# Western Province Open

The Western Province Open was a golf tournament in South Africa as part of the Southern Africa Tour. In the early years of the tournament, Bobby Locke and Harold Henning had much success, winning the event multiple times each. During the middle and later phase of the tournament legend Gary Player had much success, ultimately winning the event five times.

## History

Bobby Locke, Gary Player, Harold Henning, and Bobby Verwey had the most success in the early years of the tournament. In 1956, Locke was victorious, defeating Australia's Peter Thomson by two shots. A young Gary Player finished solo third. The following year, Player and Henning shared the championship, three ahead of Locke, the third place finisher. Locke came back the following year with a blowout win, defeating joint runner-up Henning by 11 shots. Henning won the following year, defeating Eric Moore by two. Locke finished third at 283. Player won the following year but Henning captured the title again in 1961 defeating Bobby Verwey by a stroke. Two years later Verwey "led throughout" and defeated Eric Moore by four.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the tournament was dominated by Gary Player and Cobie Legrange. In 1968, Player set the course record in the third round on his way to an easy win. The following year, Legrange was victorious, defeating England's Peter Oosterhuis down the stretch. In 1970, Scotland's Bobby Walker won the tournament defeating fellow Briton Jimmy Hitchcock. According to The Guardian, Walker "became the first overseas player to win the Western Province open." In 1971, however, Player came back and won easily, winning by seven. The following year Player successfully defended his championship, defeating Legrange by four.
In the final years of the event, a variety of golfers had success. In 1973, Hugh Baiocchi overcame a two shot deficit to Ireland's John O'Leary and win. The following year, South African John Fourie won handily, defeating Legrange by seven. Fourie finished joint runner-up the following year, one behind champion Bill Brask. In 1976, at the final edition of the event, Allan Henning was victorious, defeating Baiocchi by six.

## Winners

| Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1936 | Alf Padgham | 278 | | 6 strokes | Sid Brews Bill Cox |
| 1956 | Bobby Locke | 287 | | 2 strokes | Peter Thomson |
| 1957 | Harold Henning Gary Player | 285 | | Tied | |
| 1958 | Bobby Locke (2) | 286 | | 11 strokes | Harold Henning Ronnie Glennie (a) |
| 1959 | Harold Henning (2) | 280 | | 2 strokes | Eric Moore |
| 1960 | Gary Player (2) | 271 | | | |
| 1961 | Harold Henning (3) | 284 | | 1 stroke | Bobby Verwey |
| 1962 | Tommy Trevena | 289 | | | |
| 1963 | Bobby Verwey | 286 | | 4 strokes | Eric Moore |
| 1964 | Retief Waltman | | | | |
| 1965 | Allan Henning | | | | |
| 1966 | Cobie Legrange | | | | |
| 1967 | Denis Hutchinson | | | | |
| 1968 | Gary Player (3) | 280 | −12 | 4 strokes | Clive Clark |
| 1969 | Cobie Legrange (2) | 272 | −12 | 2 strokes | Peter Oosterhuis |
| 1970 | Bobby Walker | 284 | | 1 stroke | Jimmy Hitchcock |
| 1971 | Gary Player (4) | 268 | −16 | 7 strokes | Harold Henning Craig Shankland |
| 1972 | Gary Player (5) | 278 | −10 | 4 strokes | Cobie Legrange |
| 1973 | Hugh Baiocchi | 292 | E | 1 stroke | John O'Leary |
| 1974 (Jan) | John Fourie | 277 | −11 | 7 strokes | Cobie Legrange |
| 1974 (Nov) | Bill Brask | 280 | −4 | 1 stroke | John Fourie Allan Henning |
| 1975 | No tournament due to rescheduling from November to January | No tournament due to rescheduling from November to January | No tournament due to rescheduling from November to January | No tournament due to rescheduling from November to January | No tournament due to rescheduling from November to January |
| 1976 | Allan Henning | 282 | −6 | 6 strokes | Hugh Baiocchi |