With sponsors BMW having ended their association with the SA Open after Chris Paisley held off Branden Grace back in January, the tournament needed a saviour. It found one not in a sponsor, but in a bedfellow, the Joburg Open, and we're left with a slightly curious amalgamation of the two.

This is, undeniably, the SA Open. That's the name, it's the trophy they're playing for, and the prestige attached is accordingly greater. It's fair to assume that Louis Oosthuizen, whose appearances on home soil are rare, would not have played in the Joburg Open and the same may well apply to the likes of Charl Schwartzel and Ernie Els.

Yet we are in Johannesburg at the course, Randpark, which hosted last year's Joburg Open which was won by Shubhankar Sharma. And we also have the now traditional Joburg formula: two courses for the first two days and an absurd 240 players split across them. The top 70 and ties will advance to a couple of weekend rounds at Firethorn, a longer, tougher course than Bushwillow, but one which is still not really tough enough to stage a national championship.

While those behind the scenes presumably had an inkling much sooner than the news broke, it's only six weeks since it was announced that the SA Open and Joburg would combine at Randpark and while Sunshine Tour hosts would presumably like to make things tougher as a result, they'll struggle to have done so. Reports from the course suggest conditions are drier than can be the case at this time of year, but how much that alters things is open to debate. Sharma shot a 10-under 61 at Bushwillow en route to a 23-under winning total and there was a 10-under 62 at Firethorn, too, carded by Christopher Blomstrand; the courses are not difficult.

Low-scoring wouldn't necessarily help the best players in the field, including favourite Oosthuizen but particularly Grace, who became the latest big name to come up just short in the SA Open at the much more challenging Glendower to start the year. It's increasingly possible to conclude that this event is harder for them to win - Brandon Stone is the only South African champion in the last six years - though perhaps the mask of Joburg will help on that front.

Ultimately we are looking at a likely shootout and it tempers enthusiasm in the favourite, who contended in the Nedbank last time and rarely fails to play well when he does tee it up at home. Oosthuizen lacks a look at Randpark and there's just too much of a risk that he's unable to keep up, the putter often a source of great frustration.

Grace has been well below his best and is undeniably better suited to a real challenge, so this looks a good chance for the likes of Dylan Frittelli, Dean Burmester and Erik van Rooyen to take the next step in their respective careers, and it's no surprise that there has been money for all three.

Pick of the home contingent at the prices, though, is surely George Coetzee.

Like Grace, he's not been at his best this year, but he's still making birdies and that's largely because he's long off the tee and excellent on the greens. In a two-course shootout, even with conditions reportedly rather dry, that's an excellent starting point.

Indeed Coetzee's first co-sanctioned win came in the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, and in 21 such starts dating back to that week he's won three times, including earlier this year when a well-backed favourite of the Tshwane Open.