Author: Michael Vlismas

PORT EDWARD, KwaZulu-Natal – South Korea’s DK Kim brushed aside strong winds that forced the first round of the SunBet Challenge to be suspended as he enjoyed pride of place at the top of the official leaderboard at Wild Coast Sun Country Club on Wednesday when play was interrupted shortly after 11am.

When the wind only showed signs of getting stronger for the rest of the afternoon, tournament director Reinard Kilian made the decision to suspend the first round for the day, leaving Kim on three-under-par through 12 holes, enjoying a one-stroke lead.

The first round will resume at 8am on Thursday, with the second round not starting before 1.30pm.

“We kept an eye on the wind all morning and it was a constant speed and then gusting at speeds of more than 55km/h, which made it impossible to play. With the forecast indicating that it was not going to die down today [Wednesday], we made the decision to resume tomorrow [Thursday],” Kilian said.

“At this point, it is likely that we will finish very late on Friday, but we are confident that we will still complete 54 holes.”

The 34-year-old Kim, who began on the 10^th hole, had reason to feel frustrated about his round being interrupted because he had just eagled the par-five third hole when play was suspended.

“The wind was quite strong and the third was all downwind. I hit a good drive and then hit my second to just three feet,” Kim said.

The highlight of his round thus far capped a strong resurgence by Kim after he was two-over-par through his first five holes. But he then collected birdies at the par-five 16^th and the par-four 18^th and second holes, before the brilliant three on the third.

“I hit the ball good the whole day. The first five holes I didn’t play too badly, they were just simple drops and I three-putted the one hole. I felt good, I was hitting good spots, but in these high winds, you could hit a good shot and the wind would take it,” Kim said.

Inveterate Sunshine Tour winner Jaco van Zyl made his mark early on with birdies on the first and second holes, and another on the par-four fifth, putting him second on the leaderboard, although he had just dropped a shot on the par-four ninth when he reached the turn and play was suspended.

Only five other golfers were under-par in the tough conditions, the in-form Neil Schietekat, Rourke van der Spuy, Anthony Michael, veteran Jean Hugo and American Clancy Waugh all being on one-under. Schietekat, the leader of the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, has played 12 holes, while the rest are through nine.

Casey Jarvis held his nerve on the final day of the Euram Bank Open at Golf Club Adamstal to secure a memorable maiden Challenge Tour victory.

The South African took a five stroke lead into the final round, and despite a late charge from Scotland’s Euan Walker, Jarvis kept his composure to par the final hole and secure a one shot victory with a one under par round of 69 to add to rounds of 65-63-65 earlier in the week.

The 19-year-old, who has registered three second place finishes already on the 2023 Road to Mallorca, was delighted to get over the line.

“I haven’t felt this good in a long time walking off a golf course,” he said. “I didn’t think winning would be this special. It’s an unbelievable feeling.

“I had those second place finishes in the back of my mind pretty much the whole day so I didn’t want it to happen again, and luckily I got it done.

“I’ve learned a lot being in contention throughout this year. I felt like I had experience under that pressure. I still felt a lot of pressure today, but I’m really happy with the way I handled it.

 “I’ve got a lot of confidence right now, so I feel like that I’m going to run with that confidence through the next events I play in and see how it goes.”

Jarvis made his first gain of the day on the third hole to extend his lead to six, and despite three dropped shots on his next two holes, he would birdie the sixth and eighth to remain four clear at the turn.

The South African then birdied the 12th before a two shot swing at the 13th, with Jarvis making a bogey and Walker a birdie. Despite Jarvis making a birdie at the par five 15th, Walker holed out from the bunker for eagle to close the gap to one.

The Scot looked to be out of the running when he bogeyed the 16th, but he birdied 17 to get back within one going down the last, however it was Jarvis who prevailed, with both parring the last.

“It all started on hole 13,” he added. “Euan hit it long right and I’ve never seen a chip as good in my life. He bladed it from the rough and holed it.

