Month: September 2024

PRETORIA (13 September 2024) – If foursomes golf is all about trusting your partner, then competing with your brother-in-law as Daniel van Tonder and Malcolm Mitchell did, or your close friend as Jovan Rebula and Martin Vorster did, explains why these two teams share the lead on 11 under par heading into the weekend of the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship at Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate.

With the team format shifting to foursomes on Friday, Van Tonder and Mitchell combined well for a 64 while Rebula and Vorster were solid on their way to a 68.

It was a good performance by both teams on a day of wind and hard greens, and with the Silver Lakes course armed with as much water as the name suggests.

They are one clear of the team of Hennie O’Kennedy and LB Boshoff, who combined for a 67. And Ryan van Velzen, who is defending his title but with a new partner this season in Yurav Premlall, can look forward to teeing off in Saturday’s third round just two shots off the lead.

The third round will also be foursomes, followed by a final round of better ball on Sunday.

Van Tonder and Mitchell certainly proved that as brothers-in-law they know about more than just each other’s family holiday plans as the navigated a tricky Silver Lakes in superb fashion on Friday.

“I’ve trusted a couple of people in my life, but there are certainly people you trust more than others and Daniel would be one of them. He’s always in good form with his game, and we also know each other’s games so well,” said Mitchell.

“We gave each other some good chances out there, which helped. I draw the ball and he fades it, so we were making some hearts out there. The main goal is to have fun and not get too upset out there,” added Van Tonder.

Alongside them at the top of the leaderboard, Vorster and Rebula also had a good understanding between them.

“I didn’t have to really deal with a bunch of challenges because Martin just hits tee shots straight down the middle of the fairway,” said Rebula.

“But I suppose it is different in that you’re playing for somebody else rather than just yourself. You put a little bit more emphasis on certain shots because  you want to put your partner in the best position possible. But we worked out a good gameplan today. You have to keep it in play on this course, and then you’ve got a lot of water around the greens here, which in this wind makes it interesting. But we just had a good gameplan and will carry on with that in the third round.”

“It’s more pressure than usual but Jovan is probably the most chilled guy on a golf course so I really enjoyed it,” added Vorster. – Michael Vlismas

PRETORIA (12 September 2024) – Some of them first met when they were as young as nine. Others have played so much golf together they know each other’s games as well as their own. For the Sunshine Tour’s professionals, selecting the right partner for this week’s Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship is much like the ingredients coming together to create a fine whisky.

Ryan van Velzen and Yurav Premlall certainly had the right mix in Thursday’s first round of this team event at the Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate.

They opened with a better ball score of eight-under-par 63 to share the lead with the teams of Heinrich Bruiners and Keenan Davidse, Luke Brown and Fredrik From, and Jovan Rebula and Martin Vorster. Vorster went so far as to add a hole-in-one on the par-three ninth hole.

They are all one clear of the teams of Dylan Mostert and Dylan Naidoo, and Altin van der Merwe and Christian Kriek.

It was the perfect start for Van Velzen, who won this title last season playing with Luca Filippi. “Yurav and I have known each other for a long time and we played a lot together in our junior golf days, so it’s a natural pairing. We have a lot of fun on the course,” said Van Velzen.

Premlall remembers the first time he met Van Velzen, and unlike this week they were on opposite teams on that occasion. “I was playing for Central Gauteng the first time I met Ryan, and I think we gave them 6&5 in our match. I remember it quite well because it was him and Casey Jarvis that we beat. We’ve always been pretty good friends though.”

Thursday’s better ball format was certainly suited to the attacking styles of both of them.

“We play a naturally attacking brand of golf and aren’t shy about taking the golf course on. I think that attitude of just going for it on every hole gave us a chance,” said Premlall.
Bruiners and Davidse have known each other since they were teenagers competing on opposite provincial teams.

“I played for Southern Cape and he played for Boland in those days. We weren’t supposed to get along,” said Bruiners.

Davidse said he’s thoroughly enjoying partnering with a golfer he’s always looked up to. “When I was 12 he was 14 and he had his Springbok colours already. In those days it was Heinrich Bruiners and Branden Grace in the Southern Cape team beating everyone. Heinrich then turned professional before I did and the fact that he’s won twice on the Sunshine Tour and come back from a very serious injury is an inspiration. I have so much respect for him.”

