Year: 2022

DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – Wynand Dingle, a man with a talent for playing a guitar and golf equally well, is hunting his maiden Sunshine Tour victory as he heads into Saturday’s final round tied for the lead with Combrinck Smit and Anthony Michael at the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate.

Dingle singed for a 69 at Highland Gate on Friday to climb to seven under par, joining overnight leader Smit (70) and Michael (69) in a share of the lead.

They are two strokes clear of the group of Jaco Prinsloo, Jacques Blaauw, James Hart du Preez and Brooklin Bailey.

Jean Hugo, a record 11-time champion on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, is just three strokes off the lead. He’s joined there by Herman Loubser, who scored a hole-in-one during his 69 on Friday.

Of the three leaders, Dingle is an intriguing prospect going into the final round. He is tantalisingly close to a breakthrough win on the Sunshine Tour. Her challenged for the FBC Zim Open in May before a triple bogey on the 17^th saw him finish ninth. Then he finished tied third in the FNB eSwatini Nkonyeni Challenge in July to further fuel his belief that a win is close.

“I’ve been playing well for quite some time but haven’t managed to put it together in tournament golf. I play a lot of social golf with my friends on the Sunshine Tour who have won and they often tell me it’s a mystery that I haven’t been able to take that form into tournament golf. So I’m really pleased to be in this position. I haven’t won yet on the Sunshine Tour and that’s the goal for me,” Dingle said.

“Highland Gate is not an easy course, and the wind really got up on Friday so it was challenging but I managed to hang in there. But what a golf course this is. It’s a special place.” – Michael Vlismas

DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – A golf club can be a gateway to dreams, and that’s the clear message the young golfers from the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) were given as they took part in a development clinic with Sunshine Tour professionals at this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate.

It’s a message wholly endorsed by Dr Ntombi Mhangwani, the Executive Head of Department for Vodacom Business Marketing, who was there to support the 18 young golfers from the SAGDB who form part of a partnership with the Vodacom Origins of Golf series that stretches back decades in terms of its support of golf development.

“In a country like South Africa, with the levels of inequality we have, certain life experiences like golf courses are natural for some but for others it is completely foreign. If we want to nullify these inequalities then we have to reach the disadvantaged areas as well,” Mhangwani said as the young golfers, between the ages of seven and 16, from the Nelspruit, Lydenburg and Dullstroom districts were happily hitting balls on the Highland Gate driving range under the watchful eye of the Sunshine Tour professionals giving of their time to provide some coaching.

“These learners will paint their picture of life out of what they believe is possible, and this is how we can build dreams by showing them as we make golf more accessible to young people who otherwise wouldn’t have this opportunity.

“When Vodacom says it wants to inspire change by going Further Together, we mean we want to develop together. So that means building and giving back to the communities that are our consumer base.

“The only way to do that is by working in partnerships with the communities and giving their children exposure. It’s not about throwing money at the problem, but about authentic partnerships,” Mhangwani said.

Vodacom’s involvement in golf goes way beyond just its support of the professionals on the Sunshine Tour – the Vodacom Origins of Golf series is the longest-running pro-am series on the Sunshine Tour. Closely aligned to its sponsorship of this series is the golf development aspect that underpins every single tournament wherever it is played in South Africa.

Partnering with the SAGDB to show the younger generation that golf can be a pathway to success is one of Vodacom’s key vehicles for change, and the purpose and life skills golf can give to learners is something Mhangwani loves about the game.

“Golf is about a value system, training and discipline, and that can permeate into these youngsters’ schooling, their lives at home and choosing the right friends. Champions are also born out of watching other champions practice, and passing on their knowledge and skills. Exposure builds potential, and it allows these learners to dream.

“If even one person at these golf clinics looks at the game and says that they want to be part of golf, they want to do that too, then we have succeeded in giving somebody an opportunity,” she said.

DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – The sheer beauty of the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate was enough to inspire Combrinck Smit to take a one-stroke lead in Thursday’s first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf.

Smit opened with a five-under-par 67 and tops the leaderboard ahead of a group of four players on four under including rookie professional Casey Jarvis, Anthony Michael, Wynand Dingle and Chile’s Matias Calderon.

