The Sunshine Tour goes to Centurion Country Club this week for the Mediclinic Invitational from 8-11 March.

Opened in 1997, this Peter Matkovich-designed course is an established parkland layout with water in play on 10 of the holes. A large man-made lake is the centrepiece of the course, with the clubhouse and five holes laid out around it. Five other holes are on flat ground through which the Hennops River runs.

One of the notable holes is the tough par-four second where accuracy is vital. Interestingly, there are no bunkers on this hole, which has a stroke index of two. The gentle par-three eighth with its island green is one of Centurion’s standout holes.

The course has a rather dramatic finish, with a river running through the length of the par-four 16^th. The par-three 17^th has an island green, ringed by a bunker, with the 18^th green sitting on a peninsula with water on two sides.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Reinhardt Blaauw, Peetie van der Merwe and Stefan Wears-Taylor are three of the Centurion-based Sunshine Tour players in the Mediclinic Invitational field.
• In 2021 Jacques Kruyswijk won the Sunshine Tour Invitational at Centurion, his home club, which he’d represented for 11 years.
• The fairways at Centurion are planted with kikuyu grass, while the greens feature bent grass, which suit the Highveld’s wet summer conditions and dry winters.
• Centurion Country Club was ranked 69^th in South Africa’s Top 100 Courses this year, a climb of four places from 2022.