I remember a time when South Africans were feared in majors. Always punching well above their collective weight, the South African golfing contingent always seemed to outperform their per-capita billing.
And I’m not talking about the black and white era of Bobby Locke or the emergence of South Africa’s first true sporting superstar, Gary Player. No, between 2001 and 2012, there were no fewer than seven major championship wins for South African pros (averaging about one win every seven tournaments). That is an insane number of wins for a country of such relatively small stature. But that sense of national golfing pride has dissipated in recent years, and there is little to no fanfare to speak of going into next week’s US Open. What has happened? Were we simply spoiled by a post-millennial golden period? Or are there other forces at play?
The tides of change
I think the diminishing relevance of the DP World Tour has had a huge impact on the development of South African golfing talent. There has always been an extremely close relationship between the Sunshine Tour and European Tour (now DP World Tour). The DP World Tour is essentially the next step up the ladder for those plying their trade in South Africa, with several co-sanctioned events offering opportunities for South African players to climb the proverbial golfing ladder. With the advent of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the subsequent LIV Golf odyssey, the DP World Tour now feels like a glorified Q-School. Sure, the US PGA Tour has always held prominence (and rightly so). But in the 90’s and early 2000’s, the DP World Tour had its own healthy echo system of talent, meaning that players coming through from the Sunshine Tour had to be at a certain level to even participate.
A smaller impact on the PGA Tour
The downgrading of the DP World Tour has no doubt had a massive role to play in the overall downturn of SA golf. It has had a knock-on effect Stateside, with very few South Africans leaving an Els-like impression on the US PGA tour. Sure, the likes of Potgieter and Higgo have picked up sporadic wins (usually in slightly downgraded events). Charl Schwartzel was the only player to make the cut at this year’s Masters, finishing stone cold last amongst completed players at 12-over-par. Sure, reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Aldrich Potgieter made a good fist of it at the maddening Aronimink layout. But nobody honestly thought he would be able to maintain that lead (it was quite a painful implosion).
The near misses of Oosthuizen
Look, I’m not here to besmirch King Louis in any way. He has arguably the most elegant swing I have ever seen and crushed the competition en route to his lone major triumph at St Andrews in 2010. But his agonizing series of near misses may have caused some legitimate psychic damage to young, aspiring South African golfers. When Oosthuizen was coming up, he had images of Els winning at Muirfield, or Retief conquering Shinnecock. South African golfing fanatics had to endure six runner-up finishes for Oosthuizen (he had the dubious honour of claiming the Career Grand Slam of runner-up finishes). Perhaps it’s uncharitable, but his inability to capitalize on more of those chances could have helped instil a slight inferiority complex in generations to come.
The looming spectre of LIV
The renegade LIV Tour also has a fair degree of South African blood on its hands. Aside from creating another tour and diminishing the already under-fire DP World Tour, the LIV Tour managed to sway a disproportionate number of South Africans into their ranks (Oosthuizen, Grace, Burmester, etc). Burmester has blossomed into a proper player, using his prodigious length to pummel courses into submission. But he has only played two of the last six majors, plummeting down the world rankings because of his LIV defection. Yes, golf’s governing bodies have appropriated some world ranking points to LIV practitioners. But you basically must be a perennial contender to qualify for those. The LIV brain-drain has just added to the general neutering of the SA talent pool.
Rays of hope?
None of this is to say that there isn’t talent coming out of South Africa. There are several young South African’s thriving on an albeit weaker DP World Tour. Casey Jarvis came from nowhere to win both the Kenya and SA Opens (though he has struggled since). Yurav Premlall produced the performance of a lifetime at the Andalucia Championship, setting a record for largest winning margin at a non-major DP World Tour event (he won by 14 shots). Then you obviously have the likes of Potgieter and Higgo duking it out against heavy competition Stateside. But honestly, I can’t see another SA major champion emerging from this lot. The way the game has become obsessively focused on FedEx Cup success- exacerbated by the controversial Signature Events system- makes it feel like a closed system that is largely inaccessible to mere mortals. And the only way to become the best is to consistently play against the best.
