SA’s best available senior professional golfers are lining up for what should be another compelling tournament at the famed Humewood Links when the fourth edition of the Nelson Mandela Bay Classic is played in Gqeberha next week.
Part of the Sunshine Senior Tour, the tournament featuring golfers aged 50+ will take place from May 15 to 17, with pro-am rounds being played on Wednesday and Thursday, and the pros shooting it out for the title on Friday.
Tour COO Neville Clarke said though Adilson da Silva would not be back to defend his title, there would still be a high-class field on show as the level of senior professional golf in SA grows increasingly competitive.
“We still have a very strong entry, with players such as Chris Williams, Wallie Coetzee and Doug McGuigan in the mix, so we are looking forward to another great week of golf,” he said.
“In addition, we have the ‘new kid on the block’ in Andrew McLardy, who turned 50 in January and is really keen to make an impact on senior professional golf, both in SA and further afield.”
Playing his first senior tour event at the Middelburg Country Club in Gauteng recently, McLardy was pipped to the post in the SA Senior Masters when James Kingston shot a final round 65 to edge him by one shot.
“It shows the competitiveness of the tour and it will be no different when these guys play on one of the best courses in the country at Humewood next week,” Clarke said.
“People who have been around for a while know why this links layout is rated so highly as it’s a course which throws a variety of challenges at the golfers and tests your shotmaking to the extreme, especially if the wind blows a bit.”
Humewood has certainly had its fair share of drama in recent years, with Da Silva suffering a near-meltdown in brutal conditions in 2023 when pouring rain caused the final round to be temporarily stopped on the 16th hole.
The Brazilian suffered in the cold weather and saw a five-shot overnight lead whittled away by Keith Horne, who came within a whisker of holing a chip from just off the green on the 18th for a birdie to force a playoff.
Da Silva held on to win by one shot, leading from wire to wire.
The previous year McGuigan triumphed, also by one shot over Horne, in emotional circumstances after his mother passed away on the penultimate day of the tournament.
Trailing Horne by one shot overnight, McGuigan showed his character by birdieing the first hole and eventually taking the title in a poignant finish.
“The guys love playing at Humewood and it’s a special place, but because of what’s happened to me recently it will always have an extra special meaning for me,” he said after that triumph.
Now McGuigan will be looking to add another feather to his cap in an illustrious career as he chases a second title, along with Williams, the winner in 2021.
Clarke added that they were most appreciative at the support received from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in hosting and funding the tournament.
“This is the fourth staging of the event and everything is running smoothly for another bumper week of golf in Gqeberha, providing great exposure for the city and what the greater Nelson Mandela Bay region has to offer,” he said.
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