Top field expected for Sunshine Tour’s new Fortress Invitational

The Sunshine Tour has a new addition with the Fortress Invitational, to be played at the Ebotse Links in Benoni from October 7 to 9.

Logistics and retail property specialists Fortress Real Estate are the sponsors of the three-day tournament that will feature more than 120 professionals returning to the course for the first time since March 2021.

The field will compete for a R1.5m prize purse.

The tournament is expected to draw a top-quality field including Albert Venter, the Luno Order of Merit leader and two-time winner this season. Also expected to compete are first-time winners Herman Loubser, Dylan Mostert, Anthony Michael and rising star Jayden Schaper, who will be playing his home course.

They will be joined by tour regulars Jaco van Zyl, Neil Schietekat, Jean Hugo, Jaco Ahlers, Hennie Otto and Jbé Kruger.

Ebotse Links, the only inland links course in SA, is a Peter Matkovich design with seven holes on the water and has been built to US PGA specifications.

“I’ve played Ebotse a few times,” leading player Michael Palmer said. “We played there in winter once and you get the proper links experience because the ball runs forever. There is a lot of long grass there too, so it isn’t just the water, but you can run through the fairways into long grass and you start the hole again.”

Part of the peril is the amount of water at Ebotse.

“Ebotse is unique because there is a lot of water,” golfer Rupert Kaminski said. “There is not much to aim at sometimes because it is wide open, which makes it challenging. You have to be precise with where you are aiming.

“It plays differently from most golf courses. Hopefully, it will be firm and fast like it is supposed to be. It is definitely a unique challenge. We have a tournament next week at St Francis Links, which will be good prep for that.”

The 54-hole event bolsters the Sunshine Tour schedule of more than 35 tournaments and is one of several new tournaments announced this season.

“We’re very excited to announce the new Fortress Invitational as we keep expanding our schedule and providing good quality playing opportunities for our member professionals,” Thomas Abt, commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said.

“With the addition of the Fortress Invitational we have built up a very strong schedule that allows tour professionals to remain competitive throughout the year as they prepare for our co-sanctioned tournaments with the DP World Tour, which gives them the opportunity to take their careers to the next level.”