Author: Michael Vlismas

Gary Player, who turned 87 this month, says he hopes his efforts to improve the lives of the underprivileged through his foundation will far outlive any success he achieved as one of golf’s greatest competitors.

The winner of nine Majors on the regular tour, nine Majors on the senior tour and 165 tournaments worldwide will continue his work raising funds for the underprivileged when he hosts The Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational at Sun City this weekend.

“Legacy is an interesting concept for me. I’m often asked about legacy, and it’s always written that I’ve won 18 Majors, 165 tournaments, am the only player to win the Grand Slam on both tours. But that’s not my legacy,” says Player.

“My legacy is that I struggled. I started life with an empty stomach and a pocket full of dreams. The only person behind me was my shadow on the ground. But that means I know what it’s like to struggle. It has given me empathy for people who struggle in life. I’d like to go to my grave knowing that our Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation has raised over $100 million to change the lives of people around the world. That’s my legacy.”

This weekend’s Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational will continue the work Player and his late wife started when they first opened the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School on their farm over three decades ago. What started as a school for just a handful of the local farmworkers’ children has now grown to educating 125 children between the ages of three and six.

The 36-hole tournament at the Lost City Golf Course from 19-20 November will bring together a selection of sporting greats and business leaders to help raise funds for the foundation and specifically to secure a sustainable future for the school.

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, boxing great Brian Mitchell, South African rugby stars Victor Matfield, Butch James, Akona and Odwa Ndungane, Patrick Lambie, Stefan Terblanche, Owen Nkumane and Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Proteas cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Vernon Philander, former Bafana Bafana footballers Mark Fish, Shaun Bartlett, Jimmy Tau, Aaron Mokoena and Mark Williams, and renowned South African women’s golfer Sally Little will join a collection of Sunshine Tour stars in the field, including five professionals from the Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class for historically disadvantaged golfers.

“People talk about a legacy to the game of golf. Forget about being a great golfer, I’d like to be remembered as a man who loved people, who loved life and who tried to contribute to society,” says Player.

SUN CITY, North West – In the 40 editions of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, there are a select few golfers who have crept into the hearts of Sun City golf fans. Similarly, this tournament has found a special place in their hearts as well. Tommy Fleetwood is one of those.

The Englishman grew up watching “Africa’s Major” on TV with his dad. In 2019 he realised a dream when he won it. On Sunday, he joined a rare club of the world’s greatest golfers to have successfully defended his title.

In a tense final round played against the backdrop of a gathering storm and a weather-delay, and with the leaderboard packed tighter than a waterhole at dusk in the neighbouring Pilanesberg National Park, Fleetwood’s chip-in for eagle on the par-five 14^th proved decisive as he went on to win by a single shot on 11 under par with a final round of 67.

What it meant was written all over Fleetwood’s face as he burst into tears on the 18^th. What it means in the history of this tournament is a place alongside Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Nick Price, David Frost, Jim Furyk and Lee Westwood as the players to have defended their title at the Gary Player Country Club.

“I already have so many amazing memories from this place and feel like I have a great connection so this has just added to that,” said Fleetwood, who on Wednesday battled through the pro-am because he was so ill and almost didn’t tee it up on Thursday.

“It was touch-and-go Thursday morning, and then again on Saturday where we woke up early to finish the second round. I didn’t sleep well and felt like I had nothing in me at all. The doctor at Sun City was amazing. I gave his son my winning golf ball because without him there was not a chance for me. I was just thinking if I can keep going one hole at a time, you never know what the weather is going to do and if we’ll get four rounds in. And I’m glad I made that decision.”

New Zealander Ryan Fox was tied for the lead with Fleetwood playing the 18^th but bogeyed the last to finish second on 10 under with a closing 68. Christiaan Bezuidenhout finished as the leading South African on seven under par with a final round of 72.

But this week was all about the 40^th celebration of a very special golf tournament, and it delivered a winner with a very special connection to it.

“You know, it meant so much to have my name on the ninth walkway where they put down the bronze plaques with all the previous winners and some of the greatest players of all time. This week I sent a video of that walkway to my dad who is back home because we had always said how great would it be to put my name down there. I showed him it, and he immediately texted back saying, ‘Let’s put down a second one’,” said Fleetwood.

SUN CITY, North West – Branden Grace and Thriston Lawrence are at the forefront of the South African charge in the Nedbank Golf Challenge as they both head into Sunday’s final round only one stroke off the lead and looking to ensure a local champion in this milestone 40^th edition of “Africa’s Major”.

A long day of golf at the Gary Player Country Club where the players had to complete the weather-interrupted second round and then head straight into the third round finished with Grace and Lawrence on eight under par, just one shot off the joint lead held by Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard.

By the time the second round was completed on Saturday morning, Luke Donald and Richard Bland shared the lead on eight under par, with Grace one shot back, Højgaard two off the lead, Detry four shots back and Lawrence seven behind.

But the afternoon’s third round proved a different story.

