Share

McIlroy paired with Stone, Coetzee

Cape Town - World No 2 Rory McIlroy has been paired with South African duo Brandon Stone and George Coetzee for the opening two rounds of the SA Open at Glendower Golf Club, starting on Thursday.

Click for the draw for the 2017 SA Open

The trio will tee-off at 07:10 from the 10th tee, and will be off at 12:10 in Friday's second round, from the 1st tee.

Northern Ireland's McIlroy is playing this year after making good on a promise to Ernie Els to partake in the SA Open, the world's second oldest national Open tournament.

Els, who is the player-host this week, extracted the commitment when he played in the 2015 Irish Open, hosted by The Rory Foundation.

Stone is the defending SA Open champion, having won last year's tournament, also at Glendower, and is expected to provide McIlroy with his toughest challenge.

Glendower is playing host to the tournament for the fourth consecutive year, and the seventh occasion since 1989.

The par-72 layout boasts kikuyu grass fairways with 64 bunkers - 27 on the front nine and 37 on the back nine - and water hazards on 11 of the 18 holes.

Stone, ranked 72nd in world, is in a rich vein of form, having won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in commanding fashion at Leopard Creek in December last year.

Other notables in the field include Els (06:50 in Round 1), Retief Goosen (12:00) and Sir Nick Faldo (11:50) who will be making a rare start on the European Tour.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Pakistan 0
New Zealand 74/1
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
65% - 390 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
35% - 214 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE