Author: Michael Vlismas

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape – Martin Vorster showed again why this Sunshine Tour season could be a turning point for him when he equalled the course record at the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate with a nine-under-par 63 to lead the first round of the DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB on Thursday.

On a magnificent day in the Cape winelands for this season-ending tournament, Vorster went out in 30 and back in 33 without a single bogey to lead by one shot over Jaco Prinsloo. Prinsloo produced an incredible back nine of 27 featuring five birdies and two eagles.

Zander Lombard, Austain Bautista and Luis Carrera currently share third place on seven under.

“It was so much fun. I was very steady from the beginning and it felt like one of those rounds where I never had to worry about making a bogey. I think the longest par putt was four feet. It was just solid all day,” said Vorster.

He had a particularly rewarding stretch of five straight birdies from the fifth hole.

“It was great. Before I knew it I’d made five birdies in a row and I think the longest birdie putt I had was seven feet. It was just a lot of good iron shots.”

His round equalled the course record set by both Jayden Schaper and Garrick Higgo in the 2019 South African Stroke Play Championship here.

Vorster has had a few moments this season where he’s led or been near the top of the leaderboard, and while it hasn’t yet translated into a victory, the consistency has given him plenty of confidence.

“I’ve been working on the fundamentals of the swing and set-up, but I haven’t changed too much there. It’s been more a focus on just playing golf and being a bit more creative and reactive. I feel like a kid again just trying to hit different shots, and it’s made a huge difference not worrying too much about how the swing looks and just playing.”

This week’s tournament is a reward for the players within the top 50 on the Courier Guy Order of Merit, which itself is a reflection of a successful season.

“It’s been a very consistent season. It’s been a bit frustrating in the sense that I had a lot of good finishes between eighth and 20^th, and a lot of weeks where I was just one or two shots outside the top five which is where you want to be in terms of maximum points. I’ve felt like I’ve played a lot of good golf, and the Serengeti Playoffs was my best finish of tied fifth. But it’s been consistent overall.” – Michael Vlismas

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape – The Sunshine Tour recognised some of the standout performances from its professionals at its 2025/26 Sunshine Tour Season Awards held at the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate on Wednesday evening.

Amongst the notable awards of the evening, Casey Jarvis received the prestigious Commissioner’s Award in recognition of his outstanding performances in winning three times on the Sunshine Tour – including the DP World Tour co-sanctioned Investec South African Open – and a further victory on the DP World Tour alone. He also finished second in the Joburg Open.

“The Commissioner’s Award is in recognition of the player who broke through and just kept on achieving. Casey did exactly this over the season. He’s a wonderful young talent and we wish him all the best as he now looks forward to playing the Majors as well,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.

Herman Loubser won the Players’ Player of the Year Award, while Shaun Norris was honoured with the Sportsman of the Year Award, and Hennie Otto received the Executive Director’s Award for his longevity on the Sunshine Tour.

Loubser was recognised by his fellow professionals for a season in which he won on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series and had a further four top-five finishes in what has been his most successful season on the Tour.

“I wasn’t expecting this. When other players vote for you and they recognise how much work it takes and how hard it is to perform, it really is special to receive that,” he said.

Norris received the Sportsman of the Year Award for his act of sportsmanship during his playoff with Jayden Schaper in December’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, when he applauded Schaper’s brilliant fairway bunker shot onto the green in the playoff.

“We all strive to win tournaments, and here was a youngster with all the talent in the world who had a wonderful year leading up to that event. It’s hard to win, so for him in that position, to pull off a shot like that, I just felt it deserved an applause. I was amazed by the shot, so I just felt like congratulating him for even pulling it off, and then making the putt on top of it. He did everything correctly and he pulled it off, so for me it was just a case of knowing what it feels like to go through that and to try and win a tournament, which is not easy. I was very happy for him to pull that off,” said Norris.

Otto was recognised for his incredible longevity in a career that started on the Sunshine Tour in 1999 and which has seen him win multiple titles here and on the DP World Tour.

“The Sunshine Tour gave me opportunities and from there I was able to play on the HotelPlanner Tour and DP World Tour. I want to thank the Tour for where I am now. And to the younger professionals, I’d like to say please realise the opportunities you get through the Sunshine Tour to achieve your higher goals in the game,” said Otto.

In other awards, Daniel van Tonder received the Best Finish to Win Award for his phenomenal closing stretch of two birdies and an eagle to win the Serengeti Playoffs on the Courier Guy Playoffs series.

Haydn Porteous received the Comeback Player of the Year Award for winning on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series this season, his first victory on the Sunshine Tour since 2016.

