Golf Network News
Sunday 8 February 1998European TourYear in Review
Els wins South African Open
Durban Country Club, Durban, South Africa · Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 February 1998 · Ernie Els’s win no. 6 on the European Tour · purse £450,000 GBP
The headline is set by GNN from the record. Reports from the papers of the day are below as they are found.
The weather
13 h 13 m
of daylight on the final day, the sun 76° up at noon, and that night a waxing gibbous moon (computed from the date and the place).
- R130°/24°C · wind 18 km/h E, gusts 31 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
- R230°/24°C · wind 25 km/h NE, gusts 45 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
- R333°/24°C · wind 24 km/h NE, gusts 44 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
- R429°/24°C · wind 22 km/h S, gusts 38 · 1.1 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
The name over time
Not yet traced: its earlier names, sponsors and courses come with research.
The ones it got away from
- David Frost RSA · 276Playing partner of Els, drew level with a birdie at the 3rd, but a double bogey at the 11th (after another at the 12th on Saturday) cost him; closed with 71. Golf Today - South African Open 1998 final round report
144 started, 76 made it
Same week
DP World Tour event
South African Open
Durban Country Club, Durban Country Club, Durban, South Africa
4 of 5 researched
Winner
Ernie Els
Runner-up not yet researched.
From the papers
Golf Today (unbylined final-round report)
8 February 1998
Once I had opened up a four-shot lead after 13, I felt I really had to mess up badly to lose this one
Golf Today (unbylined final-round report)
8 February 1998
But to win here, in a tournament which I place high on my list, is really great. This is the major on the Southern African tour and it's our most prestigious event.
Golf Today (unbylined third-round report)
7 February 1998
My finish to the day really turned it around for me.
Top 10
| Pos | Player | Rounds | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Els | 64 · 72 · 68 · 69 | 273 | −15 |
| 2 | David Frost | 68 · 66 · 71 · 71 | 276 | −12 |
| 3 | Patrik Sjöland | 69 · 74 · 68 · 69 | 280 | −8 |
| T4 | Marco Gortana | 70 · 71 · 70 · 70 | 281 | −7 |
| T4 | Bernhard Langer | 71 · 68 · 71 · 71 | 281 | −7 |
| T4 | Nic Henning | 69 · 71 · 70 · 71 | 281 | −7 |
| T7 | Mark McNulty | 66 · 79 · 67 · 70 | 282 | −6 |
| T7 | Ignacio Garrido | 66 · 72 · 72 · 72 | 282 | −6 |
| T9 | Alex Cejka | 73 · 72 · 70 · 68 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | Richard Kaplan | 69 · 73 · 72 · 69 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | David Howell | 72 · 72 · 70 · 69 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | James Kingston | 74 · 70 · 70 · 69 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | Brett Liddle | 71 · 71 · 71 · 70 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | Massimo Florioli | 72 · 72 · 68 · 71 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | Thomas Gögele | 69 · 69 · 73 · 72 | 283 | −5 |
| T9 | Vijay Singh | 71 · 72 · 67 · 73 | 283 | −5 |
The golfer
born 1969-10-17, Johannesburg, South Africa; RSA; turned pro 1989; age 28 that week; tour wins to date: 6; majors to date: 2; world No. 3 that week (OWGR rankBefore 3 (week 6, 1998) from OWGR player profile events table; Golf Today also calls him "world number three". Age 28 stated by Golf Today. tour_wins_to_date 6 = Wikipedia season table "(6)" and European Tour wins table no. 6. majors_to_date 2 = Wikipedia wins table (1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens before this event).).
What’s in the bag
No bag on file yet