Month: January 2025

SASOLBURG, Free State (17 January 2025) – Daniel van Tonder ended 2024 having been knocked off his number one position on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and he’s determined to get that back as he heads into the weekend of the Mediclinic Invitational just one shot off the lead.

Van Tonder signed for a sublime 63 at the Heron Banks Golf and River Estate on Friday to come through 36 holes on 12 under par, one stroke behind leader Maximilian Steinlechner from Austria. Steinlechner has put together two rounds of 64 and 65 to lead this Sunshine Tour event.

It is so far a positive start to 2025 for Van Tonder as he chases a win so early in the year, and that number one spot which he relinquished to Shaun Norris at the end of last year.

“It’s nice to start the year well like this. I want to take back my number one spot on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy. I don’t like being second. I’ve got a few good tournaments coming up to do so, and my game feels good,” says van Tonder.

He is also chasing his first victory as a new father following the birth of his daughter, Gabriella Grace, late last year.

“Our daughter was born when I was playing the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December. Then I played in Mauritius the week after that so I missed them a lot. I love being a father. Just looking at this small human being who is looking back at you, and you just wonder what’s going through her head. I must admit that seeing her smile for the first time has been the best for me so far.”

The key to Van Tonder’s round on Friday was a strong second nine of 30.

“It’s my first time playing this course and it’s quite tough. It’s long and tight. You have to hit fairways here. But I’m also very relaxed at the moment. I have a good friend caddying for me and we talk and laugh a bit during the round. It’s almost the same as when my wife caddied for me. It’s a similar feeling. You can’t just think golf 24/7. You’d have to lock me up if that was the case.”

A lot may have changed in Van Tonder’s life as he now takes on fatherhood. But one thing certainly hasn’t changed, and that will be his mindset this weekend.

“I don’t want to come second. I want to win. That doesn’t change.” – Michael Vlismas

SASOLBURG, Free State (15 January 2025) – As the Sunshine Tour tees off 2025 with its first tournament of the year this week in the Mediclinic Invitational, Jovan Rebula is equally excited to take on a new year with a strong sense of what’s possible in his own career.

Rebula heads into Thursday’s first round at the Heron Banks Golf Course confident that he’s “unlocked” a new approach to his game. And he’s keen to keep testing it at the highest level during a run of tournaments – including European Challenge Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned events – still to come over the next few weeks.

“I feel like I’ve unlocked a different way of thinking around the golf course and around tournaments, so I’m eager to get going and see how well I can do,” says Rebula.

The source of Rebula’s confidence is his impressive finish to 2024, which included fourth place in the DP World Tour co-sanctioned AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in December.

“That was an unbelievable event for me. It helped me a lot mentally just to know that I can do it and the game is there. I just need to trust myself more. I took a local caddie that week who could hardly speak English, so there was a satisfaction of knowing I had done everything myself. It was a big confidence boost. It gives me a different perspective moving into the year. It all comes down to you trusting yourself and playing your own game. That’s the goal I’ve been trying to get to, but I couldn’t necessarily feel it until Mauritius. Then I could actually experience playing my own game and not having any distractions. It sounds like a cliché and everybody has been telling me to play my own game, but you can’t fully grasp it until you actually experience it. That was the big takeaway I got from that week.”

Rebula is now just outside the top 10 on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, in 11^th place, as he chases the biggest goal of his career this year.

“My main goal is to try and get back to playing golf in America again, if that’s the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour. That’s ultimately where I want to play. I had an unbelievable finish in Mauritius so it gives me confidence going into the rest of our season now, especially for the DP World Tour co-sanctioned events. We treat those like our Majors. You kind of start seeing yourself in places where you know you can be, which gives you the confidence to know you can perform in bigger events. I’m excited to build on that.”

Rebula also has the confidence of having finished tied third in last year’s Mediclinic Invitational, albeit on a different golf course.

“It’s a different golf course to Maccauvlei last year, and I haven’t played competitive golf on this course before. But the prep has gone well. I had a good holiday, and I’m excited to play.”
– Michael Vlismas