This is the second time in Smit’s career that he leads a Sunshine tour event. The last time was in 2018 when he led going into the final round of the Eye of Africa PGA Championship only to finish second behind Calderon, the very man just one shot behind him on the leaderboard this week.

“Coming to Highland Gate is always a pleasure. The views are spectacular and the course is very appealing to the eye. I especially love the contrast between the green grass of the course and then the brown veld. The firm fairways here also work for me. But it’s always a good test with its quick greens and tough flag positions,” said Smit.

Smit took full advantage of his strong driving game and picked up shots on all but one of the par fives.

“I really took good advantage of the par fives. All my best drives were on the par fives and having short irons into the greens also helped.”

With two rounds still to go in this event, Smit is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

“I haven’t been at the top of a leaderboard in a while, and this is only the first round. There is still a lot of golf to be played on this course. Hopefully I can make a few more putts and keep doing what I’m doing.”

Jarvis, formerly South Africa’s number one amateur before he turned professional, will be delighted with his 68 in only his second Sunshine Tour event this season. – Michael Vlismas

Nielsen Sports South Africa has concluded a strategic research partnership with the Sunshine Tour – Southern Africa’s men’s professional golf tour.

Nielsen Sports is the market’s leading source of sports measurement and analytics around the world, with solutions spanning cross-platform media valuation, fan insights, and digital and social media analysis. In this way, Nielsen provides a comprehensive, fair playing field for the business of media, with its unbiased metrics creating the shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function.

“We are very excited to form a partnership with the Sunshine Tour,” says Jean Willers, Managing Director of Nielsen Sports South Africa. “As the leading provider of sports measurement and market research, we are proud to be partnering with one of the world’s leading professional golf tours.”

Nielsen Sports South Africa works across the entire local sports industry, including with rights-holders, brands, agencies and broadcasters.

Those brands include both local and international brands with a presence in South Africa, with the likes of Toyota, Red Bull, and FNB all making use of Nielsen’s Sports SA’s services, whilst their rights-holder partners include Cricket South Africa, SA Rugby, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

This cross-section of partners, covering all segments of the South African sports industry, ensures Nielsen Sports SA maintains its market-leading position, with the Sunshine Tour the latest prominent sports brand to see value in what the measurement and data giant has to offer.

“Creating value for our partners and sponsors is one of our main goals, because it allows us to translate this value back to our members,” says Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. “Nielsen Sports South Africa have consistently shown themselves to be the leader in data analysis and research on this front, and we believe they will give us an even better understanding of our market and how to maximise this value and grow the Sunshine Tour.”

According to Willers, Nielsen Sports SA believes it can play a strategic role in enhancing the Sunshine Tour’s commercial partnerships.

“Thomas and his team have done an excellent job at bringing in new sponsors and our role will be to assist him in providing those sponsors with the measurement and data to stay within the Tour,” he says. “We are going to ensure we provide the Sunshine Tour with the latest local and global research, data, and insights that will assist them in making the best commercial decisions for the Tour.”

DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – Heinrich Bruiners praised his amateur partner Anton Botha for the way he rose to the occasion on their closing holes to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series ProAm at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate on Wednesday.

Bruiners and Botha won by three points in the end, but they were closely pursued by James Hart du Preez and Navin Maharaj, and needed a birdie at their final hole, the par-four 10^th, to get them over the line.

“It was really fun and to have a competitive event before our Sunshine Tour tournament is nice,” Bruiners said. “We were in the lead from yesterday and I just said to Anton down the stretch that we needed to be a bit more aggressive and go for the win.

“We had such a good partnership and I thought birdie at the last would be enough. Anton sank his putt for birdie and then I made one too just for a nice finish.

“But I really needed him on the last few holes and he pulled through on four or five holes,” Bruiners said.

With the ProAm now done, the 34-year-old Bruiners will turn his focus to the R1.15 million Vodacom Origins of Golf Sunshine Tour event starting at the mountainous Highland Gate course on Thursday.

“It’s a good omen to win the ProAm and now it’s down to business from tomorrow. I’m swinging well and I finished 11^th last week in Pretoria, a bogey at the last cost me a lot, including a top-10 place.

“But it was still a decent performance and now I go into this tournament after playing good golf for two days. Every time I come Mpumalanga or Limpopo side, I seem to play well – it must be something in the air!” the George product said.

