Club: Royal Johannesburg and Kensington GC

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Date: Jan 12-15, 2012

European Tour Golf Betting Odds: The Joburg Open is a men's professional golf tournament on the Southern Africa based Sunshine Tour. The event was founded in 2007, and is played in January at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In 2008, the event was contested over both the West and East courses for the first two rounds, enabling a large field of over 200 competitors, with the final two rounds being played over the East course following a cut to the top 65 and ties.

Since its inauguration, the tournament has been co-sanctioned by the European Tour, which has helped provide a larger prize fund and attract stronger fields. It is one of four tournaments in South Africa on the European Tour's international schedule.

In the 2010 tournament, Charl Schwartzel claimed his fifth European Tour title winning convincingly by a whopping six shots at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club. Another South Africa, Keith Horne, shared second place with Darren Clarke on 17 under overall, way behind Schwartzel who put on a show with rounds of 63, 68, 64 and 66.

In 2011, Charl Schwartzel successfully defended the title he won the year before shooting four rounds in the 60s – including a sensational 61 on day two – that saw him streak clear of the field and eventually win by four from his nearest challenger, Garth Mulroy. It proved the perfect start to the season for the South African who would carry his winning form through to the first Major of the season just a few months later. Previous winners of the event have also been Denmark’s Anders Hansen in 2009, Richard Sterne the year before, and Ariel Canete back in 2007.

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2012 Joburg Open Winner - Grace Claims Joburg Open Win

SA’s Branden Grace yesterday showed nerves of steel in a dramatic final round at the Joburg Open at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, holding on to a one-stroke lead to claim the R2, 1m check and his first European Tour victory.

The 23-year-old, who had won only one event prior to this tournament since turning professional in 2007, entered the final round with a three-stroke cushion over England’s Richard Finch and SA’s George Coetzee at 17 under.

But while Finch and Coetzee battled on the challenging East Course yesterday, Grace held his nerve and overcame a bogey on the par-three second, which he balanced with a birdie on the par-four ninth, and the pressure of knowing that England’s Jamie Elson was waiting in the players’ lounge only one stroke behind. It was his 50th European Tour event.

The victory also continued SA’s successful run in the European co-sanctioned events, as it marked the fourth victory by a local player in the past six European Tour events.

In a solid final round, Grace was cautious and settled for a level-par round, although he could be considered a little unlucky as several close putts failed to find the bottom of the hole, which would have eased some of the pressure.

2011 Joburg Open Winner

Charl Schwartzel successfully defended his Joburg Open title with a four-stroke victory on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Sunday.

Schwartzel closed with a 67 for a total of 19 under par 265, following Ernie Els (Heineken Classic 2002, 2003 and 2004) and Trevor Immelman (South African Open 2003 and 2004) as the third South African to defend a title on the European Tour.

Garth Mulroy finished second on 15 under with a final round of 71, while Thomas Aiken was third on 14 under with a 72.