And Kyle Barker received both the Media Choice Award, recognising the player who created the most engagement in promoting the Tour, and the Tour Style Award, voted by the players and recognising the individual who stood out for his overall presence on and off the golf course.

Reflecting on the significance of the awards, Abt said: “This was a wonderful celebration of our Tour and our players. We run a big Tour with roughly 30 events on our schedule, and this is a moment for the players to look back and realise they’ve done well this season.” – Michael Vlismas

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape – South Africa’s three highest ranked golfers in the world are all 25 years and younger, which is a powerful statement of another highly successful Sunshine Tour season that draws to a close at the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate this week with the DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB, the final tournament on the Courier Guy Playoffs.

This past season, Jayden Schaper (ranked 59^th on the Official World Golf Ranking), Casey Jarvis (69) and Aldrich Potgieter (77) established themselves as a new generation of South African stars with breakout performances on the Sunshine Tour and abroad.

This week’s R3 million DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB will celebrate this as well as a season in which the Tour increased its prize money throughout its schedule, a host of new names graduated onto the HotelPlanner Tour and DP World Tour, and a new exemption was offered into The Masters alongside existing exemptions into The Open.

Jarvis won twice in three weeks on the Sunshine Tour in 2025 and then claimed the biggest victory of his career in front of a record crowd at the Investec South African Open in February this year. These performances, plus a runner-up finish in the Joburg Open, carried him into first place on the Courier Guy Order of Merit and he is well on track to ending the season as the Sunshine Tour number one.

Schaper ended 2025 in dominant fashion with his back-to-back victories in the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

Both Schaper and Jarvis are also currently ranked within the top three on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings.

Potgieter broke through with his maiden PGA Tour title in 2025 before returning home for a top-10 finish in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Beyond this, the season started on a record-breaking note in May 2025.

Mexico’s Luis Carrera became the first player in Sunshine Tour history to win the Tour’s Qualifying School and then the first two tournaments of the season, and remains on track to be named the Fortress Rookie of the Year by the end of this week.

And Sunshine Tour professional JC Ritchie made further history this season when he became the first South African golfer in history to finish first on the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings at the end of 2025.

There will still be more to play for when the DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB tees off on Thursday, as the top performers seek to lock down global exemptions, cash bonuses and other incentives.

The winner of the Courier Guy Order of Merit earns a place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player and two Majors, namely The PGA Championship and The Open.

The winner of the Fortress Rookie of the Year will earn a R400 000 bonus.

The leading player in the top 10 of the final Courier Guy Order of Merit who doesn’t already have status on the DP World Tour will earn a card for next season. The next two leading players will receive cards on the HotelPlanner Tour for next season.

The leading three players on the final Courier Guy Order of Merit will receive R500 000 (first place), R200 000 (second place) and R100 000 (third place) respectively.

The winner of the Courier Guy Order of Merit will receive an MSC international cruise, while players finishing second and third will each receive a five-day, four-night local cruise. And the top three Sunshine Tour professionals from the final Courier Guy Order of Merit will win a Hyundai for a year.

And both the winner of the Courier Guy Order of Merit and Fortress Rookie of the Year will receive automatic entry into the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions supported by Attacq and WCMC in June this year, where they will compete for a first prize of R1 million. – Michael Vlismas

Daniel van Tonder produced a scintillating closing stretch of two birdies and an eagle to win The Serengeti Playoffs, the first tournament on The Courier Guy Playoffs series, by two strokes at Serengeti Estates on Sunday.

Van Tonder’s strong finish to his final round of 63 saw him finish on 21 under par, with Wilco Nienaber (65) and Allen John (68) sharing second place on 19 under par.

For Van Tonder, it capped a longstanding goal to finally get his hands on this trophy and claim a victory during The Courier Guy Playoffs portion of the Sunshine Tour.

“It means a lot. I’ve been playing this tournament a few times and always just seen the trophy, now I finally have it in my trophy case. Also, winning the pro-am on the Saturday means a lot. I’ve been playing well and trying to find my game, and it seems like we’ve now found something. So I will take that forward. I am just very blessed and happy,” Van Tonder said.

On a cool, wet and windy Sunday at Serengeti Estates, Van Tonder’s strong back nine started with birdies on the 14^th and 16^th holes, followed by an eagle two on the 17^th hole where he drove the green, before a birdie on the 18^th hole.

“It was fantastic. There was an opportunity and I could sense it. I attacked today and it worked out. I was very happy with the birdie-eagle-birdie finish. That putt on the 18^th though, I had that putt a few times before and lost some cash missing it, so I knew the line,” Van Tonder said.