“Then the par five up the hill, the 15th, he hit an unbelievable bunker shot and holed that as well. There was nothing I could’ve done about it. I just had to stick to my own game plan and I’m so glad that it worked.”

Walker ended the day one shot behind in second place on 17 under par, with American Julian Suri in solo third four shots further back on 13 under par, and Frenchman Robin Roussel in fourth on 12 under par. Tomas Gouveia from Portugal, Englishman Sam Hutsby and Frenchman Romain Wattel shared fifth on 11 under par.

The win sees Jarvis move to the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings, overtaking Frenchman Ugo Coussaud who drops to second. Italian Matteo Manassero, Spaniard Manuel Elvira and Italian Lorenzo Scalise all drop one place to third, fourth and fifth respectively. – European Challenge Tour

Fortress Real Estate Investments Limited, sponsors of The Fortress Invitational on the Sunshine Tour, have expanded their support of next-generation greatness on the Tour with a new Rookie of the Year incentive for the country’s future stars.

The Rookie of the Year award is the Sunshine Tour’s most prestigious accolade for young talent and traditionally rewards the best performing rookie professional on the Tour for that season. The rookie professional who finishes the highest on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy at the end of the current season will take home R200 000 in prize money. 

The incentive is open to those who earned their Tour card for the 2023/24 season by way of the Qualifying School, the Altron Vusi Ngubeni Development Tournament, the Blue Label Development Tour and the Altron Big Easy Tour. The winner will be crowned at the Sunshine Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship.

Ian Vorster, CFO of Fortress, believes that golf aligns best with the brand’s core value of powering growth. “We are pleased to support new golfing talent as they come up through the ranks. Every Sunshine Tour professional has earned his playing rights through patience, passion and sheer hard work. It is our honour to acknowledge and celebrate the Rookie of the Year.”

Additionally, the prize money for this year’s Fortress Invitational has been increased to R2,000,000 and the tournament has grown to a 72-hole event. The second edition of this tournament tees off from 5-8 October 2023 at Glendower Golf Club.

“The Sunshine Tour and Fortress Real Estate Investments Limited are equally aligned when it comes to a focus on empowering growth. Following a warm welcome to our Sunshine Tour family last season as a tournament sponsor, we are grateful to Fortress for further entrenching themselves on our Tour through the Fortress Rookie of the Year incentive. This is a purpose-driven award that will inspire and reward tomorrow’s heroes,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.

Thriston Lawrence claimed his second win of the season as he overhauled Joost Luiten on a dramatic final day in Germany to take the title at the BMW International Open.

The South African entered the final day at Golfclub München Eichenried four shots behind his rival but had reeled him in by the turn before back-to-back three-putts on the 12th and 13th left him two behind with five to play.

The 17th then proved critical as Lawrence hit a stunning tee-shot to set up a birdie and Luiten three-putted the par-three to drop out of the lead for the first time all day.

Lawrence parred the last for a 69 to finish at 13 under and with Luiten unable to make a birdie on the par-five, the 26-year-old was left celebrating a fourth DP World Tour title.

Luiten’s closing 74 left him a shot ahead of Kiwi Daniel Hillier, Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino, local favourite Maximilian Kieffer and Pole Adrian Meronk.

Lawrence was the first winner of the DP World Tour era last season at the Joburg Open and he added another title at the Omega European Masters en route to being crowned the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

Another win in his homeland at the Investec South African Open Championship came at the start of this season but that was his last worldwide top ten and Lawrence cut an emotional figure as he reflected on a fourth win in 19 months.

“It means a lot,” he said, fighting back tears after becoming just the second South African to win this trophy after the great Ernie Els.

“There’s been a lot of hard work. I went to America for six weeks and made one cut – this game is not easy. It was a real boost today and I really gave it my all. I feel sorry for Joost, I know how tough this game is.

“I don’t know why I’m so emotional but obviously it just shows that it means the world and to get my fourth victory in Germany is unbelievable.

