Joburg Open offers three Open qualifying spots

Haydn Porteous won the Joburg Open in 2016

The Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in South Africa this week marks the third event in the 2017 Open Qualifying Series.

Following on from the Emirates Australian Open in November and last month’s SMBC Singapore Open, the Joburg Open provides the opportunity for three competitors to qualify for the 146th Open at Royal Birkdale in July.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, the Executive Director for Championships at The R&A, said, “The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events and The Open Qualifying Series gives players from across the globe the opportunity to earn their place in the Championship.

“We are excited to be returning to South Africa and the Joburg Open and we look forward to welcoming three qualifiers to Royal Birkdale this summer.”

Three players who finish in the top ten and ties, who are not already exempt, will earn places in the field in The Open at Royal Birkdale from 16-23 July 2017. The 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke is one of only three players in the field who is already exempt, alongside Haotong Li and Jbe Kruger.

Last year’s Joburg Open winner Haydn Porteous went on to finish 30^th at The Open in 2016, and the defending champion is hoping that returning to the scene of his first European Tour victory will be the start of a consistent season.

“It’s a pretty special place to come back to,” he told the European Tour. “To drive in and have your own parking spot and all the good memories I have from last year and, of course, through junior golf and amateur golf.

“It’s really nice to be in a familiar place and I hope it’s a good week.”

After an impressive victory which saw him become the youngest ever winner of the Joburg Open, Porteous has since experienced a dip in form. The 22-year-old South African has only made three cuts in his last 17 European Tour events, which Porteous puts down to a loss of confidence in his own game.  

“It’s been a tough six months with the swing changes I’ve been working on,” he said.

“I got a little bit too into the game and maybe a little bit too technical with the golf swing. Then I lost a bit of confidence on unfamiliar grasses and different golf courses and in different conditions. It was tough to play with the sort of confidence I can play with back home.

“It was eye-opening and I knew that last year was going to be a difficult learning experience just to see what it was like to play in Europe. This year, I know what I’ll need to do and hopefully I can build confidence in this new swing that I’ve invested in and I can put a few decent performances together.

The Open qualifiers so far are Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Ashley Hall (Aus), Cameron Smith (Aus), Jbe Kruger (Rsa), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Younghan Song (Kor) and 17-year-old Phacara Khongwatmai (Tha), who finished second at last week’s World Super 6 Perth.

Following the Joburg Open there are eight further events in the Open Qualifying Series: the Mizuno Open, HNA Open de France, Quicken Loans National, Final Qualifying, the Greenbrier Classic, Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open