The Debrief: Dimension Data Pro-Am

The South Africa swing is in the books with Christiaan Bezuidenhout clinching the Dimension Data Pro-Am title at Fancourt Golf Estate to move into the Official World Golf Ranking top 50.

It was an exciting week for the European Challenge Tour, with the circuit co-sanctioning the iconic event alongside The Sunshine Tour for the first time. We take a look back at what you might have missed from an enthralling event.

Two titles, two winners

While Bezuidenhout stole the headlines with his scintillating performance at Fancourt Golf Estate, there were in fact two titles up for grabs last week. England’s Ryan Evans would also walk away from the tournament with a new piece of silverware after winning the Pro-Am event alongside his amateur playing partner Alex Maditse on an impressive 36 under par. Meanwhile, Bezuidenhout and South African international cricketer AB de Villiers finished fourth. 

Love is in the air 

Love was all around on the second day of the Dimension Data Pro-Am, with several competitors celebrating Valentine’s Day with their other half on the bag. Away from the caddie duties, we caught up with the love birds to find out a little more about what makes them tick.

Porteous returns

The event also featured several former Challenge Tour players, with Haydn Porteous among those making a rare return to the circuit at the event. The South African played just one full season on the Tour before securing his European Tour card at Qualifying School in 2015, but managed to secure a win during that time, in an unforgettable play-off battle with friend and compatriot Brandon Stone at the Barclays Kenya Open. We spoke to the two-time European Tour winner about his time on the Challenge Tour.

Challenge Tour on safari

After three weeks on the road in South Africa, the Dimension Data Pro-Am provided the perfect opportunity for two of our players to get away from the course and head out on safari. Hurly Long and Emilio Cuartero Blanco both enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see the Big Five before spending some time with us to talk about their experience in South Africa.