- The South African Open Championship was first played for in 1893
- It is the second oldest National Championship after the Open Championship
- The SA Open is the second oldest sporting event in South Africa after the Currie Cup rugby trophy was first played for in 1893
- Durban Country Club hosted the SA Open Championship for a record 17th time in 2010. Royal Cape and Royal Johannesburg and Kensington are second with 10 each.
- The first SA Open to be officially played over four days was at Durban Country Club in 1969. The last 36 holes had previously been played on the same day.
- This year marks the 101st playing of the SA Open Championship. This is the first time that the country's flagship event will be played in Gauteng since Mathias Grönberg from Sweden won the 2000 edition at Randpark Golf Club.
- The first South African-born winner of the SA Open was Fred Jangle in 1922
- Three sets of brothers have won the SA Open including George and Jack Fotheringham, who won six titles between them, Sid and Jock Brews, who shared 12 victories and Harold and Allan Henning, who won three
- Only 10 SA Opens have been decided in a play-off
- Most wins: 13 - Gary Player (Between 1956 – 1981)
- Most consecutive wins: Five – Bobby Locke (1937–40 and 46); Gary Player (1965–69)
- Youngest winner: Bobby Locke (17 in 1935)
- Oldest winner: Sid Brews (53 in 1952)
- Lowest winning total: 267 (Tony Johnstone in 1993 at Durban Country Club)
- Lowest 18 hole score: 62 (John Bland in 1993 at Durban Country Club)
- Biggest victory margin: 20 shots (George Fotheringham in 1914 at Royal Cape Town)
- Winners in four decades: Sid Brews (1925, 30, 49 and 52); Gary Player (1956, 60, 72 and 81)
- Last amateur to win: Denis Hutchinson (1959)
- Lowest 72 hole score by an amateur: 282 Denis Hutchinson (1959); Ian Hutchings (1987); Ernie Els (1989); Hennie Otto (1997)
- Richie Ramsay of Scotland broke an eight-year stranglehold South Africans had on the tournament when he won the 2008 edition at Pearl Valley Golf Estates. The previous winners were Richard Sterne (2009), James Kingston (2008), Ernie Els (2007), Retief Goosen (2006), Tim Clark (2005 & 2002) and Trevor Immelman (2003 & 2004).
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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.
