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The South African Open is returning to Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg for the first time since 2000 after a decision to merge it with the Joburg Open. The tournament will be played on Randpark's two championship golf courses, Firethorn and Bushwillow, from Dec. 6-9, with a field of 240 professionals -- including defending champion Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and former champion Brandon Stone -- competing for a minimum of R17.5 million in prize money. Glendower Golf Club had been scheduled to host the tournament from Jan. 11. The championship will, for the first time in its history, be tri-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour, and it will retain the international qualifying opportunities of the Joburg Open. "The new South African Open brings together the invaluable passion and support of the City of Johannesburg for professional golf with the second-oldest national Open in the game, and the result is now one truly world-class golf tournament," Sunshine Tour commissioner said Selwyn Nathan said in a press release. Randpark has hosted the tournament twice before, with Retief Goosen beating Ernie Els by five strokes in 1995 and Sweden's Mathias Gronberg winning in 2000. Els, the official player-host of the South African Open, said he was looking forward to this next step in the continued growth of the championship. "It's been an exciting last few years for the South African Open in which we've made this tournament one of the great championships of world golf again," Els said. "This is another important step in this process, with a major internationally-recognised city such as Johannesburg aligning itself so strongly with our national Open." Els is also an International Ambassador of the Asian Tour, and Asian Tour chief operating officer Cho Minn Thant said he was delighted to add the South African Open to the schedule. The South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg will occupy a premier place as one of the first tournaments on the European Tour's new season. "It has been our privilege to play a role in the growth of the South African Open and we look forward to taking this even further in its new role with the City of Johannesburg as a partner "The championship's prime positioning on our schedule makes it a very attractive tournament for our members who love playing in South Africa," European Tour chief executive officer Keith Pelley said. "We also look forward to continuing the partnership we had with the City of Johannesburg in the Joburg Open as we showcase this amazing city to our millions of viewers worldwide."
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