CELEBRATING GOLF

Welcome to our 11th edition of The Golf Mag!

Now, before you start scrolling. Our main feature is not Scottie Scheffler’s unbelievable march to victory in the Olympics, but don’t worry Scottie fans – we got you covered on page 5. After all, he was flawless on the final day with an impressive homebound loop of 29 and a closing round of 62 to equal the course record. The American underlined his world No 1 status by winning the gold medal in the men’s Olympic golf title by one shot, finishing on 19-under-par 265.

What isn’t impressive about that? But for us at The Golf Mag, this publication is first and foremost about celebrating our homegrown talents, our emerging stars and the talented individuals, the associations, the golf clubs and the supporters that put the South African golf industry among the best in the world. 

Our headline act this month is in fact Christiaan Bezuidenhout. After a prolific amateur career, Bez has reeled in three titles on the DP World Tour and with two runner-up finishes and six top-10s on the PGA Tour, he is the real deal. He has also had to overcome his share of challenges on the way to becoming South Africa’s top-ranked male golfer in the world and we delve into his journey as he continues to pursue a breakthrough on the world’s toughest circuit.

This month’s Rising Star feature stars Jonothan Broomhead, the winner of the season-ending Tour Championships on the Sunshine Tour. Jono followed a slightly different path to becoming a professional, but it seems to have paid off handsomely. It wasn’t until he was 21 that he started winning amateur events. But when he did, we stood up and took notice. He played exceptional golf to win one of GolfRSA’s major events, the SA Stroke Play Championship in 2022, and we knew at that point just how good he was.

One of the strengths of the amateur golfing system in South Africa is that all its moving parts tend to pull in the same direction. Because of this, talented youngsters are identified early. Many go on to join elite academies or foundations and compete at open events against strong competition. A select few are invited to join the GolfRSA National Squad. This is by no means a guarantee of success, nor does it mean that players who weren’t part of the Squad won’t go on to achieve great things and have successful careers. The Squad simply offers added guidance and additional opportunities to promising young players.

Players like Casey Jarvis and Martin Vorster were in their early teens when they joined the Squad. Lisa Coetzer, featured in this issue, is just 14 and has many years of being part of the Women’s Elite Squad ahead of her. With players such as these, it is clear from early on that they have the potential to be future stars of the game.

But players like Jono prove there are many different routes to becoming a professional golfer and no one knows this better than Sunshine Tour stalwart Thabang Simon, who at the age of 48, won the Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament. It certainly hasn’t been an easy path for him, but he’s kept at it and is ready to show the youngsters that age is just a number.

The R&A, one of golf’s two governing bodies, governs the sport on behalf of more than 61-million golfers in 146 countries, and stages over 30 championships, including some of the most prestigious amateur events in the world. They stepped up their efforts to grow golf in Africa in the past two years with the launch of several initiatives, including the Africa Amateur Championship and Amateur Women’s Invitational, and the launch of the Africa High Performance Programme in 2022. We delve into their efforts to grow the game in Africa.

Golf in South Africa, and in Africa, has also received a huge injection of support from The R&A. In the past few decades, it has transcended the confines of the golf course. It’s a platform for socialisation, networking and business relationships, and it has shown its ability to unite communities around the world.

Let us continue to embrace the values of sportsmanship, respect and friendship that define the game, and celebrate golf as a catalyst for economic development and social change in communities in our beautiful country. Sit back and enjoy top golfers’ journeys, the fabulous photo galleries and the videos as we highlight the country’s best talents, top courses and industry partners!

Grant Hepburn

CEO GolfRSA

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IMAGE: BEN JARED/PGA TOUR/IGF