From left to right: Kobede Mokoena, Willem Blignaut, Pieter Boshoff and Frank Nhlapo. Absent: Leon Matthee and Williem Fourie.
Report written by Louwrens De Jager
The US Open
The 125th U.S. Open tees off this week at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, one of the toughest venues in golf history. Known for its aggressive slopes, slick greens, the notorious Church Pew bunker, and punishing rough, Oakmont is a true test of precision and nerve.
Tournament Spotlight
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Dates & setup: June 12–15 on a par‑70 layout stretching ~7,340 yards, with slopes up to 14–15 on the Stimpmeter and rough reaching 4–8 inches.
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Field & format: A full roster of 156 players, with a cut after Round 2. Big names include defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and Collin Morikawa.
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Course reputation: As Justin Thomas put it, Oakmont can “make players look stupid pretty fast”—a nod to its merciless challenge.
The Favourite
Scottie Scheffler enters with red-hot form—victorious at the PGA Championship and Memorial—and he’s the clear betting favourite at around +280 . With three wins in his last four starts and no U.S. Open title yet, he’s poised to dominate the leaderboard.
Second in line: Bryson DeChambeau, aiming to become back-to-back U.S. Open champion (a feat not seen since 2018). Rory McIlroy, fresh from completing his career Grand Slam at the Masters, remains a tough contender despite recent form questions .
South African Legacy
South Africans have a storied past at the U.S. Open:
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Ernie Els, aka "The Big Easy," captured titles in 1994 at Oakmont (his first major) and again in 1997.
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Retief Goosen claimed two U.S. Opens in 2001 and 2004.
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Gary Player added a U.S. Open title in 1965, the same year he completed his career Grand Slam .
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Louis Oosthuizen came close with runner‑up finishes in 2015 and 2021, showing continued South African strength in major championships .
Our nation’s champions, from Els’s playoff win at Oakmont to Goosen’s icy composure, have left a legacy of excellence in this major, proof that SA golf thrives on the global stage.
This promises to be a grind of nerve, strategy, and skill—the kind of golf we all live for. Let the drama unfold at Oakmont!
HNA News
“Dear Golfer,
This month, we’re focusing on score submission—an essential part of maintaining a fair and accurate Handicap Index®. Submitting your scores on time keeps you eligible for competitions and ensures the system works as it should. Read on for a quick reminder of the rules and what to avoid.
Keep Your Handicap Fair—Submit Scores On Time
Your Handicap Index® is only as accurate as the scores you enter—and when you enter them.
Under the World Handicap System™, there are clear rules about when to submit your scores and what happens if you don’t. Here's what you need to know to avoid penalties and stay in good standing:
Score Submission Deadline
You must submit your score by midnight on the day you play.
- This allows your round to be included in the daily Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC).
- Your Handicap Index is then updated overnight—so it's ready for any competition you may play in the next day.
- Late scores = no valid Handicap Index, which means you may not be eligible to compete.
Penalty for Late Scores
If you don’t enter your score by midnight the next day, a Penalty Score will be automatically added to your record.
- This Penalty Score will match your lowest Score Differential from your last 20 rounds.
- It will be marked with a "p" to show it was a system-assigned penalty.
Repeated Late Entries?
If you submit scores late, your club’s Handicap Committee will be alerted.
- They receive regular updates on who the defaulters are.
- They may review your scoring history and take action, which could include:
- Adding penalty scores
- Adjusting your Handicap Index
- Even temporarily withdrawing your handicap
This is all done to keep the system fair and honest for everyone.
Bottom line: submit your scores as soon as you can—definitely before midnight on the day you play. It keeps your handicap fair, your competition eligibility intact, and the system working as it should.” Quoted from Handicap Network Africa
Rule of the Month
Purpose of Rule:
Rule 7 allows the player to take reasonable actions to fairly search for their ball in play after each stroke.
- But the player still must be careful, as a penalty will apply if the player acts excessively and causes improvement to the conditions affecting their next stroke.
- The player gets no penalty if the ball is accidentally moved in trying to find or identify it, but must then replace the ball on its original spot.
7 Ball Search: Finding and Identifying Ball
7.1How to Fairly Search for Ball
7.1a Player May Take Reasonable Actions to Find and Identify Ball
A player is responsible for finding their ball in play after each stroke. The player may fairly search for the ball by taking reasonable actions to find and identify it, such as:
- Moving sand and water, and
- Moving or bending grass, bushes, tree branches and other growing or attached natural objects, and also breaking such objects, but only if such breaking is a result of other reasonable actions taken to find or identify the ball.
If taking such reasonable actions as part of a fair search improves the conditions affecting the stroke:
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There is no penalty under Rule 8.1a if the improvement results from a fair search.
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But if the improvement results from actions that exceeded what was reasonable for a fair search, the player gets the general penalty for breach of Rule 8.1a.
In trying to find and identify the ball, the player may remove loose impediments as allowed in Rule 15.1 and may remove movable obstructions as allowed in Rule 15.2.
7.1b What to Do If Sand Affecting Lie of Player’s Ball Is Moved While Trying to Find or Identify It
- The player must re-create the original lie in the sand, but may leave a small part of the ball visible if the ball had been covered by sand.
- If the player plays the ball without having re-created the original lie, the player gets the general penalty.
7.2 How to Identify Ball
A player’s ball at rest may be identified in any one of these ways:
- By the player or anyone else seeing a ball come to rest in circumstances where it is known to be the player’s ball.
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By seeing the player’s identifying mark on the ball (see Rule 6.3a), but this does not apply if an identical ball with an identical identifying mark is also found in the same area.
- By finding a ball with the same brand, model, number and condition as the player’s ball in an area where the player’s ball is expected to be, but this does not apply if an identical ball is in the same area and there is no way to know which one is the player’s ball.
If a player’s provisional ball cannot be distinguished from their original ball, see Rule 18.3c(2).
7.3 Lifting Ball to Identify It
If a ball might be a player’s ball but cannot be identified as it lies:
- The player may lift the ball to identify it (including by rotating it), but:
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The spot of the ball must first be marked, and the ball must not be cleaned more than needed to identify it (except on the putting green) (see Rule 14.1).
If the lifted ball is the player’s ball or another player’s ball, it must be replaced on its original spot (see Rule 14.2).If the player lifts their ball under this Rule when not reasonably necessary to identify it (except on the putting green where the player may lift under Rule 13.1b), fails to mark the spot of the ball before lifting it or cleans it when not allowed, the player gets one penalty stroke. Penalty for Playing Ball from a Wrong Place in Breach of Rule 7.3: General Penalty Under Rule 14.7a.
