Africa Open
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Established | 2008 |
| Course(s) | East London Golf Club |
| Par | 73 |
| Length | 6,632 yards (6,064 m) |
| Tour(s) | Sunshine Tour European Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | €1,000,000 |
| Month played | February |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 265 Louis Oosthuizen (2012) |
| To par | −27 Louis Oosthuizen (2012) |
| Current champion | |
 Darren Fichardt | |
The Africa Open is a golf tournament on the Sunshine Tour that was first contested in February 2008, over the Gary Player designed championship course at the Fish River Sun Country Club, near Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, South Africa.[1]
In order to increase the profile of the tournament, since 2009 it has been held in January at the East London Golf Club in East London. In 2009, the Africa Open had a prize fund of R5 million, over four times that of the inaugural event. The Sunshine Tour hoped that it would attract a stronger field as a result, and possibly lead to a co-sanctioning agreement with the European Tour in subsequent years.[2]
In October 2009, it was announced that the Africa Open would be included on the 2010 European Tour schedule. It was the third event of the four tournament South African swing of the tour, held after the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the South African Open, and the week before the Joburg Open.[3] The purse for 2014 was €1,000,000.
Winners
| Year | Venue | Winner | Country | Score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa Open | ||||||
| 2013 | East London GC | Darren Fichardt | South Africa |
272 (−16) | 2 strokes |  Gregory Bourdy, Jaco Van Zyl
|
| 2012 | East London GC | Louis Oosthuizen (2) | South Africa |
265 (−27) | 2 strokes | Tjaart van der Walt
|
| 2011 | East London GC | Louis Oosthuizen | South Africa |
276 (−16) | Playoff (1st hole) |
 Chris Wood,  Manuel Quirós
|
| 2010 | East London GC | Charl Schwartzel | South Africa |
272 (−20) | 1 stroke | Thomas Aiken
|
| Africa Open Golf Challenge | ||||||
| 2009 | East London GC | Retief Goosen | South Africa |
267 (−21) | 1 stroke |  Darren Clarke, Darren Fichardt, Branden Grace, Michael Hoey
|
| The Africa Open | ||||||
| 2008 | Fish River Sun CC | Shaun Norris | South Africa |
275 (−13) | 6 strokes | Nic Henning
|
References
- ^ "Sunshine Tour set for Eastern Cape return with Africa Open". Sunshine Tour. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ "Donald replaces Kim at Sun City". The Star. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
- ^ "European Tour reveal early schedule". RTÉ Sport. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2009.