South African golfer Dylan Naidoo won the 114th Investec South Africa Open Championship, which was held at Durban Country Club, a joint action between DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour. Naidoo beat British rival Laurie Canter in the dramatic playoffs to win his first title on the DP World Tour, a major achievement, and his on the South African Tour as well.
The game is marked by bad weather, which makes the fourth round unplayable. Therefore, the results are determined based on the rankings in the third round, with Naidu and Kanter scoring 202 (-14). The subsequent playoffs allowed Naidoo to win with a birdie in the first extra hole.
Naidoo, a 27-year-old Johannesburg resident, is no stranger to the success of golf, has previously won the Sunbet Challenge – Sun Sibaya, 2022 and ranked second in the Mauritius Open this season. His victory in the DP World Tour highlighted his success in the world of golf, which led him to receive a cheque of 245,489 from a prize of about €1,445,000.
Meanwhile, British Marce Penge finished third with a 203 (-13) record, and he almost missed the playoffs in singles. South African family players Darren Fichardt, Branden Grace and Christiaan Maas shared fourth place with 204 points (-12). Liv Golf and 2020 champions Grace, along with Fichardt and Maas, highlighted the strong local contingent.
Italian golfer Andrea Pavan, despite his outstanding performance, must tie for seventh place with British man Dale Whitnell. Whitnell on the second day, his two “holes” were excellent performers on the second day. Unfortunately, athlete Burmester, the athlete from the Arab Premier League and defending champions, did not achieve the same success, finishing 37th with a score of 211 (-5).
Pavan is a 35-year-old Roman native who has 255 appearances on the track, including two wins and five championships, a hotel-scale tour (formerly a challenge trip). His seventh place in this tournament represents his first top ten in the year, which is largely for him. He ended the final with 72 (three birdies, three cypresses).
However, the game wasn't that good for Francesco Laporta and Gregorio de Leo, both of whom failed to advance and finished 81st with a 142 (-2). In any case, the 114th Investec South African Open champion was an exciting spectacle, and Naidoo's victory marked the 18th victory of the 18th South Africa in the 2000s.
