The DP World Tour moves to South Africa

The DP World Tour moves from Kenya to South Africa, where from tomorrow until Sunday, March 3rd, the SDC Championship will take place. On the Jack Nicklaus-designed St. Francis Links course in the Eastern Cape, four Italians will be competing. Alongside Matteo Manassero and Francesco Laporta, both returning after a rest round, Andrea Pavan and Lorenzo Scalise will also be in contention. Scalise, in particular, narrowly missed a Top 10 finish last week in Nairobi, securing the 11th spot in the Kenya Open. The event, organized in conjunction with the Sunshine Tour and now in its second edition, will see Matthew Baldwin defending the title he claimed in 2023 by a margin of seven strokes over Spain’s Adri Arnaus. However, Baldwin hasn’t had the best start to 2024, failing to secure a single top-ten finish so far. The SDC Championship, the seventh and penultimate leg of the International Swing, will offer a purse of $1,500,000, with $255,000 going to the winner.

DP, schedule

Among the South African hopefuls seeking glory are Thriston Lawrence, Zander Lombard, and Hennie Du Plessis. The spotlight will also be on Scottish golfer Ewen Ferguson, Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, Japanese players Rikuya Hoshino and Keita Nakajima, Englishman Jordan Smith, Spaniard Adrian Otaegui, and Dutchman Joost Luiten.

As for the Italians, there is anticipation surrounding Manassero, who finished 5th in the South African Open last December after a strong tournament. The Venetian golfer also scored a ‘hole in one’ during the practice round of the SDC Championship. Laporta, who finished tenth in the South African Open, also aims for a prestigious result. Pavan, coming off a missed cut in Kenya, sees this as an opportunity for redemption, while Scalise will be looking to build on his promising performance in Nairobi.

The Rules of Golf are a set of standard rules and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the governing body of golf throughout the world, outside of the United States and Mexico, which are the responsibility of the United States Golf Association. An expert commission made up of members of the R&A and USGA oversees and refines the rules every four years. The latest revision is effective January 1, 2016. Changes to the rules of golf generally fall into two main categories: those that improve understanding and those that in certain cases reduce penalties to ensure balance. The rule book, entitled “Rules of Golf”, is published on a regular basis and also includes rules governing amateur status. In Italy it is up to Federgolf to supervise the competitions by enforcing the rules issued by the R & A, checking that these rules are observed by the Clubs, Associations and their members and managing the resulting sporting justice, protecting their interests abroad.