Month: March 2025

George Coetzee and JJ Senekal set the tone for the Sunshine Tour’s new Courier Guy Playoffs Series as they both opened with rounds of seven-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead in the Serengeti Playoffs on Thursday, and with Dylan Naidoo just one shot behind them.

Coetzee, a 14-time Sunshine Tour winner, and Senekal, a three-time champion on tour, took advantage of a receptive Serengeti Estates golf course to claim a one-stroke lead in the first tournament of the new Courier Guy Playoffs Series.

Naidoo, the Investec South African Open champion, signed for a six-under-par 66 to join Altin van der Merwe, the current leader on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings, as the leaders’ nearest challengers.

But while Coetzee and Senekal signed for the same score, they were two very different rounds of golf.

Coetzee’s round had it all, including 11 birdies and four bogeys, with routine pars a rare commodity on his scorecard.

“It started off pretty good, then good in the middle and good in the end. There were a couple of silly errors through the day, but altogether I think it was finally a decent round of golf from my side. The good golf was good. I’ll just try and build on that,” said Coetzee.

Coetzee is searching for his first win since 2022 and, faced with a strong field and a golf course in pristine condition this week, has decided to play an attacking game.

“It’s a bit wet so you can attack the flags with the longer clubs, and I think the guys will take advantage of that. That was the plan for me today. It worked most of the time. I obviously paid the price a couple of times, but that’s the price you pay for being aggressive.”

Senekal’s round was far steadier with eight birdies and only one dropped shot on the par-three 15^th. It was a strong finish of back-to-back birdies on his last two holes that saw him join the lead.

The Sunshine Tour is headed for an historic finish to its 2024/25 season with the inaugural The Courier Guy Playoffs Series over the next two weeks where the leading professionals will compete for a total of R5.5 million in prize money, DP World Tour cards, and exemptions into The Open, the US PGA Championship and the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

The Courier Guy Playoffs Series begins this week with The Serengeti Playoffs at Serengeti Estates, which will feature the leading 72 available players on the Sunshine Tour 2024/25 Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

Then next week will see the top 50 players on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy progress to The DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB at Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate.

Both events will feature no halfway cut.

This week’s field at Serengeti is an incredibly strong one including Daniel van Tonder, the current leader on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and his nearest challengers Shaun Norris and Dylan Naidoo. A total of eight of the top 10 on the current standings will be in the field this week.

The field also includes Altin van der Merwe, who is the current leader on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings going into the final stretch of the current season.

This week’s tournament will play a vital role in the ultimate rewards the top professionals are competing for.

At the end of The Courier Guy Playoffs Series, the top three professionals on the final Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy will all receive DP World Tour cards for the following season.

The first-place finisher will also receive exemptions into the Nedbank Golf Challenge as well as two Majors – The Open Championship and US PGA Championship – and a R500 000 cash bonus. Second place will earn a R200 000 cash bonus, while the third-place finisher will earn a R100 000 bonus.

The leading golfer on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings at the end of the season will also be rewarded with a R200 000 cash bonus.

JOHANNESBURG (Gauteng) – Shaun Norris will take a four-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Joburg Open as he chases a third DP World Tour title and his second in just under three months.

Norris navigated his way superbly through some tricky third-round pin positions at Houghton Golf Club and signed for a 67 on Saturday to lead on 14 under par overall.

His nearest challengers are fellow South African Jacques Kruyswijk and Frenchman Adrien Saddier on 10 under par. Kruyswijk, who finished fourth in the 2023 Joburg Open and who won his maiden DP World Tour title in February’s Magical Kenya Open, signed for a third round of 68. Saddier posted a third round of 70.

Norris was still suffering from the ear infection that has plagued him this week, but it’s showing no signs of affecting his golf. He went into the third round just one shot clear of the field and that gap remained at the turn. But then Norris made three key birdies in five holes from the 10^th to extend his lead.

“The ear is still blocked and I can’t hear out of it. It was a little bit sore but the doctor has given me some good pain pills. It hasn’t been bothering me on the golf course. But when my brother (his caddie) is on my left-hand side I can’t hear a thing he says to me,” he said.

“But I hit the ball nicely and gave myself some good chances. Overall I can’t complain about the round. There were some bad shots here and there, but that’s golf. It’s more about how you handle the rest of the round.”

With the final round to come, Norris has no intention of playing it safe on Sunday.

“It’s nice to lead by four, but I want to win by 10 shots. So I’ll just keep going and change nothing.”

Behind him, Kruyswijk is relishing the final round challenge.

“I love chasing a leader. It’s why I play this game. I’m looking forward to a nice battle in the final round. Shaun’s playing some really good golf and it will take a lot to beat him,” said Kruyswijk, whose third round included a wedge holed out for eagle on the par-five 10^th hole.

And Saddier is hoping for a few putts to drop early on as he also chases this title.

“If that happens, I can put a bit of pressure on the leader and I can have a good day,” he said. – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG (Gauteng) – Shaun Norris battled through the pain of an ear infection and still managed to lead the Joburg Open heading into the weekend at Houghton Golf Club.

The South African produced a strong 63 on Friday to lead on 11 under par overall, with Frenchman Adrien Saddier his nearest challenger on 10 under after a 65 in which he dropped at the last to sacrifice a share of the lead.

Norris has played sublime golf over the past two days despite the fact that he has been in pain with an ear infection that refuses to clear, and which has even made it difficult for him to sleep.

