Broomhead stays in front at Blue Label Challenge

SUN CITY, North West – Jonathan Broomhead maintained his eight-point lead in the Sunshine Tour’s Blue Label Challenge and has kept himself on track to claim a second title this year.

The Durban professional built on the 19 points he put together in round one on the Gary Player Country Club and added a further 12 points on the Lost City Golf Course on Thursday to climb to 31 points overall.

His nearest challengers are countryman Ricky Hendler and Englishman Jack Hawksby on 23 points. JJ Senekal enjoyed a welcome return from injury and is tied fifth on 16 points alongside Robin Williams, who is still revelling in the phone call he received from Gary Player to grant him an invitation to play in the upcoming Nedbank Golf Challenge.

The tournament is played over Sun City’s two golf courses using a modified points-based scoring system whereby par is zero points, a birdie is two points, an eagle is five points and an albatross is eight points. A bogey sees one point deducted while a double bogey or worse sees three points deducted.

Broomhead’s love for Sun City’s courses is evident with the past success he’s had here, and he’s looked incredibly comfortable as he’s chased a second title this year after winning the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast Sun earlier this month.

“I played nicely today. It felt a bit tougher because this Lost City golf course is tricky. You get some bounces that don’t always go your way, but it was good,” he said.

Broomhead’s consistency off the tee was again his strong point on Thursday.

“This golf course is quite tricky off the tee box, so it’s about giving yourself chances towards the green. It’s not the longest golf course so if you’re hitting it good off the tee you are going to have a lot of wedges in. The par fives are quite tricky. There are a couple of scoreable ones and a couple of tough ones. But I played the par fives really nicely today.”

But with a format that rewards aggressive golf, Broomhead is not allowing himself to think too far ahead.

“There’s still two rounds to go and you can jump so easily with this format. I mean an eagle is five points and you can really make a big difference. But it’s nice having a bit of a lead. The last few weeks have been good to me and my head is in a good space, and the golf is going nicely.”