Big SA contingent chase Open crown
A strong contingent of 14 South Africans will tee it up in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes, confident that the English venue has traditionally been very good to golfers from this country.
The Open will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
In the 10 Open Championships held there before this, South Africa has had two champions in Bobby Locke and Gary Player, as well as a host of top 10s.
Locke won in 1952, and Player finished seventh in 1958 and 1963 before his win in 1974. Player will be back at Lytham this year, soaking up the memories of what was a week of pure perfection for him that saw him become an Open champion in three different decades.
“I really feel like I came close to golf perfection at Lytham. I felt as in control of my game that week as I ever have,” says Player, who led from start to finish.
The South Africans in the field include Thomas Aiken, Tim Clark, George Coetzee, Ernie Els, Andrew Georgiou, Retief Goosen, Branden Grace, Trevor Immelman, Jbe Kruger, Garth Mulroy, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Richard Sterne and Grant Veenstra.
Els will certainly feel Lytham owes him something, having finished second here in 1996 and third in 2001.
BROADCAST DETAILS (all times are CAT, SA, GMT+2)
Friday, July 20: 10am-10pm (SS1 and HD1).
Saturday, July 21: 11am-9pm (SS5 and HD1).
Sunday, July 22: 12pm-9pm (SS1 and HD1).
