SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN VENUE UNDER FIRE FROM BIG TWO

FROM THE BT YAHOO SPORTS SERVICE
Report from Reuters
Major winning South African duo Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have criticised the state of the Durban Country Club course as it prepares to host this week's South African Open for the event's 100th edition.
"The sad part is that this is our gem of a golf course in South Africa. This is our old lady. This is our St Andrews and you would like to see the course looking its best," world number 12 and four-times winner Els said today.
"I think, under the circumstances, they have probably done the best that they could. I heard they only laid the grass after the football World Cup (in July) so that didn't give them much time," the three-times major winner added.
Twice US Open champion Goosen, 17 in the rankings and with two SA Open victories to his name though winless since March 2009, was slightly more forthright in his views ahead of the one million euro tournament which has had several hosts.
"Unfortunately the course is a disappointment. It is not in the sort of shape we are used to seeing but it is going to be the same for everybody.
"You are going to have to be on the top of your game from tee to green because the greens are going to be difficult to putt on so ball striking is going to be very important.
Only twice since 2000 have non-South African golfers won the event, Sweden's Mathias Gronberg (2000) and defending champion Richie Ramsay of Scotland, which Els put down to his countrymen's pride.
"It's not often that a foreigner wins the South African Open. We are very proud of the tournament. We play it as if it is a major so you will see the South African guys play very hard this week," said the 41-year-old, whose last SA Open victory came in 2006.
Also trying to wrestle the title away from Ramsay are Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, and 2010-11 European tour money list leader Pablo Martin of Spain.

Richie Ramsay knows it will be tough

FROM THE SUNSHINE TOUR WEBSITE
Defending South African Open champion Richie Ramsay cherishes his title almost as much as a South African player would.
But he knows that he will have a tough job on his hands, because, as Ernie Els said, “South Africans are very proud of the SA Open and we almost play it as if it’s a major.”
Ramsay, pictured, got a sense of what makes South Africa and the Sunshine Tour such a prolific producer of great golfers as he hosted a clinic for kids at the driving range on the day before the tournament.
“There were some kids there with fantastic swings,” he enthused. “I was impressed with the speed some of them got on their swings. It’s no wonder South Africans have a reputation for hitting the ball so long.”
But length is not going to be important around the 6,157-metre (6,733-yard) Durban Country Club, where Tim Clark won the SA Open when it was last held there in 2005.
“It resembles a little bit of a links course without being so bouncy,” said the man from Aberdeen, who won the US Amateur Championship in 2006.
“You have to drive it well and hit your wedges close and take your chances. That will play into my hands as I am driving the ball pretty straight,” he added.
The South African Open at Pearl Valley last year was Ramsay's maiden European Tour win, and it meant the world to him. “Obviously, winning such an old championship is a wonderful achievement,” he said. “South Africa holds a special place in my heart because it was my maiden win.
When you look at those names on the trophy, it means an awful lot to have your own name alongside people like Gary Player, and Ernie and Retief Goosen, who are obviously among the best of their generation,” he said.
After he won, in South Africa, he said he had an up-and-down sort of year. “I tried to use the win as a catalyst to push on, and, to be honest, I played some of the best golf I have ever played,” he said, “but on the greens, I struggled a little.”
He played better towards the end of the season. “I finished third in the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, so it shows I have brought my game to a different level,” he said.
“If I can get that chipping and putting going, then I can definitely move up a couple of notches,” he said.
Ramsay knows he needs those extra notches to make a successful defence. “Pablo Martin showed it could be done,” he said of the Spaniard who defended his Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek last week.
Perhaps Spaniards will be the least of his challengers as South Africans look to keep the title in local hands: Ramsay is only the seventh non-South African to have won the title in 99 tournaments so far.
The 100th will be exciting - for everyone, especially Ramsay.