He has also been won over by the Highland Gate course.

“When I came four or five years ago, I didn’t enjoy the course so much. I must have been in a very bad mental space though because this course is unbelievable, one of my favourites, definitely in the top-10.

“I’ve got a different perspective now. It’s such a quiet environment out on the course, there’s not so much going on and you feel excluded from all the hustle and bustle,” Bruiners said.

For eight-handicapper Botha, a production manager for Schoeman Boerdery in Groblersdal, his maiden Vodacom Origins of Golf ProAm will give him a lifetime of memories, as well as a place in the final at Pinnacle Point from October 24-27.

“It was just unbelievable, the whole estate and Vodacom’s organisation was amazing. My highlight was the final hole when things were still tight. We both made birdies, I had a three-metre putt, but the monster drive I hit was my best shot of the tournament!” Botha said.

DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – The ability of golf to be an agent for good both in terms of communities and individuals is well-known.

The Vodacom Origins of Golf Series is into its 18^th season, and in that time it has influenced so many lives and communities for the better. But there is someone playing in the Highland Gate Pro-Am event this week who has been touched by the game in a special way.

David Kau is known for being one of South Africa’s most popular stand-up comedians and he has been an MC at the pro-am dinner for the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series before.

But the 18-handicapper has never actually played in the event before Tuesday, and his excitement was palpable before his round. Mostly because, as he put it, he has “fallen in love” with golf.

A lot of that love comes from the fact that golf helped him through the toughest of times during the Covid-19 pandemic. As an entertainer, he was particularly hard-hit.

“I only started playing golf three years ago, but now I’m like a mad man when it comes to the game,” Kau says.

“During Covid I did a lot of social media work with my 1.4 million followers across platforms, and I kind of survived. But there was never a live audience, so it’s not the same. I refuse to do stand-up comedy in front of a laptop because you never know what people are doing on the other side.

“But golf, mentally, helped me so much when I was not making any money. Those four-to-five hour walks did a lot of good to me. It’s crazy, I’ve played eight times in the last two weeks because I have fallen in love with golf. Mentally it has done a lot for me and I’m also walking seven or eight kilometres so I don’t need gym, unless I go do some weights so my drives can be a bit longer,” Kau laughed.

As a comedian, Kau is aware that the smile on the face is not always indicative of the struggles going on in the interior of a person. Mental health issues are close to his heart, and he recognises the strain that formerly disadvantaged Black professionals can be under as they try to make it in a highly-competitive industry.

“I’ve done a lot of mental health work and before Covid I started getting involved with online therapists, doing podcasts and things. There is definitely a mental health connection to golf.

“Not many of us play better when we’re worried about something, and for Black professionals it’s even more difficult. And you’re on your own out on the course, your coach or psychologist can’t walk on and help you. These are guys who have to use public transport just to train, getting into a taxi with a golf bag. Mentally it’s amazing what sports people go through, but they can get adrenaline from the fans. But some of them play better with a big crowd and others get the jitters,” Kau said.

Although making his Vodacom Origins of Golf Series debut on Tuesday, Kau has played in other pro-ams before and certainly did not have the jitters around the magnificent Highland Gate layout, which provides a stern test nestled inside the Steenkampsberg mountains of Mpumalanga.

He and veteran Sunshine Tour pro Jaco van Zyl were four-under-par and inside the top-20 after the first round.

Dean Burmester has confirmed his place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and will make his third appearance in “Africa’s Major” at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City from November 10-13, 2022.

Burmester adds to a field that already boasts defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and recent PGA TOUR winner Will Zalatoris.

“The Nedbank Golf Challenge is an iconic tournament for any South African golfer. It’s one we all grew up watching and wanting to play in one day. This will be my third appearance and perhaps the most special as it celebrates its 40^th anniversary. It will also be great to have all those passionate Nedbank Golf Challenge fans back after the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Burmester.

Already a two-time winner on the DP World Tour and eight-time Sunshine Tour champion, the 33-year-old Burmester took his game to the next level this year when he achieved his best-ever finish in a Major with tied 11^th in the 150^th Open Championship at St Andrews.

