Tradition of Sporting Excellence
south africa keeps churning out winners...here's how
JEFF WILLIAMS Story
When Charl Schwartzel won the Masters this April,
his spectacular victory again
focused the spotlight on South
Africa as the birthplace of so
many of the world’s best players
and major tournament winners.
Schwartzel’s first major
followed by nine months the
overwhelming triumph of South
African Louis Oosthuizen at
the Open Championship at St.
Andrews. That championship
double gives South Africa 24
major victories since World
War II, a pretty astonishing
number for a country of 50 million people.
And the man who has won
nine of those majors doesn’t
mind crowing about it one bit.
“Isn’t it remarkable to think
that South Africa has won more
major championships post-war
than any country on the planet
except the United States,” says
Gary Player. “It’s a big feather in
our cap, isn’t it?”
The roll call of South Africa’s
major championship winners
includes many of the game’s
greats. There is the iconic
Player, Bobby Locke, ernie els,
Nick Price (born in Durban,
raised in Zimbabwe, honed in
South Africa), Retief Goosen,
Trevor Immelman, Oosthuizen
and Schwartzel. And you can
add to that list the very accom-
plished Sally Little, who won an
LPGA Championship.
So what is it about South Africa that produces so
many top-flight players?
“The weather,” says Player.
“The weather,” says Price.
“The weather,” says els.
There is a bit more to it than
that, of course.
“you know, I was actually
trying to analyze that myself the
other day,” Schwartzel said at
The Memorial Tournament in
june. “We have a really good junior foundation and I think that
is a big key. In South Africa [it’s
so small] we get to play against
the best in the country all the
time. That’s the way it was for
me. I think it creates a winning
instinct. you want to beat them
all, and like I said, you play
against the best.”
els likes to emphasize South
Africa’s sporting culture, which
was showcased when it hosted
the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010. “We are a sporting nation just like the United
States,” says els. “Seems like
everyone plays a sport—cricket,
rugby, soccer, tennis, golf. We
are quite athletic as a nation
and quite competitive. you
know, you look about age 13 or
14 how you are as, say, a rugby
player. If you don’t think you can
be the best, then you might look
at golf, which is what I did.”
What all South African players will tell you is
that there is an abundance of
very fine, tournament-caliber
golf courses that host professional events. The Durban
Country Club is often cited
among the top 100 courses in
the world. Player has designed
courses at Fancourt (host of the
2003 Presidents Cup), at Sun
City and at Leopard Creek.
2011 masters champion
charl schwartzel
south africa
all of these
assets—cohesive
junior golf
foundation,
fine courses, a
professional
tour, and fine
weather (“you
can play 365
days a year, no
kidding,” says
price)—have made
south africa an
incubator for
golf greatness.
