Out of the 150 Open Championships that have been played since 1860, the winner has been a South African on 10 occasions. While that may seem like a modest return, keep in mind that only the USA, England, and Scotland are ahead of South Africa as far as wins by countries go. In short, players from the Rainbow Nation have a unique affinity with golf’s oldest major and will undoubtedly be trying to make that number 11 during the 151st edition of The Open in 2023.
Oosthuizen’s Open excellence unites South Africa
Admittedly, the latest golf Open Championship odds suggest a South African winner in 2023 is an outside possibility with the best-priced player being Louis Oosthuizen at +7000. While those odds don’t typically inspire confidence, it’s worth remembering that when Oosthuizen won The Open in 2010 at St Andrews, he started the week at a price of +20000.
Looking back, Oosthuizen’s seven-shot win at the Old Course was a day that few South African will ever forget as the golfer started off his speech during the winning ceremony on the 18th green by wishing Nelson Mandela a happy birthday. The country’s former president turned 92 on the day Oosthuizen won at St Andrews in 2010.
For South Africans at home and abroad, Oosthuizen’s thoughtful opening remarks provided a spine-tingling moment as reverence for the great statesman took precedence over the extraordinary feat that he had just achieved.
Locked in at The Open
It was another proud moment for the country at The Open which is a theme that has been going on since 1949 when Bobby Locke won the first of his four Open championships at Royal St George’s. In doing so, Locke became the first non-European or American to lift the Claret Jug.
Incredibly, Locke managed to defend his Open title at Royal Troon just 12 months later; the first time a golfer had gone back-to-back at the Open since 1929.
Two more Open titles were to follow for Locke with the golfer winning in 1952 at Royal Lytham & St Annes and then going all the way in 1957 at St Andrews before he retired. In essence, Locke paved the way for his fellow countrymen to enjoy their own success at the major.
The great Open Player
That is exactly what Gary Player did at Muirfield just two years later in 1959.
The Black Knight would go on to win two more Claret Jugs after his maiden success in 1959, the second coming in 1968 at Carnoustie when Player held off Jack Nicklaus to win by two shots, and then in 1974 at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Who Els?
A long 28 years would pass before a golfer from the southernmost tip of Africa would win The Open again but that drought was finally ended when Ernie Else won the 131st Open at Muirfield in 2002. A decade later in 2012, the Big Easy would win a thrilling Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes when he posted a clubhouse lead of -7.
Australian Adam Scott was leading on -10 with four holes to go but ended up recording four consecutive bogies to finish on -6 and hand Els the Claret Jug by one stroke. It was a result that completed one of the greatest sporting days in South Africa’s history.
Indeed, just 242 miles away from the scene of Els lifting golf’s most iconic prize at Royal Lytham and St Annes on the 22nd of July 2012, Hashim Amla would score 311 against England at the Oval in a Test series that would end with the Proteas being crowned the number one side in the world.
Which golfer will carry the flag next?
As touched on above, the last Open triumph to date came as Els won the Open in 2012, taking South Africa’s tally of Claret Jugs to ten with four different winners. With 11 years gone by since the last winner from the Rainbow Nation, history suggests that a South African champion is now due again; the world of golf has been put on notice.