Stef Visagie, his caddie, received the medal for the winning caddie.

Van Tonder’s victory has moved him into fourth place on The Courier Guy Order of Merit heading into the season’s final event, the DNi Tour Championship at De Zalze Golf Club at the end of this month. – Michael Vlismas Media

German professional Allen John is on track for his maiden Sunshine Tour title as he heads into Sunday’s final round of The Serengeti Playoffs with a two-stroke lead, in the first tournament of The Courier Guy Playoffs.

John signed for a 70 at Serengeti Estates on Saturday to lead on 15 under par. Jaco Prinsloo is his nearest challenger on 13 under par after finishing his round strong with three consecutive birdies on the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th holes to sign for a 68.

Daniel van Tonder (71) and Wilco Nienaber (68) are in joint third place on 12 under par.

John had a slow but steady start to his round. He turned in level par and then made two key birdies on the back nine to claim the lead.

“It feels nice. It was a bit of a weird day today. I have almost hit every green, but I just could not make any putts. Maybe tomorrow I am going to drop a few more,” he said.

John, currently in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour, has enjoyed every minute of The Courier Guy Playoffs on the Tour.

“We had a lot of fun over the last three days and the format is very nice. It gives us some time in between shots to have fun. Overall, we had a very good day.”

The German said he is looking forward to the final round, with his game currently in a good place

“I haven’t changed anything really over the last five to six weeks. I’ve just been trying to keep going and knocking on the door. Here we are, and we will see what happens tomorrow,” John said. – Michael Vlismas Media

After a draining period of playing pre-qualifiers, German professional Allen John has finally started to see his form turn as he signed for a 63 to lead The Serengeti Playoffs on 13 under par going into the weekend at Serengeti Estates.

John is two shots ahead of Daniel van Tonder, who also posted a 63 on Friday. Jaco Prinsloo and Ockie Strydom are currently tied third on nine under par following their second rounds of 68.

John has worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and admits it was a relief to post a low score after weeks in which he’s had to pre-qualify on the Sunshine Tour and then been unable to make the cuts. But last week’s Joburg Open was something of a turning point for him as he finally made it to the weekend and finished tied 18^th in this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament.

“I’m very pleased with today’s round. I managed to give myself chances and took advantage of most of them. It was really nice to see a low score. That always helps. The last few weeks have been really tough physically and mentally. I’m happy it is finally showing signs of turning. If you look at the scores now it feels like a turning point for me,” said John.

The German professional is currently in his rookie season solely on the Sunshine Tour and has impressed all not just with his golf, but because of the fact that he is also severely hearing impaired.

John was born deaf. He wears hearing aids which take his hearing up to 85%, but there are still elements of professional golf that he has to deal with uniquely.

“When I was born, they didn’t do the hearing tests in the hospital. It was only later that my mother started to realise I wasn’t reacting to voices and sounds, and she then had tests done which confirmed my hearing impairment. When it comes to golf, every noise has a certain frequency, and high-pitched tones like birds are almost impossible for me to hear even with the hearing aids. And when it comes to the actual playing of the game, a professional golfer would normally react to the sound of the ball on the club or how the club hits the ground. But I don’t recognise those sounds. I do everything based on touch and feel. So I’ve had to teach myself to take my feedback directly from touch. That’s one of the main differences for me compared to other players. Also, when there’s wind on the course it’s annoying because the hearing aid becomes like a microphone in the wind. But I get along just fine.”

Now he has his best chance at a victory on the Sunshine Tour.

“I’m really enjoying this tournament at Serengeti. The weekend is going to be fun. I’ve got a lot of golf left – 36 holes. But I’m happy where I’m at now and let’s see what the weekend brings.” – Michael Vlismas

With two tournaments to go, the Sunshine Tour’s 2025-26 season is far from over. In fact, it’s now only starting to get real in terms of opportunity.

The Courier Guy Playoffs brings together the leading available professionals on the Sunshine Tour Courier Guy Order of Merit for a two-tournament showdown – The Serengeti Playoffs and the DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB.

This week’s Serengeti Playoffs at Serengeti Estates offers 3 000 points, while the DNi Tour Championship at De Zalze Golf Club at the end of March offers 5 000 points.

At Serengeti this week, the top 60 available professionals on the current Courier Guy Order of Merit are in the field for this 72-hole, no halfway cut showpiece. They’re playing for the right to be amongst the top 50 professionals on the Courier Guy Order of Merit who qualify for the DNi Tour Championship presented by RMB.

These two events will end the season. But at the same time, they’ll open up a world of opportunity for the top performers as part of the Sunshine Tour’s global pathway via the HotelPlanner Tour and DP World Tour.

