By Michael Vlismas.
Dylan Mostert, Teaghan Gauche and Siyanda Mwandla have been forced to withdraw from this week’s South African Open Championship at Sun City after testing positive for COVID-19.
All three professionals are currently self-isolating and being given all the necessary support from the Sunshine Tour to ensure their comfort and safety.
The latest withdrawals comes after the news of Darren Fichardt, who was forced to sit out of SA’s national open at the Gary Player Country Club.
The tournament is being played in its normal spot, kickstarting the new season, which was to begin with a run of South Africa events co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. However, with new travel restrictions around the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the event is now just a Sunshine Tour event.
The field will be playing for a $500,000 million purse, with none of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking among the top contenders.
The event is scheduled to take place at the Gary Player Country Club from 2-5 December.
The 111th playing of the national Open has drawn a field that also includes PGA Tour winner Garrick Higgo; former South African Open champions Brandon Stone, Richard Sterne and James Kingston; multiple DP World Tour champions Dean Burmester, George Coetzee and Justin Harding; rising young South African professionals Jovan Rebula and Martin Vorster; and South Africa’s top five amateurs led by number one Christiaan Maas.