Lawrence wins Joburg Open amid bad weather and Covid chaos

South African Thriston Lawrence won the maiden event of the DP World Tour era as the Joburg Open was reduced to a 36-hole event due to inclement weather.

International travel restrictions imposed on South Africa had already resulted in the season opener being reduced to 54 holes to allow non-South African resident players, caddies and tournament support staff return to their home countries.

Lawrence, who opened the tournament with back-to-back 65s to reach 12 under, had a four-shot lead at the end of the second round, which was only completed on Saturday after weather delays on day one and two.

Despite a bogey on the first hole of his third round, play was quickly suspended due to more bad weather before tournament organisers decided to abandon the day’s play, forcing he scores to be reverted.

Lawrence’s countryman African Zander Lombard finished second on eight under, a shot clear of another South African in Shaun Norris and England’s Ashley Chesters.

Lawrence along with Lombard and Chesters also secured a place in the field for next year’s Open Championship at St Andrews, with Norris already exempt.

It meant the result was called after 36 holes of the inaugural event on the DP World Tour with Lawrence beating fellow compatriot Zander Lombard by four shots after posting opening rounds of 65 for a 12-under-par total of 130.

The tournament had already suffered weather delays on both Thursday and Friday with lightning storms and heavy rain leaving large parts of the course unplayable after a second round which was suspended for two-and-a-half hours due to the thunderstorms.

It is the second blow the tournament has suffered after it had to be cut to 54 holes on Friday to help non-South African resident players, caddies and tournament support staff return to their respective countries due to changing coronavirus travel restrictions.

And although England’s Ashley Chesters finished the event in third, five behind, a host of British and Irish players withdrew after South Africa was placed on the red list for travel by the UK government, including former Ryder Cup player David Howell, with Lee Slattery among four further players to withdraw during the weather delay.

With concerns surrounding a new Covid-19 variant in the country, next week’s SA Open Championship is also no longer sanctioned by the DP World Tour, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December cancelled completely due to the Covid-19 situation.