The Alfred Dunhill Championship is one of my favourite weeks on TV. The mostly uninterrupted coverage incorporates superb wildlife visuals, and with such a magnificent course this is a feast for the senses. It appears to be the only local tournament capable of attracting all our great SA players, thanks to Johan Rupert’s vision. The course itself, manicured as pristinely as Augusta, brings to the viewer a stunning array of different holes, many of them daunting to even the most talented of tour pros. What other venue can conjure up such an abundance of eagles and birdies, yet also so many 7s, 8s and even 9s? The stats show 42 triple bogeys, 14 quads, 4 quintuple bogeys, and a 9 on a par 3. That hole, the seventh, is arguably one of the scariest one-shotters yet it’s such a simple design. Water right, bunker and run-off area left. Its angle to the tee is ingenious. A scoring average of 3.41 made it the toughest of the tournament (ahead of No 8 at 4.36) and easily the most difficult par 3 of the many courses hosting DP World Tour events in SA this year.
