The DP World Tour heads to the Houghton Golf Club in Joburg for the 2025 edition of the Joburg Open. Damien Kayat previews.
2025 DP World Tour
DP World Tour/Sunshine Tour
Houghton Golf Club
6 – 9 March
Dylan Naidoo created a bit of history last week, beating Laurie Canter on the first playoff hole to become the first person of colour to win the SA Open.
Lest we forget, the famed Sewsunker Sewgolum wasn’t even allowed into the clubhouse when he won the Natal Open title 62 years ago. Rain once again wreaked havoc with the event, causing Sunday’s 4th round to be abandoned (Naidoo and Canter came out late Sunday afternoon to contest the playoff).
Joburg Open
The tour remains in South Africa for the 2nd of two stops: the Joburg Open. Like last week’s SA Open, this will be the first installment of the event since 2023 (the SA Open and Joburg Open were two of the tournaments that kicked off the 2023/2024 DP World Tour).
The Joburg Open was followed by the SA Open back in late 2023 (meaning they have switched places in rotation this year).
Ariel Canete won the inaugural staging of this co-sanctioned event back in 2007 and it remained an ever-present on tour until 2017. It strangely enjoyed two renewals in 2017 before disappearing from the roster for a few seasons.
This event kicked off the new DP World Tour era in farcical fashion back in 2021, with terrible weather and Covid travel restrictions resulting in a 36-hole event (won by Thriston Lawrence).
The tournament moved to Houghton in 2022, with the virtually unknown Dan Bradbury becoming one of the biggest surprise winners in recent European history.
This will be the 3rd successive edition hosted at Houghton Golf Club. Dean Burmester will not be back to defend his title as he plies his trade on the LIV Tour this week.
Houghton Golf Club
Houghton Golf Club is an undulating tree-lined parkland course (like so many Joburg-based designs). It enjoys a reputation as one of the most iconic courses in South Africa, hosting eight SA Opens before becoming the original home of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
The tree-lined test has undergone recent renovations under the guidance of Jack Nicklaus. The main thrust of these renovations was to add more bunkering to the fairways. This means that accuracy will likely prove more important than distance this week.
The 7,200+ yardage is also deceptive due to the altitude. There are many holes where large trees will impede your line of sight for the approach. This will put an onus on players finding the right portion of the fairways and should favour the shot-shapers in the field.
There were no stats produced for 2023 winner Burmester (probably due to his LIV affiliation). But the next four in the field finished inside the top eight in GIR. So, approach play will trump what is done off the tee this week. There has been plenty of rain in the region and you can expect soft, receptive conditions this week.
Contenders
This could be one of the weakest fields of the entire season, with many of the top SA players featuring in other events (namely LIV).
Also, Laurie Canter will now be preparing for next week’s Players after his runner-up finish in Durban. I find it almost hard to believe that the uber-talented Jayden Schaper is leading the markets (he is yet to taste victory on any tour).
John Parry has become a bit of a specialist in African conditions while 2022 champ Dan Bradbury is in desperate current form. Jordan Smith and Ewen Ferguson are probably the biggest names in the field. However, both arrive under significant injury clouds, each withdrawing from their last intended starts.
Shaun Norris is probably one of the most in-form players out there, while veterans such as Andy Sullivan and Joost Luiten might fancy their chances in this decimated field.
Past Winners
2024: no event
2023: Dean Burmester (18)
2022: Dan Bradbury (-21)
2021: Thriston Lawrence (-12) *36 holes
2020: JB Hansen (-19)
2018-2019: no event
To Win Outright:
Jayden Schaper 18/1 | Jordan Smith 20/1 | Shaun Norris 22/1 | John Parry 22/1 | Johannes Veerman 22/1
Value Bets
Casey Jarvis – To Win 35/1
Jarvis narrowly missed the cut at the Durban Country Club, bogeying his last hole to shoot a 69 on Friday. But Jarvis was born on the outskirts of Joburg and should know Houghton a little better.
He really impressed on his first trip here, finishing 9th just a few months into his young pro career. He won at Adamstal on the Challenge Tour (which is also a tight, tree-lined affair).
He is fresh off a solid – if unspectacular – rookie season on the DP World Tour, highlighted by a 6th place finish at the Genesis Championship (played on a Nicklaus design).
He also held the 54-hole lead at the Taiheyo Club in Japan last year (which is yet another tree-lined course). The youngster is a tad inconsistent, but I think he should thrive on this layout.
Darren Fichardt – To Win 66/1
Veteran Darren Fichardt is just the type of guy to take advantage of a field such as this. The five-time DP World Tour champion was in dreadful form up until recently, missing five straight cuts at one point.
He was T4 at last week’s SA Open, ending his streak of missed cuts with a T21 finish in Qatar. He also has course and tournament credentials, finishing 2nd here in 2023 and winning this tournament in 2017 (at a different course).
The Man to Beat – Shaun Norris – To Win 20/1
Shaun Norris looks far and away the most in-form player in this rather miserable field. The 42-year-old South African has finished inside the top 16 in each of his last four worldwide starts.
He came back from a six-stroke deficit to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December. He finished T6 in a high-class field in Dubai and is fresh off a solid T9 finish in Durban.
Norris finished T18 here back in 2022 but did go on to miss the cut in 2023. However, his recent form sets him apart from much of the rest of the field.