“My goal is to definitely to become South Africa’s next Major champion. I want to be challenging in the Majors. As a boy growing up, that’s where you want to be. You dream of standing at The Open with the claret jug, or at The Masters with a green jacket on. I want to give myself a chance in a Major on the back nine on a Sunday. I’d be pretty happy just to have that chance right now.”

A shot at “Africa’s Major” on the back nine on Sunday would be equally welcome, and he certainly has the kind of record at Sun City to make that a reality.

Burmester finished tied 11^th in the 2018 Nedbank Golf Challenge. He also finished fourth in the 2020 South African Open, which was played at the Gary Player Country Club in the absence of the Nedbank Golf Challenge that year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Burmester’s proud record at Sun City also includes winning the 2014 Sun City Challenge at the Lost City Golf Course, the resort’s second championship golf course also designed by Gary Player.

Burmester has a double place he’ll be chasing in the history of the Nedbank Golf Challenge as he seeks to become the seventh South African winner of the tournament and also the third Zimbabwean-born champion.

Tickets for the Nedbank Golf Challenge, starting at R40 for the Pro-Ams and R250 for Tournament Rounds, are available here, while Hospitality Packages for the Circa Champions Club, Circa Pavilion or Circa 18^th Green can be purchased here. The 2019 edition of the Nedbank Golf Challenge delivered record attendance figures and sold-out hospitality.

The depth of South African men’s professional golf was on display worldwide this past weekend across the major tours, and with this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate set to reflect this even further.

On the PGA Tour, Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished tied 12^th in the BMW Championship. On the Korn Ferry Tour, MJ Daffue lost in a playoff for the Albertsons Boise Open, while Dean Burmester finished tied fourth in the same tournament.

On the DP World Tour, Louis de Jager finished tied third in the D&D Real Czech Masters. Zander Lombard finished fifth in the same tournament, while Thriston Lawrence and Wilco Nienaber shared eighth place.

And on the Asian Tour, Justin Harding finished tied 10^th in the International Series Korea.

Add in Trevor Immelman finalising his top eight players for the International Team of The Presidents Cup, and South African golf’s presence was definitely felt in the global game.

Back on the Sunshine Tour this week, the second tournament on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series tees off at the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate on Thursday.

Albert Venter headlines the field as a multiple winner on tour this year with his victories in the FBC Zim Open and the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square Casino. It’s lifted him into second place on the Luno Order of Merit in what has been a breakout season for one of the new stars on the local circuit. His six-shot victory in the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square Casino was the tied biggest margin of victory on the Sunshine Tour this season.

Deon Germishuys claimed his maiden Tour title by six shots in the Sishen Classic in May, and Merrick Bremner and Martin Rohwer combined to win the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship – a team event – by six shots earlier this month.

Venter’s next goal will be to take this form into the upcoming summer leg of the Sunshine Tour and contend in the tournament co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour.

“My main focus at the moment is on peaking at the end of the year in those big events, the four co-sanctioned tournaments. Those are like the Sunshine Tour Majors. Knowing that I’m playing well will give me a lot of confidence. All of this is prep work for the end of the year,” Venter said. – Michael Vlismas

Albert Venter completed an inspired three days of golf as he won the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square Casino at Wingate Park Country Club by six strokes on Friday.

Going into the final round with a five-stroke lead, the 26-year-old said his approach was to think he was actually tied for the lead, and that saw him get the job done on an even more blustery, and colder, day in Pretoria.

Venter offset two bogeys on each nine with five birdies, and always looked in complete control of affairs, especially after birdies at the second and third holes.

“Even with a five-shot cushion I knew I could take nothing for granted because there have been a lot of cases where someone has a big lead and they don’t get over the line,” Venter said.

“So my mindset was that I was tied for the lead and just needed to play as solidly as I could. Starting off the tournament with a 63 put me in a really good position, so the last two rounds were just about maintaining that and trying to increase my lead.

“But you never know what could happen at the next hole if you make a mistake, so it’s really important to have that cushion,” Venter said.

Venter’s one-under 71 on Friday lifted him to 13-under for the tournament, with Ruan Korb also shooting a 71 and finishing second on seven-under-par.

Estiaan Conradie was alone in third on six-under after a 73 on Friday, with Michael Palmer (-5) and Jean Hugo (-4) completing the top-five.