“I seem to win a lot of events that Ernie has won. It’s special, he’s obviously the ultimate hero for me. I grew up in that era where he was on top of the world and it’s very special to to get my name along alongside him.”

Lawrence holed a 46-footer at some pace on the second and followed it with a left-to-righter from 23 feet on the next to get within two of the leader after a quick start.

A Luiten three-putt on the third saw the lead down to one but Lawrence found the hazard on the fifth and had to take a drop, surrendering his first shot of the day.

The advantage was up to three as Luiten holed from 17 feet on the fifth but Lawrence got up and down on the par-five sixth and then hit a wonderful approach to four feet at the next to trim the advantage back to one.

Lawrence missed the green at the eighth to give up a bogey but Luiten three-putted again from the fringe at the seventh and a Lawrence birdie after laying up at the par-five ninth had him tied at the top.

The roller coaster continued for Lawrence when he found sand and dropped a shot at the tenth and, after it had been a two-horse race over the front nine, there were now five players within three shots of Luiten.

Lawrence was back in a share of the lead after laying up at the par-five 11th but back-to back three-putts dropped him two behind and all of a sudden, Kieffer was the nearest challenger.

He had birdied the first after a smart approach but gave the shot back on the the third before making it birdies on all four days at both the sixth and ninth to turn in 34.

He continued his remarkable record on the par-fives with an eagle from 28 feet at the 11th and an approach to ten feet had him within one before he found water at the 16th and dropped a shot.

That gave Luiten his two-shot cushion back but it would not last for long as Lawrence holed a remarkable 36-foot left-to-righter that went over a mound and through the fringe on the 15th before he put his tee-shot to five feet at the 17th for an eighth birdie of the day.

There were then gasps around the 17th green as Luiten missed from three feet and a third three-putt of the day meant that, for the first time in the round, the Dutchman was off the top of the leaderboard and needed a birdie up the last for a play-off after Lawrence finished his round with just a fifth par of the day.

Luiten hit a tree off the 18th tee which forced him to lay up and while he had a chance to birdie from the fringe, he missed from 25 feet and Lawrence was the victor.

Kieffer carded a 68, the same score as Meronk, with Hoshino signing for a 69 and Hillier recording a 71 to finish a shot ahead of Dutchman Daan Huizing, Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon. – DP World Tour

The South African contingent in this week’s US Open will one of the youngest in the history of this Major as a new generation of the country’s golfers start making their presence felt at the highest level of the game.

Retief Goosen was the last South African winner of the US Open in 2004, and this week the quartet of Deon Germishuys, Thriston Lawrence, Wilco Nienaber and amateur Aldrich Potgieter will represent an entirely new generation attempting to add to the country’s tally of five US Open titles.

The average age of the four young South Africans who will tee it up at the Lost Angeles Country Club from Thursday is 23, with the youngest (Potgieter) being 18 and the oldest (Lawrence) 26.

The US Open has certainly favoured youth of late. The last three US Open champions have all been under the age of 30, and this year’s US Open field includes 13 golfers who are 21 years old or younger.

A total of three of the four South Africans will be making their US Open debuts amongst the 47 players in the field who are playing in their first US Open. Of the South Africans, only Nienaber has played in one US Open before this in 2021 where he finished tied 68^th at Torrey Pines.

This year’s US Open drew a record number of 10 187 entries.

SUN CITY, North-West – With his putter finally starting to fire, Hennie Otto began the final round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City with a birdie and just continued in that vein before making par at the first playoff hole to win the title at Gary Player Country Club on Friday.

Otto began the third and final day three shots off the lead, and apart from his three at the par-four first hole, he enjoyed the ideal start to his pursuit of his 14^th Sunshine Tour title by collecting four more birdies between the sixth and 10^th holes.

A veteran campaigner like Otto was not going to be overawed by the occasion either, as a trio of other contenders – Hayden Griffiths, Jovan Rebula and Martin Rohwer – also jostled fiercely for the top spot. On a windy day on one of the toughest courses in South Africa, Otto came home in one-under 35, for a final round of 67, thanks to another birdie on the par-five 14^th.

