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Joburg Open Tournament History

Ariel Canete won the first edition of the Joburg Open in 2007 and it was an ever-present on the DP World Tour up until 2017, when there were two editions - one in February and one in December.

It was lost from the schedule for a couple of years before J.B Hansen won in 2020, and the 2021 edition, which also kicked off the new DP World Tour season, was a bit of a farce.

To allow international players to travel back home in time because of COVID-19 travel restrictions in place in the UK from South Africa, the event was originally shortened to 54 holes, but rain and the threat of lightning curtailed the event further to just 36 holes.

Triston Lawrence lifted the trophy after a pair of six-under-par 65s around the Firethorn Course at Randpark and he should have won it again in 2024 when he led by three with 18 to play.

The tournament moved to Houghton Golf Club in 2022 when Dan Bradbury caused a bit of a shock in just his third DP World Tour event - winning wire-to-wire at 550.0549/1 - and we return for the fourth consecutive edition after the favourite, Dean Burmester, prevailed here in November '23 and Calum Hill came from way off the pace to win in  extra time 12 months ago.

Like last week's South African Open, the event wasn't played in 2024 due to reshuffle of the DP World Tour schedule.

Venue

Houghton Golf Club, Lower Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Course Details

Par 70 7,421 yards
Stroke Average in 2025 - 70.08 

Houghton is a traditional tree-lined undulating parkland course with fairly generous fairways and undulating Bentgrass greens.

Water comes in to play on five holes and there are a number of strategically placed fairway bunkers following a Jack Nicklaus renovation in 2009 but it isn't a tough test.

The course doesn't play anywhere near as long as its yardage suggests as it sits at over 5000 feet above sea level and the ball travels around 10% further.

Houghton has a rich history, hosting the South African Open eight times, as well as the South African PGA Championship at the end of the last century, when known as the Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship.

The likes of Nick Price, Tony Johnstone and Ernie Els all won the PGA Championship at Houghton before Alfred Dunhill ended its association with the event to begin its own tournament- the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2000.

The first five editions of the Alfred Dunhill Championship were all staged here before the tournament moved to its now permanent home at Leopard Creek.

For more on the course, please see the course layout on Houghton's website here.

Weather Forecast

TV Coverage

Live on Sky Sports all four days, starting at 11:30 on Thursday.

Last Eight Winners with Pre-event Prices

2025 - Calum Hill -14 110.0109/1
2024 -  No tournament due to rescheduling from December to March
2023 - Dean Burmester -18 14.013/1
2022 - Dan Bradbury -21 550.0549/1
2021 - Triston Lawrence -12 (36 holes) 230.0229/1
2020 - JB Hansen -19 60.059/1
2018 - 2019 - No tournament
2017 (Dec') - Shubhankar Sharma -23 150.0149/1
2017 (Feb') - Darren Fichardt -15 160.0159/1
2016 - Haydn Porteous -18 190.0189/1

What Will it Take to Win the Joburg Open?

There were no stats produced for the 2023 winner, Dean Burmester, presumably because he wasn't a DP World Tour player, but the next four on the leaderboard all ranked inside the top eight for Greens In Regulation, and that was the key stat again last year.

The winner, Calum Hill, ranked seventh for GIR and the two men he beat in the playoff, Shaun Norris and Jacques Kruyswijk, ranked fourth and 11^th. Jayden Sachaper, who topped the GIR rankings, finished tied for ninth.

There were no traditional stats produced for half of the field in 2022 for some reason, and that included the winner, Dan Bradbury, and what stats were produced didn't look quite right given three of the top 15 ranked tied first for Greens In Regulation.

If we scan much further back, GIR still appears far and away the most important metric.

The first and third here in the Dunhill Championship in 2004, Marcel Siem and Raphael Jacqueling ranked fifth and first and the first four home in 2003 ranked T14th, fifth, T14th and 30^th.

No stats were produced for the 2002 edition, won by Justin Rose but the top three and ties in 2001 ranked fifth, 12^th, eighth and 13^th and the GIR and the first and second in 2000 ranked fourth and second.

Hill ranked as highly as 10^th for Driving Distance and course winners Burmester and Siem are both known for their ability to hit a long tee ball so that's another stat to consider.

Is There an Angle In?

South Africans tend to do really well in their homeland, but Europeans have fared exceptionally well at this particular venue.

Scotsman, Hill, prevailed over two South Africans in extra time last year, Englishman, Bradbury, won here in 2022 and the five editions of the Alfred Dunhill here between 2000 and 2004 were won by four Europeans and an Aussie.

Is There an Identikit Winner?

Burmester was the narrow favourite before the off in 2023 but Denmark's J.B Hansen was a 60.059/1 chance six years ago, so he couldn't be considered one of the fancied runners, and six of the last eight winners have begun the event trading at a triple-figure price so it's been a fantastic tournament for outsiders of late, wherever the tournament's been staged.

In-Play Tactics

If Hill hadn't produced this slightly fortunate approach on the 72^nd hole 12 months ago, the playoff would have been contested by the two men that had begun the final round sitting in first and second, Shaun Norris (led by four) and Jacques Kruyswijk.

Dan Bradbury won here wire-to-wire, Marcel Siem was tied for the lead after round one in 2004, and both Ernie Els and Tony Johnstone led all the way from halfway but as Hill demonstrated last year, this is a venue at which you can come from off the pace with 18 to play.

Nick Price was five back after 54 holes in 1997, Rose was four adrift in 2002, and Mark Foster was four off the lead in 2003 but Hill trumps them all.

Having been matched at 990.0989/1 in-running, he who was a 400.0399/1 chance when he trailed by eight with a round to go!

It's not a tough track and the last three winners all comfortably got it to double-digits under-par, but it does have a bit of a tricky finish.

The par four 15^th has been the toughest hole on the course for the last three editions - averaging 4.47, 4.5 and 4.43, and the par three 16^th and par four 18^th were the fifth and seventh hardest in 2022, the sixth and seventh toughest in 2023 and the fifth and sixth hardest last year, when they averaged 3.15 and 4.11.

Van Tonder the only pre-event pick

Jayden Schaper and Casey Jarvis have both won back-to-back this season, Angel Ayora has bags of potential, and Hennie Du Plessis is in fabulous form but it's a little bit surprising to see all four of them trading at shorter than the major champion in the line-up, Patrick Reed, who has current form figures reading 1-2-1-28.

Reed looks like the best value at the head of the market at 16/117.00 but the only one I'm chancing before the off is Daniel Van Tonder, who has course form figures reading 3-MC-5.

The prolific 34-year-old has won 14 times on the Sunshine Tour, twice on the HotelPlanner Tour and once on the DP World Tour.

He caught the eye in the South African Open last week, where he finished sixth after a slow start, ranking sixth for Putting Average, and he looks big enough to chance at 60.059/1 given he's no bigger than 40/141.00 on the High Street.

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