Two-time European Tour winner Michael Jonzon led his team to victory in the South African Open Championship´s official pro-am at Pearl Valley Golf Estates on Wednesday.
The Swedish-born winner of the 1997 Portuguese Open and the 2009 Castellò Masters Costa Azahar enjoyed the format with the rest of the professionals in the field, saying it takes the pressure off the professionals and allows them the chance to use the pro-am as a proper practice round.
In the "par is friend", every player in the team could contribute as negative scores didn´t count.
"This was the quickest pro-am round I´ve ever played; four hours from start to finish," said defending champion Richard Sterne. "We should always play this format."
Team Jonzon took first place on a combined total of 25 under par, three shots ahead of Brit Ross McGowan´s fourball and four ahead of Spaniard Ignacio Garrido´s team.
Result:
-25 Michael Jonzon
-22 Ross McGowan
- 21 Ignacio Garrido
-20 Richie Ramsay
-20 Branden Grace
-18 Robert Rock
-17 Thomas Bjorn
-16 Jaco van Zyl
-16 Chris Williams
-16 Edoardo Molinari
-16 Garth Mulroy
-15 Darren Fichardt
-15 Anders Hansen
-15 Jean Hugo
-15 Damien McGranea
-14 Alan McLean
-14 Fabrizio Zanotti
-13 Soren Hansen
-13 Richard Sterne
-13 David Drysdale
-13 Gregory Bourdy
-13 Martin Erlandsson
-12 James Kamte
-12 Jacques Blaauw
-12 Warren Abery
-12 Omar Sandys
-11 Oskar Henningsson
-10 Deane Pappas
-9 Rafael Cabrero-Bello
-9 Michiel Bothma
-9 Charl Schwartzel
-9 Hennie Otto
-8 Thomas Aiken
-8 James Kingston
-8 Pablo Martin
-6 Gareth Maybin
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Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate will host the South African Open Championship in 2011 and 2012. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Serengeti is the first 27-hole golf course in Gauteng and was recently named “Best New Golf Course” by Golf Digest.
The 18-hole course called Masai Mara, which means “wide open plains” in the language of the Masai, has a rugged grassland and dune-scape look. One of the unique features on the course is the par-five eighth hole with its island green. The nine-hole course called Whistling Thorn has a more classic feel.
The courses were constructed in accordance with USGA specifications, with cool season grass that provides green vistas all year round. Designed as a strategic and technical masterpiece that will test today’s best players, the sunken design of the course with its wide corridors is ideal for tournament purposes and provides optimal spectator value on almost every hole.
