Player Profiles: Omar Sandys

Omar Sandys

There was a time when Omar and his wife, Thato, had to borrow money for petrol so this remarkable player from Welkom in the Free State could compete on the Sunshine Tour. But those days are well and truly in the past. Since joining the paid ranks in 1999, Sandys has established himself as one of the most consistent performers on the local circuit.

In 2007, Sandys was the leading black player on the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit with an 18th place ranking after superb season that included a runner-up spot behind Louis Oosthuizen at the Dimension Data Pro-Am at Sun City.

Sandys, who won the 2004-2005 Vusi Ngobeni Development Stroke Play, also Omar came second at the Bostwana Open and the Limpopo Eskom Classic that season. He counts 21 career top-10s, among those tie for ninth at the Telkom PGA Pro-Am, second at the Suncoast Classic and ninth at the Vodacom Business Origins of Golf Tour at Humewood in 2008. The 2009 season has been a disappointing one for Sandys, whose father unexpectedly passed away this year, leaving him to care for his brothers and sisters.

Sandys has also competed in Europe and in 2001, he rose to prominence when he shared the first round lead of the Alfred Dunhill Links with countryman Ernie Els at St Andrews.
Sandys is a familiar and popular face at Africa’s premier charity golfing event, which remains the highlight of his season.