DID YOU KNOW – JOBURG OPEN
• Haydn Porteous will be looking to make a successful defence of his Joburg Open title. He would be the second South African to win the title in back-to-back years, following Charl Schwartzel in 2010-2011.
• When he claimed the title in 2016, Haydn Porteous was 21 years and 193 days becoming the third youngest South African winner in European Tour history. He is behind Charl Schwartzel (20 years and 103 days – 2005 Alfred Dunhill Championship) and Anton Haig (20 years and 300 days – 2007 Johnnie Walker Classic).
• In 2016 Brandon Stone won the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni. Seven days later Haydn Porteous won the Joburg Open. With these two players winning it was the first time that South Africa had witnessed two first-time winners on the European Tour in consecutive events since John Fourie (1977 Callers of Newcastle) and Tiene Britz (1977 German Open).
• Richard Sterne will attempt to become the first player to win the Joburg Open three times, having triumphed in 2008 and 2013. Four of his six European Tour titles have come on home soil, including his last four.
• South Africa have a rich history in this event since it was first played in 2007. Only three of the ten champions of the event have come from outside of South Africa.
• Graeme Storm will be hoping to repeat his triumph of last month when he saw off Rory McIlroy to win the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni. The last player to with South Africa’s national open and the Joburg Open in the same season was, another Englishman, Andy Sullivan, who achieved the feat in 2015.
• The Joburg Open has the largest field of the season, with 210 players.
