Out of the Rough: Joburg Open (2026)

The DP World Tour is set to put a cap on its ‘International Swing’ with this week’s Joburg Open.

Prior to last year, the Joburg Open was last held as part of the 2024 DP World Tour Season, being played in the fall of 2023.

Last year, the event found a new slot in the DP World Tour schedule, following the Investec South African Open Championship.

This event is co-sanctioned between the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour and was first held in 2007. 

This will be the 18th playing of the Joburg Open as the event was not held in 2018 or 2019.

The event is held at Houghton Golf Club as has been since the 2023 season.

The Field

Last year, as this event served as the finale to the ‘International Swing’ and prepared for the ‘Asian Swing,’ many of the Tour’s best remained idle.

That won’t be the case this season as two-time season winners Patrick Reed (Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters) and Jayden Schaper (Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open) headline this week’s field.

Just as we saw last week, a strong South African presence will help headline this week’s field.

Notable South Africans teeing it up this week include Schaper, Daniel van Tonder, Shaun Norris, Oliver Bekker, Thriston Lawrence, Casey Jarvis, Michael Hollick, Deon Germishuys, JC Ritchie, Richard Sterne, Brandon Stone, Hennie du Plessis, Dylan Frittelli and Ockie Strydom. 

Other notable names teeing it up this week include Andy Sullivan, Julien Guerrier, Calum Hill, Dan Bradbury, Davis Bryant, Angel Ayora and Jacob Skov Olesen.

Hill comes in as the defending champion as he topped both Jacques Kruyswijk and Shaun Norris in a playoff a season ago.

Bradbury (2022) is the only other winner at Houghton Golf Club teeing it up this week.

The Course

Houghton Golf Course in Johannesburg, South Africa is this week’s host.

It plays as a par-72 measuring 7,241 yards.

This track has a rich history, hosting the South African Open eight times as well as the South African PGA Championship at the end of the last century.

This course is a traditional tree-lined parkland course with fairly generous fairways.

Although the fairways are generous, they are undulating and the course as a whole has lots of water hazards and bunkers in play.

The greens featured this week are bentgrass and are undulating.

Additionally, the course is listed at 7,241 yards on the scorecard but does not play as long as that number suggests as it sits over 5,000 feet above sea level. Therefore, the ball travels approximately 10-percent further.

In all, the long straight-line hitters off-the-tee will see a leg up this week.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, there is a 35-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms for Thursday. Friday currently calls for a 35-percent chance of precipitation, Saturday a 50-percent chance and Sunday a 50-percent chance. Temperatures are set to begin the week at 76-degrees before increasing to 77-degrees on Friday. Temperatures will return to 75-degrees on Saturday and will finish the week at 72-degrees on Sunday. Winds are set for nine miles-per-hour for both Thursday and Friday before settling to eight miles-per-hour on Saturday. Winds will be the highest on Sunday at 11 miles-per-hour. 

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Average Driving Distance

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Scrambling

• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)

• Bogey Avoidance

• Sand Saves Percentage

Betting Card

Julien Guerrier (+4000)

Guerrier is currently 16th on Tour in bogey avoidance, 22nd in scrambling, 29th in SG: APP, 35th in average driving distance, 36th in SG: PUTT, 45th in GIR%, 50th in SG: OTT and 58th in sand saves percentage. He placed 29th last week at the Investec South African Open Championship, 36th at the Qatar Masters, 24th at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, third at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, third at the Dubai Invitational, missed the cut at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and sixth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the season. He last played this event in 2023 where he placed T48th. 

Brandon Stone (+5000)

My first of two repeat bets from a week ago, Stone placed 50th last week at the Investec South African Open Championship. Prior to that he placed 36th at the Qatar Masters, 24th at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, missed the cut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, ninth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and 23rd at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. He placed T30th here a season ago, missed the cut in 2024 and placed T44th in 2023. Stone is currently fifth on Tour in SG: OTT, 12th in GIR%, 13th in SG: APP, 28th in average driving distance, 54th in bogey avoidance, 81st in sand saves percentage, 89th in scrambling and 133th in SG: PUTT.

Daniel van Tonder (+5000)

At this point, van Tonder is a mainstay on my betting cards. He has a good event history here, placing fifth a season ago, missed the cut in 2024 and placed third in 2023. He also placed sixth last week at the Investec South African Open, 61st at the Magical Kenya Open, 52nd at the Qatar Masters, missed the cut at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, 15th at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, 14th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and tenth at the NedBank Golf Challenge this season. He is currently sixth on Tour in sand saves percentage, 25th in SG: APP, 32nd in SG: OTT, 55th in scrambling, 69th in GIR%, 70th in bogey avoidance, 78th in average driving distance and 130th in SG: PUTT. 

Rafa Cabrera Bello (+7500)

Cabrera Bello comes into this week on great form. He placed ninth last week at the Investec South African Open, 34th at the Qatar Masters, 16th at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, 19th at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and 23rd at the Crown Australian Open. He is currently sixth on Tour in SG: APP, ninth in scrambling, 19th in bogey avoidance, 30th in sand saves percentage, 55th in GIR%, 66th in SG: PUTT, 91st in SG: OTT and 106th in average driving distance.

2025 Betting Card

• Jayden Schaper (+2500) - T9th

• Brandon Robinson-Thompson (+4000) - T7th

• Marco Penge (+5500) - T19th

• Deon Germishuys (+12000) - MC

2024 Betting Card

• Hennie du Plessis (+1600) - T21st

• Romain Langasque (+3000) - MC

• Niklas Norgaard (+3500) - T37th

• Jayden Schaper (+4500) - T9th