Naidoo makes SA Open history
- Sunshine Tour
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
When the rain finally stopped, they came. They came and they filled the grandstands and surrounded the 18th green at Durban Country Club. They came because not a waterlogged golf course nor a championship decided over 54 holes could stop history. They came to see Dylan Naidoo become the first South African player of colour to win the Investec South African Open.
With South Africa’s Naidoo and England’s Laurie Canter tied for the lead on 14-under par after three rounds, a deluge of rain on Sunday forced the cancellation of the final round. It was then decided that the two of them would settle this year’s championship in a playoff on the par-four 18th. And with the weight of history resting on his young shoulders, Naidoo stood tall as he made the birdie on the first play-off hole that shook South African golf history.
The fact that this former member of the GolfRSA National Squad did it at a Durban Country Club where in 1963 Sewsunker “Papwa” Sewgolum made history as the first player of colour to win a professional golf tournament in South Africa in the Natal Open added to the history of the day.
“For what this means in terms of Papwa Sewgolum and him having won the Natal Open here, it’s incredible. I feel like he was with me here today,” said Naidoo.
The victory secures Naidoo a DP World Tour card and he also claimed one of the three spots on offer for The Open at Royal Portrush this July on a magical Sunday. A Sunday when his father had flown in to watch a final round that didn’t happen, then left for the airport to fly back home for work on Monday, then raced back from the airport to watch the play-off and see his son step into golf history.
“Me and my dad have been through it all and I couldn’t think of someone more special to share this with. It’s just been the best day ever. I mean, I’m on the DP World Tour. That’s outrageous. I’m going to be playing around the world against some of the best players in the world. And I’m playing in The Open. It’s a dream,” said Naidoo.
South Africa’s Darren Fichardt and England’s Marco Penge were the other two players to also secure a place in The Open through the Investec South African Open’s status as part of the Open Qualifying Series.
South Africa’s Christiaan Maas finished as the leading amateur and winner of the Freddie Tait Cup for the second time in his career, ending the tournament on 12-under overall.
It was indeed a day for dreams, the biggest of which no doubt belonged to Naidoo.
“I felt like I had nothing to lose in the play-off. I just wanted to go out there and have fun and do it. To have my name on the Investec SA Open trophy is unbelievable. It’s like a fairytale,” he said.
Scores
202 - Laurie Canter 69 65 68, *Dylan Naidoo 70 61 71 (*won in play-off)
203 - Marco Penge 68 67 68
204 - Christiaan Maas 70 64 70, Branden Grace 65 68 71, Darren Fichardt 63 70 71
205 - Dale Whitnell 72 63 70, Andrea Pavan 67 66 72
206 - Scott Jamieson 72 66 68, Shaun Norris 66 64 76
207 - Richard Mansell 71 67 69, Joost Luiten 67 70 70, Ugo Coussaud 70 68 69, Fredrik From 65 67 75, Sam Bairstow 65 66 76
208 - Jacques Blaauw 69 69 70, Jaco Ahlers 70 67 71, Nathan Kimsey 70 69 69, Haotong Li 66 69 73, Jeong Weon Ko 68 71 69, Jayden Schaper 66 69 73, Brandon Stone 68 67 73, Rhys West 70 64 74, Todd Clements 66 66 76
209 - Kieran Vincent 70 66 73, Richie Ramsay 66 70 73, Thomas Aiken 68 68 73, Ivan Cantero 68 67 74, John Parry 66 69 74, Kazuma Kobori 67 73 69, Gavin Green 70 70 69, Alejandro Del Rey 74 66 69
210 - Keith Horne 65 72 73, JC Ritchie 69 69 72, Nikhil Rama 68 67 75, Jamie Donaldson 68 72 70
211 - Jordan Gumberg 68 70 73, Dean Burmester 69 67 75, Troy Merritt 69 67 75, Lyle Rowe 71 68 72, Jacques Kruyswijk 71 68 72, Yurav Premlall 72 68 71, Martin Vorster 74 66 71, Andy Sullivan 71 69 71, Aaron Cockerill 69 71 71
212 - Charl Schwartzel 72 65 75, David Ravetto 69 69 74, Jorge Campillo 69 70 73, Manuel Elvira 71 68 73, Marcel Siem 65 70 77, George Coetzee 71 69 72, Joel Girrbach 68 65 79, Rupert Kaminski 74 66 72
213 - Justin Harding 67 69 77, Michael Hollick 73 66 74, Rafa Cabrera Bello 68 67 78, Richard Sterne 68 72 73
214 - MJ Viljoen 69 67 78, Shubhankar Sharma 66 72 76, Romain Langasque 69 71 74, Matthew Baldwin 71 69 74
215 - Luke Jerling 69 71 75
216 - Dylan Frittelli 69 69 78, Jean Hugo 70 69 77
217 - Maximilian Steinlechner 67 72 78, Callum Tarren 71 69 77
218 - Freddy Schott 70 70 78
219 - Keelan van Wyk 69 71 79, Chris Paisley 74 66 79
RTD - Sean Crocker 72 64 RTD
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