• Edited by Bev Mortimer

Some of the top world golfers will be at the St Francis Links Links next week for the SDC.
A strong selection of the most in-form players on the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour for this $1.5-million tournament are set to play in the The inaugural SDC Championship at St Francis Links next week, from 16-19 March.
According to the latest list, just released, nine of the top 10 on the current Luno Order of Merit, including four of the top five players, who have won locally or internationally in the last three months, are o will be hereon St Francis turf. The DP World Tour players include 12 of the top 30 on the current Race to Dubai Rankings, with five of the last 11 winners in the DP World Tour’s current season.
South Africa’s Ockie Strydom will tee it up as a two-time winner on the DP World Tour this season already and who is ranked first on the Luno Order of Merit and fifth on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
The field in St Francis will also include six out of the current top 10 on the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings, including every single winner on the tour this season.
Every winner of either a Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament, or a Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour co-sanctioned tournament since November 2022 will tee it up, namely Dan Bradbury (Joburg Open), Thriston Lawrence (Investec South African Open), Ockie Strydom (Alfred Dunhill Championship), Antoine Rozner (AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open), Benjamin Follett-Smith (Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open), Oliver Bekker (Dimension Data Pro-Am), JJ Senekal (SDC Open) and Dylan Mostert (Nelson Mandela Bay Championship).
This will be the first time that St Francis Links hosts a tournament of this magnitude, which is also one of the biggest sporting events for the region.
The SDC Championship enhances the Skills Development Corporation’s (SDC) already strong presence in golf through the SDC Open on the Challenge tour, and this new elevated tournament makes it one of six tournaments on the DP World Tour’s schedule in South Africa.

Photo 1 (above) : South Africa’s Ockie Strydom, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour this season, leads a strong field of in-form professionals who will compete in the SDC Championship at St Francis Links this month. Credit: Sunshine Tour.

Photo 2 and 3: England’s Dan Bradbury and Finland’s Sami Välimäki are amongst the highest ranked players on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings who will be competing in the SDC Championship at St Francis Links this month. Credit: Sunshine Tour.

• Info: Vlismas Media