The ball was rolling in organized golf across the country, and it took only a few months for the South African Open Championship to be held at an annual South African Tournament. Port Elizabeth hosted the Tournament for the fifth time in 1903 when ten players comprising six professionals and four amateurs - took part in for the tournament's 36 holes of stroke-play contest which ended with Laurie Waters winning the inaugural Open by just three shots against his closest competitor. He was able to win the Open title three times in 1904 and 1907, and 1920. Only four other players have won more national titles.

In 1908 In 1908, the Open was first played over 72 holes in conjunction along with the Amateur at Port Elizabeth, attracting a field of thirty players; seven professional and twenty-three amateurs. George Fotheringham won the Open by claiming an incredible overall score of 294 - any lower than 300 was hardly a norm at the time. Fotheringham was able to take the crown in 1911, 1910 1912, 1914 and 1910 Five times total.

There's a certain mystery to the legendary trophy. As per the Sunshine Tour: "There is an account in a newspaper ad in 1909 that mentions the "Open Championship Floating Trophy", which was supposed to be presented to the professional or amateur with the lowest score at the SA Open. There is no information in the past or later within the SA Golf Association records regarding when or how it was obtained or the person to whom it was given. It is described at all times as the "Open Championship Cup or 'Trophy'."

In 1925, the South African Tournament, hosted by Johannesburg GC for the third time and two times at Orange Grove, was the first time this Amateur became a match-play event and has remained this way since. Sid Brews won the first of his eight Open titles and beat Sid's older brother Jock with three shots. The next year, the roles were reversed, when Jock took the Open in dramatic fashion by eagle 2 in the 72nd hole, to beat Sid by one shot. Incredibly, each of the Brews brothers were present in that field. Jock (297), Sid (298), Douglas (310) and George (318).

In some way, beginning in 1931 the Open was removed from the SA Tournament for three years thus that the amateurs could tee the course with the amateurs in Johannesburg, Royal Port Alfred and Durban The professionals played for the Open at Port Elizabeth, Mowbray and Maccauvlei. In 1934, all golfers competed in the same venue at Humewood. The next year's event at Parkview was the year that saw the rise of a legendary golfer the 17 year old Bobby Locke, who won both the Open as well as the Amateur contests. He would then go on to be the winner of the next eight South African Open titles over the next 20 years.

In 1953, at Royal Cape, the Amateur was played prior to the Open and the winner was Roger Brews, the son of Sid Brews, beating J R Boyd 4-3 at the end of the tournament. Sid was the current SA Open champion, having previously won at Humewood in the same year. Roger's victory was the first time that Sid and his son were both Open in the same year as Amateur the champions of national championship. This amazing feat only lasted just a few days since Sid did not manage to keep his title, but it's an interesting detail.

In 1956, the Open in 1956 at Durban Country Club saw the debut at the Durban Country Club of Gary Player on the national stage. He won one of the 13 South African Opens. This marked the beginning of a successful career both at home and abroad, which was to surpass the success of Bobby Locke, who had been the winner of his final Open in the previous year winning his ninth Open in the nine times Gary Player had competed in the event.

The South African Golf Union in 1965 voted at an event held in Bloemfontein to decide that the SA Open and SA Amateur were to be played in a separate manner in the future and the Open becoming a part of the professional summer circuit, and the Amateur returning to the traditional time of Easter. The following year the tournament was held in four days, not three as it was it was in the past. In the year 1970 at Royal Durban, Tommy Horton from England was the first foreign player to be the winner of at the SA Open.

The European Tour co-sanctioned the event for the first time in 1997. the Fijian Vijay Singh winning that year at Glendower and the event was co-sanctioned for the rest of time.

In the past, Hennie Otto captured his first SA Open title in 2011 to maintain the dominant position of the Rainbow Nation in the tournament since the beginning century. Scottish golfer Richie Ramsay had broken an eight-year hold of local golfers on the event after he won the tournament in Pearl Valley in 2009, but after Ernie Els winning in 2010 and Otto winning the title the following year Golfers hailing from the Republic were quick to reaffirm their supremacy.

It's not like they've been able to have it according to their own ways since when Swedes' Henrik Stenson took the 2012 title from George Coetzee at Serengeti and the 2013 tournament was taken with Denmark's Morten Orum Madsen, who won by two strokes over Otto And Jbe' Kruger. The Englishman Andy Sullivan then overcame Charl the Schwartzel to win a play-off in 2015, with one of the best shots seen in the event from the trees to the left side of the 18th fairway in Glendower.

Brandon Stone wrenched the trophy back to South Africa with his victory in 2016. However, Englishman Graeme Storm beat Rory McIlroy in an impromptu play-off to take the trophy a year after.

The South African Open has been held at Durban Country Club a record 17 times, beginning in 1924. Two venues have held the tournament 10 times - Royal Cape (1910-1996) and Royal Johannesburg (1904-1986) - and two other clubs have hosted the event at least eight times: Houghton (1951-1992) and Glendower (1989-2018).

We do not have the four courses mentioned beneath: Tempe (1905), Kimberley (1907 1913), Potchefstroom (1909, 1912) or Zwartkop (1955) however we could add them to province listings in a later time in the future.