyadh and then shot a second-round 64 in Adelaide, his approach play powering finishes of ninth and eighth, and there ought to be no let-up among members of the rebranded Southern Guards. They have a first LIV foray to South Africa coming up and will want to arrive in Steyn City primed – winning this title would be the perfect preparation.
And Grace has something almost every player in this field does not: positive course form at Stellenbosch. It's 20 years ago now, but he won the SA Amateur Stroke Play around here and neighbouring De Zalze, the most prestigious title of his amateur career. Returning to the scene of that success has to be a positive and, fundamentally, a good test of ball-striking should suit a player suited by tougher conditions in general.
Finally, there's the Masters to consider. While Schwartzel has his ticket for life, there are others here who are battling for an invitation which will go to the winner of the SA Open. It's a massive prize at DP World Tour level and we have to consider the added pressure it'll create on Sunday, so siding with not only players who don't have alternative paths but do have the class to handle that pressure makes sense to me.
The run of South African winners of this now stands at seven and if Grace doesn't make it eight, perhaps DEAN BURMESTER will.
Again, that Masters ticket makes this such a big opportunity for Burmester, who hasn't in fact played in it yet, and he returned to form at an ideal time with sixth place in Adelaide, where his final-round 65 was bettered only by the champion, Anthony Kim.
Back to his imperious best off the tee there and also improving his approach play and putting from a modest return in Riyadh, more of the same ought to make Burmester a massive threat as, like Grace, he bids to win this title for a second time.
The first did come at Blair Atholl, made for the longer drivers, but those meaty par-fours here at Stellenbosch should afford him the opportunity to reach for the big stick often. It looks like a driver-heavy course on paper and reports of thick rough could yet play into the hands of those as strong as he is.
Burmester has been a bit disappointing in his last handful of co-sanctioned starts but went back-to-back in the Joburg Open and this event at the end of 2023, returned a year later to win another Sunshine Tour title, and has operated at a 50% top-10 rate on home soil over the past five years.
He's won all the big ones bar the Alfred Dunhill Championship, where his issues at Leopard Creek have largely been his undoing, and a second SA Open title is well within his capabilities. I'm no LIV fan but he's won in each of the last two seasons on the breakaway circuit, both times under demanding conditions, and there really aren't many in this field who we can say are capable of that.
After that performance Down Under, where he made 23 birdies and an eagle to finish just behind Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, Burmester should arrive home ready to get back in the mix at a course which is flat and uncomplicated, but should be tricky enough to help separate the best players.
Schaper solid, Rozner on the rebound
Jayden Schaper's only blip since going back-to-back at the end of 2025 came in Bahrain, which says more about that funky course than it does the game of this rising star. At 56th in the world this isn't his only chance to make the Masters field but he will need a couple of big performances if he's to deservedly earn a first start at Augusta.
No doubt he's a big threat along with Angel Ayora, who will have learned plenty from another frustrating Sunday in Kenya. His tee-to-green performance was again outstanding but the competition here is a level up, with Reed, Schaper and the two selections all adding to the strength of the field along with the likes of Oliver Lindell, Marcus Armitage and Julien Guerrier. The price, on the other hand, is pretty much the same.
Armitage earned an Open spot through this event back in 2020 and could bounce back from Doha, while Guerrier played here in the 2006 World Amateur Team Championship and should benefit from that in some small way. Both are respected, but beyond Ayora the pick of the international challengers is probably Antoine Rozner, whose long-game has clicked again after an off-season manufacturer switch.
His compatriot David Ravetto is a player to keep an eye on, one who is long off the tee but has been going through a putting crisis which finally showed signs of abating last week. More improvements in that department combined with the right golf course would make him dangerous, while Dan Bradbury had his short-game to blame for a narrow missed cut and should enjoy a more traditional test of ball-striking.
Finally, we're just outside of Cape Town here and that made me think of Jason Scrivener, the Aussie who was in fact born in Cape Town and learned to play golf in Zimbabwe, before moving to Perth aged 10. He might enjoy being back here and it comes at a good time, as he's finished 16th, 24th and 23rd over his last three starts, every round par or better, and therefore completes the shortlist.
But if Stellenbosch plays anything like how I expect it to, we're in for a good test and a tournament dominated by the best players. Frost was one of those in 1999, Lawrence was certainly one of those 20 years later, and while last year's renewal threw up a surprise, that was over 54 holes at a rain-soaked, coastal course, and one of the favourites still looked set to win.
This week I think the big names will dominate. Perhaps Reed will make it three in four, Schaper three in not many more than that, or Ayora will learn quickly to bag the first of many. But it's two South Africans who will believe they merit places in the field for the Masters who I rate the best value, so we'll keep things nice and simple and hope they putt better than they did when selected in Johannesburg two months ago.
Posted at 18:00 GMT on 23/02/26
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