adminTakudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
GOLFER Ryan Cairns will be Zimbabwe’s only representative at the Jo’burg Open which tees off in Johannesburg, South Africa, this morning. Three other Zimbabwean hopefuls, Sheldon Steyn, Greg Bentley and Michael Hough, failed to make the cut during Monday’s pre-qualifying round.
The Jo’burg Open — one of the premier events on the Sunshine Tour and co-sanctioned by the European Tour — tees off at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club this morning with a strong field of 210 international players.
The tournament has a prize money of US$1,3 million.
According to the first round draw released by the Sunshine Tour, Cairns will tee off in the morning alongside Irishman Peter Lawrie and South African Hendrik Buhrmann.
Cairns goes into the tournament without having played in the pre-qualifying round as he has full exemption status on the Tour because of his maiden Sunshine Tour victory at the Vodacom Origins event at Simola. With only 10 slots on offer and the cut-line on a four-under-par or better, the locals performed dismally with Steyn, who is yet to get his tour card after an impressive show in the qualifiers, shooting a three-over-par as Bentley was on two-over-par while Hough was on eight-over-par.
Cairns returned after taking part in the qualifiers of the Latino America.
At this year’s Jo’burg Open, Richard Sterne is the defending champion in the field that has several Sunshine Tour winners.
Online Reporter