Venter has now claimed two titles on the Sunshine Tour this year following his triumph in the Zimbabwe Open in May, and he said from now through October, he will be honing his game in preparation for the co-sanctioned events in the summer.

“I just try to play as good as I can in every tournament, but my main focus at the moment is on peaking at the end of the year in those big events, the four co-sanctioned tournaments. Those are like the Sunshine Tour Majors. Knowing that I’m playing well will give me a lot of confidence. All of this is prep work for the end of the year,” Venter said.

Scores:

203 – Albert Venter 63 69 71

209 – Ruan Korb 68 70 71

210 – Estiaan Conradie 68 69 73

211 – Michael Palmer 73 69 69

212 – Jean Hugo 69 68 75

213 – Hennie Otto 74 69 70, Siyanda Mwandla 75 68 70, Keagan Thomas 68 73 72, Richard Joubert 67 72 74, Luke Brown 72 66 75

214 – Lyle Rowe 73 68 73, Heinrich Bruiners 69 71 74

215 – Jacques Blaauw 75 68 72, Luca Filippi 72 70 73, Rourke van der Spuy 73 68 74

216 – Ruan de Smidt 71 72 73, Dylan Mostert 75 68 73, Wallie Coetsee 72 71 73, JJ Senekal 69 73 74, Jared Harvey 73 69 74, Matthew Spacey 73 69 74, Martin Rohwer 67 73 76

217 – Madalitso Muthiya 70 74 73, Hennie O’Kennedy 67 77 73, Herman Loubser 73 71 73, Daniel van Tonder 72 71 74, Dylan Naidoo 70 70 77, Dayne Moore 69 70 78

218 – Pieter Moolman 75 69 74, Malcolm Mitchell 70 73 75, Clayton Mansfield 73 70 75

219 – Paul Boshoff 70 73 76, Yurav Premlall 73 70 76, Martin Vorster 71 72 76, Bradley Bawden 75 68 76, Kyle Barker 72 70 77

220 – Louis Albertse 72 71 77, Erhard Lambrechts 69 71 80

221 – Wynand Dingle 68 76 77

222 – Jayden Schaper 70 74 78

223 – Adam Breen 72 72 79

230 – Michael Kok 72 72 86

PRETORIA, Gauteng – Albert Venter led by four strokes after the first round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square Casino at the Wingate Park Country Club and the 26-year-old ensured he kept the door closed on his rivals in Thursday’s second round as he posted a solid three-under-par 69 to stretch that advantage to five strokes.

Venter will head into the final round on 12-under-par for the tournament, having shot a brilliant 63 in the first round.

There was a blustery wind in Pretoria on Thursday, just the sort of conditions in which a golfer could blow a lead on the hard and fast greens of Wingate Park, and Venter began his round cautiously, being level-par, with a birdie and a bogey, through his first eight holes.

But he was then able to tear around the turn with three birdies in the next four holes. Six straight pars coming in on the front nine completed a round which could only be considered a success.

“The wind picked up a lot today so my first few holes were not too bad. It was definitely trickier today to figure out which way it was blowing. Because the course is tree-lined, it swirls around a bit,” Venter said.

“There were quite difficult decisions to make over which irons to play. But we predicted the wind would pick up and the plan was to get my score as low as possible to build a bit of a cushion. Thankfully I kept my head in the game and managed to get a decent score. I can’t control what the other golfers do, but I am in a really good position,” Venter said.

On a hard day to shoot a really low score, Estiaan Conradie (69) and Jean Hugo (68) did really well to position themselves as Venter’s closest challengers, on seven-under-par.

Luke Brown produced the round of the day, a 66 that included seven birdies, to join Ruan Korb (70) on six-under for the tournament.

Venter won the Zimbabwe Open in May for his maiden Sunshine Tour title and will be able to learn from that experience in Friday’s final round.

“The big thing about winning is trying to get into those positions more and more, trying to get used to the atmosphere and nerves you face on the final day,” the Silver Lakes golfer said.

“I’ve been in quite a few situations like that in the last few years, although I wouldn’t say I’m experienced. But I’ve been in the situation before and I know how to deal with the nerves and the adrenaline. I can’t get ahead of myself, I have to stay patient and stick to my guns,” Venter said.