Under a cloudy Durban sky, 27-year-old Dylan Naidoo etched his name into South African golf lore, winning the Investec South African Open in a dramatic playoff against England’s Laurie Canter.
The tournament, shortened to 54 holes after torrential rain flooded Durban Country Club, came down to a single hole — and Naidoo delivered in front of a roaring home crowd, becoming the first South African of Indian heritage to lift the prestigious trophy.
The week started with whispers of potential, but few pegged Naidoo, ranked 466th in the world, as the one to watch. After two rounds, he was in contention, thanks to a blistering second-round 61 that included 10 birdies, an eagle, and just one bogey — a career-best score that put him at 14-under alongside Canter by the end of Saturday.
The third round, also played Saturday due to earlier rain delays, saw both players hold firm at the top. But Sunday’s final round never happened—floodwaters turned fairways into lakes, forcing officials to scrap the day and settle the title with a sudden-death playoff on the par-4 18th.
At 3:00 p.m. local time, with grandstands packed and fans lining the ropes, Naidoo and Canter teed off. Both drove just short of the green, setting up a short-game showdown. Canter’s chip landed on the fringe, leaving a tricky putt, while Naidoo played a near-perfect pitch to within four feet. The pressure was immense—this wasn’t just a shot at a first DP World Tour win, but a chance to make history at a venue with deep significance. In 1963, Sewsunker “Papwa” Sewgolum, another South African of Indian descent, won the Natal Open here but was forced to accept his prize in the rain due to apartheid laws barring him from the clubhouse.
Naidoo, a graduate of a development program named after Sewgolum, carried that legacy on his shoulders. He didn’t flinch. Naidoo rolled in the birdie putt as the crowd erupted, while Canter’s attempt slid by.
“It feels like a dream, it’s overwhelming,” Naidoo said afterward, barely containing his emotions. “I felt like I was Tiger Woods out there with so many people supporting me.”
The win, his third as a pro but first on the DP World Tour, earned him $245,489, a tour card, and a spot at The Open at Royal Portrush in July, alongside qualifiers Darren Fichardt and Marco Penge.
Finishing at 14-under, Naidoo and Canter had distanced themselves from the field—Penge took third at 13-under, while South Africans Fichardt, Branden Grace, and amateur Christiaan Maas tied for fourth at 12-under. But the scoreline only tells half the story. Naidoo’s victory was a nod to Durban’s large Indian community, who turned out in droves, and a poignant echo of Sewgolum’s triumph 62 years earlier.
“For what this means in terms of Papwa Sewgolum, it’s incredible,” Naidoo reflected. “I feel like he was with me today.”
His father, who’d nearly missed the playoff after heading to the airport, raced back just in time to see the winning putt — a moment Naidoo called “the best day ever.”
For a kid who’d faced plenty of tough times in his career, this was vindication. And for South African golf, it was another chapter in a proud tradition — the seventh straight year a local has won the national open. Naidoo’s not just playing for himself now; he’s carrying a legacy forward, one birdie at a time.
Grok 3.0 assisted with report.
