Alfred Dunhill Championship

The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a men's professional golf tournament which is played in South Africa. It is part of the Southern African Sunshine Tour and is one of several events in South Africa that are co-sanctioned by the more prestigious European Tour.

This article is about the European and Sunshine Tour golf tournament held in South Africa. For the European Tour golf tournament held in Scotland, see Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Alfred Dunhill Championship
Tournament information
LocationMalalane, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Established2000
Course(s)Leopard Creek Country Club
Par72
Length7,287 yards (6,663 m)
Tour(s)European Tour
Sunshine Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundR29,000,000
Month playedNovember
Tournament record score
Aggregate264 Charl Schwartzel (2012)
To par−24 as above
Current champion
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Location Map
Leopard Creek CC
Location in South Africa
Leopard Creek CC
Location in Mpumalanga

History

The tournament was founded in 2000, but its origins lie in Dunhill's sponsorship of the South African PGA Championship between 1995 and 1999. Following the 1999 Alfred Dunhill PGA Championship, the company decided to discontinue their association with the South African PGA, and create their own stand alone tournament. The first event was held in January 2000 at the Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg, and replaced the South African PGA Championship on the European Tour calendar.

In 2004, the tournament was rescheduled to December, resulting in two events being staged that year; one in January and one in December. Following this change, the Alfred Dunhill Championship has formed part of the following year's European Tour season. In addition, the event was moved to the Leopard Creek Country Club, just south of the Kruger National Park in Malalane, Mpumalanga.

The 2021 event was scheduled to take place at Leopard Creek Country Club from 9–12 December. It was to be a co-sanctioned event between the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. However due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in place in the UK from South Africa, the event was cancelled less than two weeks before the tournament was due to start.[1]

Flagship event

In 2016, the Alfred Dunhill Championship replaced the South African Open as the tour's flagship event by the Official World Golf Ranking governing board. The winner was awarded 32 OWGR points. The change only lasted for one edition before reverting to the South African Open the following year as no tournament was held.[2] In 2020, the Alfred Dunhill Championship once again became the tour's flagship event.[3] The event was intended to be the flagship event again in 2021. However due to the cancellation of the tournament, the flagship event status was passed onto the South African Open.[4]

Winners
Sunshine Tour (Flagship event) 2016, 2020
Sunshine Tour (Regular) 2000–2015, 2017–2018
#YearTours[lower-alpha 1]WinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upVenue
Alfred Dunhill Championship
– 2021AFR, EURCancelled due to the effect of COVID-19 related travel restrictions[5]
21st2020AFR, EUR Christiaan Bezuidenhout274−144 strokes Richard Bland
Sean Crocker
Adrian Meronk
Jayden Schaper		Leopard Creek
20th2019AFR, EUR Pablo Larrazábal280−81 stroke Joel SjöholmLeopard Creek
19th2018AFR, EUR David Lipsky274−142 strokes David DrysdaleLeopard Creek
2017: No tournament due to course renovation
18th2016AFR, EUR Brandon Stone267−216 strokes Richard SterneLeopard Creek
17th2015AFR, EUR Charl Schwartzel (4)273−154 strokes Grégory BourdyLeopard Creek
16th2014AFR, EUR Branden Grace268−207 strokes Louis OosthuizenLeopard Creek
15th2013AFR, EUR Charl Schwartzel (3)271−174 strokes Richard FinchLeopard Creek
14th2012AFR, EUR Charl Schwartzel (2)264−2412 strokes Kristoffer BrobergLeopard Creek
13th2011AFR, EUR Garth Mulroy269−192 strokes George MurrayLeopard Creek
12th2010AFR, EUR Pablo Martín (2)277−112 strokes Anthony Michael
Thorbjørn Olesen
Charl Schwartzel		Leopard Creek
11th2009AFR, EUR Pablo Martín271−171 stroke Charl SchwartzelLeopard Creek
10th2008AFR, EUR Richard Sterne271−171 stroke Johan Edfors
Robert Rock		Leopard Creek
9th2007AFR, EUR John Bickerton275−131 stroke Ernie Els
Lee Slattery		Leopard Creek
8th2006AFR, EUR Álvaro Quirós275−131 stroke Charl SchwartzelLeopard Creek
Dunhill Championship
7th2005AFR, EUR Ernie Els274−143 strokes Louis Oosthuizen
Charl Schwartzel		Leopard Creek
6th2004
(Dec)		AFR, EUR Charl Schwartzel281−7Playoff Neil CheethamHoughton
5th2004
(Jan)		AFR, EUR Marcel Siem266−22Playoff Grégory Havret
Raphaël Jacquelin		Houghton
4th2003AFR, EUR Mark Foster273−15Playoff Anders Hansen
Trevor Immelman
Paul Lawrie
Doug McGuigan
Bradford Vaughan		Houghton
3rd2002AFR, EUR Justin Rose268−202 strokes Mark Foster
Retief Goosen
Martin Maritz		Houghton
Alfred Dunhill Championship
2nd2001AFR, EUR Adam Scott267−211 stroke Justin RoseHoughton
1st2000AFR, EUR Anthony Wall204[lower-alpha 2]−122 strokes Gary Orr
Phillip Price		Houghton
  1. AFR − Sunshine Tour (previously known as the Vodacom Tour); EUR − European Tour.
  2. Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

References
  1. "Irish golfers battling travel chaos to get back from South Africa after pulling out of Joburg Open". Irish Independent. 26 November 2021.
  2. "SA Open receives world ranking flagship status". News 24. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  3. "How the ranking evolved". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  4. Sherman, Michael (1 December 2021). "SA Open goes ahead without co-sanctioned status for first time in 25 years". IOL. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  5. Butler, Lynn (26 November 2021). "Sunshine Tour confirm SA Open to go ahead in Sun City, Alfred Dunhill Championship cancelled". Sport24. News24. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
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