Behind the leaders, Naidoo and Mostert can also trace their first meeting back to their junior golf days.

“We first met at age eight or nine. We used to play together as juniors on a Saturday at Modderfontein Golf Club. We’ve been good friends since then. We’ve travelled together. We went to Japan together. It’s actually crazy how many years we’ve had playing golf together,” said Naidoo.

“I wouldn’t say we finish each other’s sentences, but we’re good friends,” added Mostert.
Friday’s foursomes format will require a completely difference approach.

“I think the foursomes will be key this week. It’s all about just playing solid stats golf – just hitting fairways and greens to give yourself chances,” said Van Velzen. – Michael Vlismas

PRETORIA (11 September 2024) – Daniel van Tonder heads into this week’s Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship at Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate in some of the best form of his career with two Sunshine Tour victories in August alone.

Van Tonder has played his way to the top of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy with victories in the FNB Eswatini Challenge and the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge last month.

This week brings a different focus and strategy as he teams up with fellow professional Malcolm Mitchell for a 72-hole Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship that is played in a team format including betterball and foursomes.

This R2 million tournament has quickly become one of the most popular on the calendar for the professionals as they enjoy a rare week on Tour of team golf.

But Van Tonder will still have a singular focus about what he wants to achieve this week as he looks to keep building on his current form.

“I had a six-week break recently and I think it did me the world of good. It gave me some good time to really practice and work on a few changes, and to take a step back from just playing week in and week out. And I think that has helped me to just enjoy my golf again,” he said.

Another man in great form is Yurav Premlall. The young star is currently second on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and as much as he’s chasing Van Tonder on that list he’s been doing the same on the golf course in August.

Premlall finished second to Van Tonder at both of his victories, and he’s added another two top-fives on the Sunshine Tour this season.

“I think I’ve just been getting my confidence again and competing with the kind of mindset I had as an amateur. It’s just a case of believing in myself that I can compete out here,” he said.
Premlall has Ryan van Velzen as his partner this week, with Van Velzen having won this title last season when he played with Luca Filippi.

“We make a good team and I’m looking forward to the week with him. We both play an aggressive brand of golf and are hoping we can take advantage of this course with that strategy.”
The Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship could certainly play its part as an enabler for the kind of bigger dreams Premlall has.

Last season when Van Velzen and Filippi teamed up to win, Van Velzen went on to win the overall Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and thereby secured himself a DP World Tour card and a spot in The Open and US PGA Championship this year. And Filippi used that breakthrough victory to go on and claim the Blue Label Challenge for his second Sunshine Tour title two months later. – Michael Vlismas

Corey Conners will join a rare club of Canadian professionals to have competed in the Nedbank Golf Challenge when he tees it up in ‘Africa’s Major’ at Sun City from December 5-8, 2024, with tickets and an exciting new luxury public hospitality option available to buy here…

Conners has confirmed his place in the field for this DP World Tour event played in honour of Gary Player and which forms part of the 2025 Race to Dubai, in partnership with Nedbank and Sun International.

Conners will join Mike Weir as notable Canadian professionals to have played in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.

The 32-year-old Conners heads to Sun City as a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, with both of his titles coming in the 2019 and 2023 Valero Texas Open.

He is also a member of the International Team for this year’s Presidents Cup, where he will compete under the captaincy of countryman Weir.

Conners’ performance in the Majors this year was highlighted by a finish of tied ninth in the US Open. He has also had three top-10s in The Masters in his career.

Conners adds to a strong field already including defending champion Max Homa, the South African Olympic duo of Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen, and Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by the Courier Guy winner Ryan van Velzen.

Fans at this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge will also be able to take their viewing experience to the next level with the new luxury public Hospitali-TEE Lounge option.

Aimed to provide something more than the normal day visitor experience, fans will be able to book to watch the tournament in style in a brand new hospitality lounge located close to the Public Village and offering an air-conditioned facility with indoor and outdoor seating, a live feed of the golf, and catering throughout the day.

The package fee will include an official entrance ticket to the Nedbank Golf Challenge, accreditation for exclusive access to the Hospitali-TEE Lounge, a premium buffet including breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, a fully stocked open bar, an all-day coffee station, a live television feed of the golf, daily live entertainment, a daily player autograph opportunity, a sunscreen station, daily prizes and competitions, and official Nedbank Golf Challenge merchandise. To book click here…