“I picked it up on Tuesday afternoon. I saw the doctor on Wednesday. They tried to flush it out and it didn’t work. They put  me on antibiotics. It’s frustrating. I can’t hear anything out of my left ear. But somehow it’s not bothering me on the golf course. I think as golfers, when we’re over the shot we’re focused on nothing else. But it is annoying in between shots because I just can’t hear anything out of that ear,” said Norris, who admits he was concerned about the impact an ear infection would have on his balance and his golf swing.

“That was my main concern, but fortunately it hasn’t hindered me at all.”

It certainly didn’t trouble Norris on Friday as he went bogey free around this par-70 Houghton Golf Club layout.

“The course is in fantastic condition considering the rain we’ve had over the last few days, and I’m really enjoying it.”

Norris heads into the weekend hunting his third DP World Tour title, and his second in just under three months after winning December’s Alfred Dunhill Championship.

India’s Shubhankar Sharma, the winner of the 2017 Joburg Open and Scotland’s Connor Syme are currently third on nine under par.

Sharma in particular is looking forward to a weekend at a tournament that holds special memories for him.

“Coming back to South Africa is always special, and the Joburg Open was my first win and which got me onto the DP World Tour. I still fondly remember my win here. It was life changing,” he said. – Michael Vlismas

Tickets for the Joburg Open are available at https://sunshinetour.com/tickets

JOHANNESBURG (Gauteng) – China’s Wenyi Ding and England’s Jordan Smith took advantage of an early start and a receptive golf course as they opened with rounds of seven-under-par 63 on the par-70 Houghton Golf Club course to share the lead in the Joburg Open on Thursday.

Ding and Smith both went bogey free on day one of this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event, and they lead by one over South Africa’s Malcolm Mitchell and Jayden Schaper, Englishmen Marco Penge and Callum Tarren, and Germany’s Nicolai Von Dellingshausen.

With another heavy downpour overnight, the professionals were surprised to be greeted with a first round of blue sky and a golf course that had done well to recover from the rain.

Ding, who is in his rookie season on the DP World Tour, was particularly pleased with his start considering it was his South African caddie’s birthday, and he promised him a trophy this week.

“It was good to make some putts today. It’s been a long time. I hit it pretty well, especially my short irons, which gave me a lot of birdie chances,” he said.

Smith was equally pleased with his start on a Houghton Golf Club course he hasn’t played since the Joburg Open moved to this venue.

“I’m just really happy. It’s unbelievable how good the golf course is considering how much water it took overnight. It’s a very narrow golf course with a lot of trees lining the fairways. There are a lot of different options out there, but for me I tend to go for the driver. So it was just taking advantage of hitting driver on a few holes and hitting the wedge shots closer, and trying to manage the spin because with the greens being so soft you really have to judge it carefully,” he said.

And Jayden Schaper gave himself yet another good chance at a maiden DP World Tour  title as he leads the South African challenge alongside Mitchell.

“It was a nice solid start, especially with the eagle on the first hole. The golf course was playing quite soft in perfect conditions. It’s a straight forward golf course, and I’ve played it a few times.” – Michael Vlismas

Tickets for the Joburg Open are available at https://sunshinetour.com/tickets

The Sunshine Tour professionals once again made a valuable and vital contribution to the Birdies4Rhinos charity as they combined to raise R500 000 for rhino conservation in 2024.

Louis Albertse was the leading birdie maker with a record 501 birdies, earning his name on the famed rhino trophy that was handed over at this week’s Joburg Open.

The professionals donate an amount of their choice for every birdie they make during the year.

The contribution from the professionals as well as other fundraising initiatives took the overall total raised to roughly R1 million, which is donated to the Connected Conservation Foundation.

“The professionals are making a huge difference for us. All of the money they raise is put towards our projects involved in rhino conservation. We are making a difference, and the professionals help us considerably in terms of the success of our projects,” said Bruce “Doc” Watson, the Executive Chairman of the Connected Conservation Foundation.

Albertse said he was delighted to play his part in this cause.

“It’s a massive privilege to be able to help the rhinos in every way possible, and all the golfers coming together for us is brilliant,” he said.

The 115^th Investec South African Open will be played at Stellenbosch Golf Club, with the Cape’s fourth oldest golf club hosting the national Open for the second time in its history at the end of February 2026.

Stellenbosch Golf Club hosted the Investec South African Open in 1999 when local favourite
David Frost won the title at the golf club where he grew up and used to caddie for his father.

“Investec believes strongly that the Investec South African Open should travel around the country as a showcase of South African professional golf, and to allow the majority of South Africans to see and be inspired by this Out of the Ordinary championship which has such a proud history,” said Peta Dixon, Investec Head of Sponsorships.

“After being founded in 1974, one of Investec’s first regional offices opened in Cape Town in 1980, so we have a long and proud history in the Western Cape. We now have offices in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Tyger Valley, Knysna and George. We look forward to bringing the Investec South African Open back to Stellenbosch Golf Club for the first time in 26 years.”

Chris van der Merwe, General Manager of Stellenbosch Golf Club, said the club was delighted to welcome the Investec South African Open back to its fairways in the magnificent winelands of the Western Cape.

“We are incredibly honoured to have been selected as the host venue for the 2026 Investec South African Open and look forward to showcasing this prestigious championship as well as the beauty of Stellenbosch and the Cape winelands to a global audience. As one of the oldest golf clubs in the Cape, and indeed in South Africa, Stellenbosch Golf Club has hosted some major professional and amateur tournaments over the years and produced some of South Africa’s finest professionals such as Justin Harding, Oliver Bekker, Keenan Davidse, JJ Senekal and Hennie O’Kennedy. We’re looking forward to what will be a wonderful next edition in the proud history of this great championship.”

The Investec South African Open is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour and forms part of the DP World Tour’s International Swing. – Michael Vlismas