A bogey on the par-three 16^th was his only blemish, but the 46-year-old Otto showed the stuff of champions as he parred the testing last two holes to finish on six-under-par for the tournament, joining Griffiths in a playoff.

The 29-year-old Griffiths had shot a tremendous 66, also with just one bogey, to join Otto in the playoff, a clutch birdie on the par-three 16^th sealing his place.

Unfortunately, Griffiths hit his drive on the first playoff hole, the famous ninth at Gary Player Country Club with its island green, way left into the bushes and had to hack out. With Otto just off the fairway on the right, the Johannesburg-based Griffiths had to go for the green with his third, pulled it left and landed in the water.

That left Otto with the routine task of laying up, finding the green and two-putting for the win.

“My game has been so good lately but my scores have not shown it because my putting has not been up to standard,” Otto said after his second victory on the Gary Player Country Club course following his victory there in the 2011 Dimension Data Pro-Am.

“But today my putter started showing what it can do. Because I’ve been playing so well, I knew another win was close. On this course, in all the years I’ve played here, it’s all about hitting the fairway and making sure you don’t hit your ball in the wrong place. But it was even tougher today because of the wind and in the cold morning, your ball doesn’t travel so far.

“On 16, I had no real shot from the bunker and then I just had to make sure I made a four. And then it was just about making sure I parred 17 and 18. I actually nearly birdied the last hole, but my putt just lipped out.

“And then the playoff hole just became a formality after Hayden unfortunately hit his approach into the water,” Otto said.

Rohwer and Rebula both finished one shot behind on five-under-par and both showed excellent technical expertise on one of the most challenging courses in the world, before succumbing to late errors that proved very costly.

Rohwer was on eight-under-par and leading by two after he birdied the par-five 14^th hole, but then dropped a shot at the 15tth and then double-bogeyed the par-four 17^th, finishing with a 67 that was not quite enough.

Rebula had reached seven-under through 13 holes, but then bogeys on the 15^th and 18^th holes left him with a 70 and saw him fall just short of the playoff.

Keelan van Wyk, who led after the first two rounds of the three-round tournament, unfortunately saw his game suffer a meltdown on Friday as he posted an 80 to finish on four-over-par, in a tie for 33^rd place.

SUN CITY, North-West – Keelan van Wyk made a few silly mistakes on the front nine at Gary Player Country Club on Thursday and paid the price, but the CMR Golf Club representative can feel immensely proud of the way he bounced back to retain the lead after the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City.

Despite going out in four-over-par 40, Van Wyk showed his temperament by rectifying most of the damage with four birdies and just a single bogey on the back nine, to sign for 73. The going was so tough at the Gary Player Country Club on Thursday, however, that his one-over-par score was still enough for him to hang on to the lead. The 24-year-old will go into Saturday’s final round on four-under overall, one stroke ahead of Toto Thimba Jnr (72), Fredrik From (71), Jovan Rebula (69) and Matthew Spacey (72).

Van Wyk birdied the par-four first hole on Thursday, but that was followed by three successive bogeys. A double-bogey seven at the ninth then would have been enough, to paraphrase the words of the classic Boomtown Rats song I Don’t Like Mondays, to switch the silicon chip inside his head to overload were it not for Van Wyk’s impressive composure. He rebounded with birdies on the 10^th and 11^th holes, and was on his way back to the top of the leaderboard.

“I made a few mistakes on the front nine and it was just a very intense round of golf. I battled off the tee and on the ninth I went way left and lost my ball, leading to the double-bogey,” Van Wyk explained.

“But I just told myself that I had now hit my low and I could not go any lower. I just channelled my thoughts and my focus on spiralling back up again. I just tried to take it shot-for-shot and stay in the moment.

“My caddy Lloyd also helped a lot, he was quite composed. We were chatting about how the golf course is so difficult, it feels like if you make one mistake then you’re going to drop back a few places, but every player will make mistakes. You can see that from the scores,” Van Wyk said.

