GOLF NEWS - The Sunshine Tour's Vodacom Origins of Golf final is being held at Pezula Championship Course this week, which is the course where the very first Origins of Golf tournament was held back in 2004.
This year sees Vodacom Origins of Golf celebrate 20 years of shaping the careers of countless professional golfers in South Africa. Its first tournament was won by Patrick O'Brien.
Over the years many Sunshine Tour legends have won a Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament, including Louis Oosthuizen who won his first Sunshine Tour title at the 2004 Origins of Golf tournament, Knysna local Branden Grace, Dean Burmester, George Coetzee, Justin Harding and Thriston Lawrence.
Jean Hugo is the most successful golfer in the history of the competition, with no fewer than 11 Origins of Golf titles to his name.
Every year, Origins of Golf is made up of a series of events that culminate in a final.
This year has been the shortest Origins of Golf series to date, with only three tournaments being held prior to this week's final at Pezula. These were Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zebula, won by Jacques Kruyswijk; Vodacom Origins of Golf Western Cape, won by Kyle Barker; and Vodacom Origins of Golf KwaZulu-Natal, won by Pieter Moolman.
Despite this, 2023 has been a landmark year for the tournament, as for the first time 10 Sunshine Ladies Tour professionals competed alongside the Sunshine Tour professionals in the same tournament for the same prize money. The prize purse for each tournament in the series has also been increased to R2m.
This week's event is not only a return "home" for Origins of Golf, but is also the first time since 2019, when Simola Golf and Country Estate hosted the final won by George Coetzee, that a golf course in Knysna has hosted one of the tournaments.
The tournaments also feature a pro-am component, which sees two days of competition on the Tuesday and Wednesday preceding the start of the four-round professional tournament, which is held from the Thursday to Sunday.
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