Joburg Open Pro Am at the Soweto Golf Country Club a success

The Joburg Open Professional and Amateur tournament held at the Soweto Golf Country Club on Monday and Tuesday was a resounding success, so says Bongi Mokaba, the City of Joburg’s Director of Events.

Known as the Pro-Am, the tournament was initially scheduled to take place on 21 February at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club as a precursor to the 11th edition of the international Joburg Open. It could not take place as the playing field was water logged and unplayable due to the weeklong torrential rains.

The City of Johannesburg’s executive mayor Councillor Herman Mashaba dressed in the sport’s traditional attire, participated in the day-long event on Monday, the 18-hole tournament, at the newly revamped Pimville course. He played as an amateur alongside other amateur golfers Larry Nestadt and Selwyn Nathan, and professional golfer Merrick Bremmer.

The tournament also saw the participation of other amateur golfers like former boss of the Passenger and Railway Agency of South Africa Polo Molefe, ANC struggle veteran Andrew Mlangeni, former Premier Soccer League spokesman Andrew Dipela, Radio personality Thomas Msengana, Gauteng Provincial Government spokesman Thabo Masebe, and newspaper journalist Happy Mnguni.

Speaking at the prize giving dinner, the Sunshine Tours Chief Executive, Selwyn Nathan said, “We are going on the next phase to fence both the clubhouse and then course, these renovations will continue. We want to encourage companies and big business to buy holes and maintain them. That is the best way to generate revenue here. The Soweto course should produce the next Ennis Els, Gary Player and Tiger Woods of tomorrow”.

This event gives our city the opportunity to showcase how beautiful the township is and promote it as a tourism destination for both leisure as well as business travellers.

“This exposure will certainly raise the townships profile, allowing our community to position Pimville and surrounding areas as a vibrant, diverse and welcoming place that offers visitors an unrivalled choice of destinations, activities and experiences,” Ms Mokaba concludes.

The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Herman Mashaba reaffirmed his comfort on how the Soweto Country Golf Club will be a world class clubhouse in the not so distant future.

In closing he said “I am encouraged by the support from the corporate world, business community, government and golfers themselves. As an Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, I wish to assure you all that the City will support the Joburg Open ProAm next year, and probably in the coming years as well. The 2018 Joburg Open ProAm should be staged in Soweto again, as affirmed by the weather on Monday and Tuesday”.