Adding to the typically testing set-up of the Gary Player Country Club, there was a swirling wind on Thursday that would con the golfers into thinking it was going one way, but then switch directions on the same hole.

“The course was tough and the wind was swirling as well. It was just never in one direction,” Van Wyk said.

Rebula led the charge of the domestic golfers on Thursday with a brilliant three-under 69 that included just one dropped shot, on the par-four 17^th.

Spacey started his round on the 10^th and made two birdies in his first four holes to claim the lead. But a bogey on the 15^th and another one on the seventh hole saw him slip back, while Thimba Jnr survived three successive bogeys from the eighth hole to still post a level-par 72 and remain strongly in contention.

Sweden’s From was the leading overseas golfer, mixing six birdies with five bogeys in his round.

Three more South Africans, Jonathan Broomhead (70), Michael Hollick (70) and Kyle Barker (72) are two strokes back on two-under-par.

SUN CITY, North-West – Keelan van Wyk did not think he would be able to conquer the back nine at the Gary Player Country Club as comfortably as he did, but his marvellous five-under-par 67 set him up for pride of place on the leaderboard after the first round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City on Wednesday.

Although Van Wyk is just 24 years old and in only his third season on the Sunshine Tour, he is very familiar with the famous Gary Player Country Club layout and aware of all the challenges it poses. But starting his round on the 10^th tee, he birdied the 12^th, 14^th, 16^thand 18^th holes to go to the turn already four-under-par.

After collecting two more birdies on the front nine, he made his only bogey of the day on the ninth, his last hole, but his 67 was still his best round of the season thus far.

“My family comes to Sun City quite a lot on holiday, so I’ve played a few rounds here and I feel quite comfortable, although I haven’t had that many good scores. Usually the back nine is the tougher nine for the way I like to play, so to be four-under at the turn was certainly better than I projected,” Van Wyk said.

“But I’ve definitely put a lot of hard work into my game lately and I have been playing quite well, but just not scoring. But today I had my iron-play under control, I birdied three of the par-threes, and I managed to roll some putts in.

“My plan was to give myself lots of chances for birdies, I took a few of them and I am very, very pleased with my round,” Van Wyk said.

The Riverlea resident’s only real mistake came on the ninth when he caught a flyer out of the rough and went 35 feet over the pin. He left his first putt short and missed his second as well, ending an otherwise fine round with a bogey.

But it was not a day for cruising at the Gary Player Country Club on Wednesday, overcast, cool weather making the course even longer and the usual premium on precise golf being in play.

Four golfers – Robin Williams, Matthew Spacey, Toto Thimba Jnr and Jason Smith – were sharing second place two strokes behind on three-under-par, and only 16 golfers finished under-par on the opening day.

Williams was five-under through 12 holes but a double-bogey at the par-four 13^th was a telling blow. Spacey also notched up a six at the same hole, as well as one on the par-four eighth.

Smith had back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13, as well as one on the third, but you can tell how well Thimba Jnr played by the fact he also, like Van Wyk, only dropped one shot in his opening round.

IRENE, Tshwane –  Louis Albertse was all smiles after winning the Kit Kat Cash and Carry Pro-Am and R320 000 at Irene Country Club on Sunday, but he said even though he triumphed by a comfortable four strokes it felt like he had been climbing mountains all day.

Albertse finished in style by sinking a 30ft putt for birdie on the 18th hole, completing an impressive four-under 68 in the final round, and a total of 23-under-par for the R2 million event, well clear of Kyle Barker in second place on 19-under.

But both playing partner Malcolm Mitchell and Barker had put Albertse under pressure through the final day.

Mitchell was four-under-par through the front nine as he closed to within two strokes, but then a horror run from the 12^th hole saw him drop four strokes in three holes, including a double-bogey on the par-three 13^th hole, when his tee-shot hit a tree and he then three-putted.

