Schalk Burger Jnr. had a bigger smile than usual as he teed off in the pro-am for this week’s Jonsson Workwear Open at The Club at Steyn City, with the former Springbok likening South Africa’s golf depth to being similar to the country’s rugby talent.

“I think we’re massively privileged. The Sunshine Tour and the amount of talent we produce is outstanding. There are so many correlations between that and our rugby, and a talent pool that seems almost endless,” said Burger.

This week, that talent will again be on global display in this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament, at a Steyn City golf course that adds significantly to the country’s renowned golf offering.

From its birth more than 10 years ago, Steyn City has been ranked amongst the top 10 estates globally and was recently ranked by New World Wealth as one of the Top 10 Lifestyle Estates worldwide for 2023. This is the second time Steyn City has earned this recognition.

At the heart of the luxury residential lifestyle estate is the championship Nicklaus Design golf course which this week hosts a major Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour event for the second time in its history.

Sunshine Tour professional James Hart du Preez came close to a DP World Tour victory when he challenged for the Steyn City Championship here last year, and he says driving through the estate this week has made him feel right at home again.

“When I drove in here on Monday I got that sense of feeling really comfortable here. I like this golf course. The fairways are a bit wider and the course is long. The greens are really good this week, which lends itself to some good putting. But as a lifestyle estate, I don’t think people have paid attention to what was here before and what this is now. The infrastructure that was put in here is incredible. It’s one of the best estates I’ve ever seen in terms of facilities. There’s a 50km mountain bike track, a 300-metre lagoon, the golf course, equestrian facilities – there’s really nothing that this place doesn’t have.”

The European professionals competing this week are equally impressed with what South Africa and the Sunshine Tour offers in the golf space.

“It’s my favourite country. I love coming here. The golf courses are great. I’ve been coming here for 20 years and it’s just a joy coming every time,” said Dutch professional Joost Luiten.

“I love it here. There are so many good courses. The Sunshine Tour is also so well run here and it really prepares you well for going to the next level,” added French professional Julien Brun. – Michael Vlismas

Photo Credit: Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour