Congratulations to Haydn Porteous on winning last week’s Joburg Open, the second young South African golfer to win on home turf in consecutive weeks.
He and Brandon Stone are good friends, so it’s been quite the start to 2016 for the pair of them. Of course, there was also Charl Schwartzel winning the Alfred Dunhill at Leopard Creek at the end of last year, which all together contributes to the argument I was making in last week’s report, that both the present and the future are looking incredibly bright for South African golf.
An added bonus for Haydn last week is that he qualifies for The Open at Royal Troon, which will be his first appearance in a Major Championship. That’s an exciting moment for any young player and I’m sure Haydn will love every minute. Congrats also to fellow South African Zander Lombard and England’s Anthony Wall who secured the other two Open places available in Joburg through the R&A’s Open Qualifying Series, an excellent global initiative that was introduced a few years ago.
For me personally, last week’s Joburg Open had major significance of a different kind, as I continued to work on using the cross-handed putting grip. Holing a birdie putt on the 18th green on Friday to make the cut ‘on the number’ was the first little test, but Saturday’s third round was the real breakthrough. My putting didn’t just feel 10 per cent better, it felt 100 per cent better. Honestly, compared to the previous week at Glendower it was like I was on a different planet. It’s funny how things can change in this game, almost overnight.
It gives me all the more reason to be excited about the European Tour’s upcoming Desert Swing, which begins with this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, followed by the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and Omega Dubai Desert Classic. That’s a wonderful little stretch of tournaments and obviously I have some nice vibes whenever I play in the Middle East, having won four times in this region – three in Dubai and once in Qatar. I’m very much looking forward to my next three weeks here.
Just before we sign off I want to report briefly on the official opening of The Big Easy Winebar & Grill in the Durban Hilton, which I attended last week. The restaurant has actually been open for business since October and is doing great, but this was my first opportunity to visit so we thought we’d make an occasion of it. A big thank you to everyone who supported the opening, among them many of my friends from the world of sport including (pictured below from left to right): Gary Gold, Andre Joubert, Pat Symcox, Butch James and Don Gammon; (and seated on floor) Stefan Terblanche, Tonderai Chavanga, John Smit and Errol Stewart.
It’s a thrill to partner with Hilton Hotels in Durban and I thank them for their vision and their support in this project. We think this is a wonderful fit for our brand. Durban is a great sporting city and I have many wonderful memories of my visits over the years, including winning the SA Open just down the road at Durban Country Club. For this Big Easy Winebar & Grill we took inspiration from our first restaurant in Stellenbosch and have created what we think is a fun and comfortable place to spend time and enjoy great food and wine. Another of our aims is for Durban residents to feel like this restaurant is theirs – in a way, a part of their city that they can be proud of – and from the comments I heard on the opening night it seems like we’ve achieved that.
Please click here for the full story or to check out the menus or make a reservation at any of our Big Easy Winebar & Grills. I know you’ll love it there!
Okay, that’s it for now. Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