Barker produced excellent golf on the last day in a bogey-free 67, which could have been even better and would have put Albertse under even more pressure had a couple of late birdie putts not missed the hole by an inch or two.

Nevertheless, Albertse was not to be swayed on Sunday. He made a pair of crucial birdies around the turn and then played solid, error-free golf to par his way to the last hole.

“It’s always really hard to win, it never gets easier. Everyone here is extremely talented and the pressure can get to you; 18 holes is a long time,” the representative of Dundee Golf Club, in the foothills of the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, said after his second Sunshine Tour victory.

“Malcolm Mitchell played extremely well out of the blocks and that motivated me because I knew if I make mistakes then he will overtake me. I just tried to stay in it, focus on my own game as much as I could.

“The birdies at nine and 10 were crucial, with Malcolm missing a birdie putt at 10. I hit some good shots around the turn and I just tried to play good shot after good shot,” Albertse said.

Far from being insipid golf, Albertse’s run of pars from the 11^th hole was a calculated strategy by the 26-year-old to eliminate risk, on a course he loves, having finished third in the same event last year.

“Having a good lead is nice because it means you can hit conservative shots, especially on holes 14 to 16. It also showed on my choice of club off the 18^th tee when I hit a five-iron.

“I scored my first nine-under here at Irene, back in my amateur days. I just really enjoy the course and coming back here, I feel comfortable here,” Albertse said.

Sean Cronje, the 22-year-old from Durbanville, hit the big time on Sunday as his phenomenal eight-under 64 lifted him into third place on 17-under-par, his first top-10 finish on the Sunshine Tour.

Mitchell finished with a 71 to share fourth place on 16-under with Wynand Dingle (67).

IRENE, Tshwane –  Although Louis Albertse’s five-under-par 67 was not faultless golf, the 26-year-old showed perfect composure as he maintained his four-shot lead after the third and penultimate round of the Kit Kat Cash and Carry Pro-Am at Irene Country Club on Saturday.

Albertse will go into Sunday’s final round with a brilliant score of 19-under-par, following rounds of 66-64-67, a very handy lead with half-a-dozen golfers within six shots of him.

Albertse took a while to get going on Saturday and a bogey on the par-four fifth hole left him one-over for the round. But birdies on the sixth and eighth holes brought some momentum, and he then produced a brilliant back nine of four-under 32.

The Dundee Golf Club representative made some mistakes coming in, but showed a tremendous ability to recover quickly from his mistakes. Twice he made birdies after poor shots left him out of position, courtesy of a wonderful wedge on the par-five 10^thand a phenomenal 45ft putt across the green on the par-three 16^th.

“I had a bit of nerves at the start, I’m not going to lie, and I didn’t hit good drives on the first two holes,” Albertse said. “I was glad I got through those with birdies on six and eight, and then birdies on 10 and 11 made me feel even better. That settled me and I had a good round going.

“I just tried to stay composed. Acceptance in this game plays a really big part in success and the quicker you can accept mistakes, the easier it is. I just tried to forget about the previous shot.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of nerves in the final round and things might feel different. But that’s why we practise all these years, to be in this position. I’m just going to try and enjoy it as much as I can, and at 19-under-par there’s no reason to change anything in my game,” Albertse said.

Although the man who enjoyed seven top-10 finishes last season will be the favourite to win the R320 000 first prize on Sunday, it is by no means a done deal with several other golfers playing marvellous golf on Saturday to put themselves in the picture.

Malcolm Mitchell produced a magnificent back nine of 31 as his 66 lifted him into second place on 15-under. The lanky KwaZulu-Natalian chipped in for eagle on the 10^th hole and finished his round with three consecutive birdies.

Kyle Barker also chipped in from off the green for an eagle on the par-four 15^th and then finished birdie-birdie to post a 68 that left him in third place on 14-under.

A resurgent Trevor Fisher Jnr is on 13-under after cruising to a 66, alongside youngsters Jovan Rebula (68) and Adam Breen (64).