Sport24.co.za | SA golfers tackle tournaments in Amsterdam and Michigan
Cape Town – Last week, Mbabane and Hamburg were on the collective minds of South African golfers as tournament destinations. This week, it’s Amsterdam and Michigan.
There’s the KLM Open teeing off at The International in the capital of Holland on Thursday, and the Greenbrier Classic at White Sulphur Springs for the resumption of the PGA Tour.
There’s no event on the Sunshine Tour this week as the next stop on the local circuit will be the Vodacom Origins of Golf Humewood in the Eastern Cape on September 26.
The Amsterdam tournament has a purse of €2 million (R32 411 631) and the South Africans in the hunt there include Brandon Stone, George Coetzee and Wilco Nienaber.
Leading the field are Martin Kaymer of Germany, Patrick Reed of the USA and Sergio Garcia of Spain.
Across the Atlantic, the PGA Tour event is officially called A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and it boasts a not too shabby purse of $7.5 million (over R110.3 million).
Branden Grace is flying the South African flag in a field led by Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson, while a few other big names take a break, including Brooks Koepka of the USA and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.
The world rankings heading into this week’s tournaments are led by Koepka, McIlroy, Dustin Johnson (USA), Justin Rose (England) and Justin Thomas (USA).
Grace sits 82nd on the global ladder, but three compatriots are ahead of him: Louis Oosthuizen (22nd), Justin Harding (53rd) and Erik van Rooyen (60th).