The format has remained unchanged throughout the tournament’s history, daily Individual Stableford tournaments capped by the tournament grand prix prizes at week’s end
The 30th instalment of the popular Barney Barnato golf tournament officially kicks off tomorrow and it is all systems go at the Kimberley Golf Club as hopefuls from far and wide will be preparing to tee-off, when the festival gets under way.
There will be no shortage of entertainment, enthusiasm and excitement during the latest instalment of the ever-popular event with all the action squeezed into only four days.
The compacted four-day version of the festival will leave no margin for error, as every putt will count, with this year’s overall order of merit winner to be determined over a mere 72 holes. In the previous years, the tournament was played over a week.
However, before all that thrills and spills of the official festival, the action will, unofficially, start today with a nine-hole Individual Stableford competition that will be followed later this evening with some lively entertainment.
The tournament, commemorating one of Kimberley’s most memorable mining legends, is played according to the Individual Stableford format and has become ‘simply the best’ amateur golf tournament of its kind on the African continent.
The format has remained unchanged throughout the tournament’s history, daily Individual Stableford tournaments capped by the tournament grand prix prizes at week’s end.
On Friday, October 5 1990, a whopping 28 years ago, final preparations were being made for the very first Barney Barnato. Little did the organisers back then realise that in 2019 final preparations for the 30th edition of this remarkable tournament would be under way.
Speaking to the DFA yesterday a tournament committee member, Dave Wilson said that they were expecting another successful Barney Barnato.
“This year’s Barney, which marks the 30th Anniversary of the event, is of the course a four-day version, the compressed format (is) far more suitable to modern times,” he said.
“The next few days are going to see roughly 300 players complete about 700 rounds of golf, more than half of them visitors.”
“The tournament includes four Individual stableford events, with recognition going to the top seven players each day. And then there is the overall order of merit recognitions,” Wilson said.
“While everybody is eligible to walk away with the Overall Order of Merit prize on Saturday evening, there remains, as always, a special Women’s Order of Merit on offer for the leading lady come Saturday,” he added.
While the sporting side of this festival makes for plenty of action, for many participants it is the social aspect of the event that draws them to Kimberley with every day’s play concluding with a prize-giving before an assortment of live entertainment allows for the real festivities to begin at the 19th hole.