The winner of the Courier Guy Order of Merit earns a place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player and two Majors, namely The PGA Championship and The Open.

The leading player in the top 10 of the final Courier Guy Order of Merit who doesn’t already have status on the DP World Tour will earn a card for next season. The next two leading players will receive cards on the HotelPlanner Tour for next season.

There are also a host of cash incentives to play for over these next two tournaments.

Apart from the individual tournament prize funds, the leading three players on the final Courier Guy Order of Merit will receive R500 000 (first place), R200 000 (second place) and R100 000 (third place) respectively.

The winner of the Courier Guy Order of Merit will receive an MSC international cruise, while players finishing second and third will each receive a five-day, four-night local cruise.

And the top three Sunshine Tour professionals from the final Courier Guy Order of Merit will win a Hyundai for a year.

The end of the season will also see the crowning of the Fortress Rookie of the Year, with the top player here earning a R400 000 bonus.

And both the winner of the Courier Guy Order of Merit and Fortress Rookie of the Year will receive automatic entry into the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions supported by Attacq and WCMC in June this year, where they will compete for a first prize of R1 million.

This Sunshine Tour season is far from over.

A world of golf opportunity is about to tee off. – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – England’s Dan Bradbury claimed his second Joburg Open title in dramatic fashion at the Houghton Golf Club on Sunday.

With the lead changing several times over the closing six holes, Bradbury held his nerve and produced a birdie on 17 and then a sublime chip from the back of the 18^th to save par at the last and claim the title on 17 under with a closing 65.

Casey Jarvis missed a six-footer at the last that would have forced a playoff as he closed with a 66 to share second place with Brandon Robinson Thompson (66) on 16 under par.

With this victory, Bradbury adds to his 2022 triumph and becomes only the third player in Joburg Open history to win this title more than once, after South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel and Richard Sterne.

“It’s amazing. It’s a great feeling. It’s so nice to have so many people here that I know,” said Bradbury.

It was a thrilling final back nine to this tournament.

Hennie du Plessis went into it with a three-stroke lead over the field but then stumbled with two bogeys and a double bogey in five holes.

Thompson then looked to be in control before two bogeys in his final four holes set him back.

With the fortunate position of being in the last group, Bradbury could watch it all unfold and set himself a target.

“The three birdies in a row at holes nine, 10 and 11 was probably the turning point for me and it got me back in the tournament. Then at holes 12 and 13 I knew I’m in this,” he said.

An aggressive second over the back of the 18^th green left him with a difficult chip to save the par he needed to win. And he executed it to perfection and within inches of the hole.

“That chip on 18 – I’m not known for my short game so I was really pleased with that one. I was literally shaking over it and I’m really happy it came out like it did.”

Bradbury has now given himself a massive boost to chase the goal he’d set for himself at the start of the season.

“The goal was to get one of those 10 PGA TOUR cards, and this has made it that much more realistic.” – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – South Africa’s Hennie du Plessis came through a marathon 27 holes on Saturday to lead the Joburg Open and give himself a chance at a maiden DP World Tour title for the second week in succession.

Du Plessis had to complete the suspended second round on Saturday morning, and finished six shots off the lead. Then he signed for an incredible 62 in his third round – including a back nine of 29 and five successive birdies from the 10^th – to lead on 14 under par.

“It was nice, but I’m pretty tired now. I’m also a bit sick, so I’m looking forward to relaxing a bit now,” said Du Plessis, who finished second in last week’s Investec South African Open.

The man who won that tournament, Casey Jarvis, is amongst his nearest challengers on 12 under par. Jarvis signed for a 64 to join the English trio of former Joburg Open champion Dan Bradbury (64), Alex Fitzpatrick (64) and Brandon Robinson Thompson (70) in joint second place.

And American Patrick Reed remains a threat at six shots off the lead.

But Du Plessis clearly found something on his back nine on Saturday that will make him hard to catch on Sunday.

“I got it going and I’m very pleased with the way I’m striking it and putting. It was nice. I struggled to get going on the front nine and find some momentum, and then I found something on the back nine. The birdie on 10 just started the momentum for me,” he said.

Du Plessis has been in incredible form ever since he came back from injury, and has a win and two runners-up finishes in his last six events on the Sunshine Tour.

“I took my time coming back. I was healthy after about 15 months and then I spent three months training hard. I went to the gym and I worked on my short game. I think it’s important when you’re out for that long that you keep doing what you can. I’ve been playing well now for a while, and if you get that chance you just need to keep riding that wave.” – Michael Vlismas