Detry was first into the clubhouse with a 67 to set the target at nine under par. “I managed to find some confidence on the greens. My game has been in great form and I feel like everything is clicking again,” he said.

Højgaard joined him in the lead with a third round of 69. “I’ve been driving the ball pretty well. You need to drive it well on this course. In the final round I’ll try and stay as calm as possible and not try and force anything. I’ve got a good feeling about it,” he said.

And the South Africans as a group made a strong push up the leaderboard.

Lawrence teed off the 10^th, birdied four of his six holes to the turn and added a further three birdies on his second nine for a 65 and a tournament total of eight under par. “I’ve been hitting it unbelievably well from tee to green. This is probably my best round ever on this golf course, and it was a good day to do it,” said Lawrence, who is having a dream debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Grace had a more patient 71 to join him on eight under par.

“It’s put me back where I needed to be. From tee to green I hit it as well as I’ve ever done on this golf course. I struggled to find the speed of the greens, though. But I’m one behind going into the final round. I’m enjoying my golf and if I can shoot five or six under in the final round, I’ll be in with a shout,” said Grace, who is the last South African winner of this tournament in 2017.

Behind them, Christiaan Bezuidenhout will start the final round just two shots off the lead, and Richard Sterne is four shots back.

SUN CITY, North West – It’s two Springboks chasing an All Black as Branden Grace and Justin Walters led the South African challenge after the first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club on Thursday, and with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox top of the leaderboard.

Grace, the last South African winner of this tournament in 2017, and Walters opened with rounds of two-under-par 70. At the top of the leaderboard, Fox signed for a sublime eight-under-par 64 to lead the field by one stroke. His nearest challenger is European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who last played here in 2014 and rediscovered his form with a 65.

Grace was delighted to be contending after a difficult start on the front nine where he was two over through the first three holes.

“I don’t know what it is with that front nine. I’m always a little on the back foot and then I get things together. But it’s nice to be here and I’m honoured to be back,” said Grace.

But it was Fox who set the target on day one with his 64 that saw him drop only one shot on a golf course which he said has never treated him well before this.

“It feels a bit weird to have done that today. I had a lot of good numbers, managed to get the yardages right and I putted really nicely. It still feels a bit strange to be honest. This golf course has kicked me in the butt several times, so maybe it was nice today and will bite me tomorrow.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better start. I figure if you can get to double digits under par around here for the most part you’re going to be pretty close come Sunday. To be most of the way there after the first round is pretty nice.”

Donald was just as surprised by his performance.

“A little bit unexpected to be honest. I wasn’t showing much form coming into this week. I kept it in play well off the tee and my iron play was really good. I think I hit 15 greens today and around this course, that is very pleasing. It’s tricky with the altitude and the wind swirls a bit here, I got the distances right all day, gave myself a lot of good looks and made a couple pf putts, especially on the back nine.”

Italy’s Guido Migliozzi is well placed on five under par.

South Africa’s George Coetzee and Zander Lombard relived their earliest memories as young golf fans attending their first Nedbank Golf Challenge, as they now prepare to tee it up as established professionals in this week’s historic 40^th edition of “Africa’s Major”.

Speaking at the Champion’s Dinner ahead of Thursday’s first round at the Gary Player Country Club, Coetzee recalled his first visit to the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 1998 – the year Tiger Woods teed it up at Sun City and was beaten in a playoff for the title by Nick Price.

“I remember watching Nick Price and Tiger Woods battle it out, and I actually got Price’s ball with his name on it,” said Coetzee, who heads into this week’s tournament as one of the in-form golfers following his victory in last week’s South African PGA Championship.

It was a similar experience for Lombard when he attended his first Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2005. And his retelling of this at the Champion’s Dinner was made all the more special by the fact that the key golfer in his story had just been on stage – Luke Donald. “I actually got Luke Donald’s ball that year that he finished fifth,” he said of the year when the former world number one finished one shot outside the four-man playoff eventually won by Jim Furyk.

Coetzee said that both their experiences represent everything about what makes the Nedbank Golf Challenge such an important tournament for every South African professional.

“You know, Zander had the same sort of experience as me from this event. With us growing up in South Africa and watching this event, you aspired to work hard and become a professional golfer and to hopefully one day play in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

“I grew up as a big Ernie (Els) fan. I even remember disliking Bernhard Langer because he kept on beating Ernie in this event. Then Ernie shot that incredible tournament record of 25 under par, and that was pretty cool. Ernie was an unbelievable player and he inspired so many of us through this event.”

Lombard certainly has big aspirations for this year’s tournament after finishing tied eighth here in 2019.

“It was an amazing experience for me to finish in the top 10 in 2019 and hopefully I can do even better this year,” he said.

ST FRANCIS BAY, Eastern Cape – Golf is a capricious mistress and George Coetzee has been in the game for long enough to know the swing he has one day might not be around the next, but the two-time Sunshine Tour order of merit champion had the experience, composure and skill to get the job done on Sunday as he clinched his second PGA Championship title at the St Francis Links.

Coetzee had just a one-stroke lead going into the final round, but a polished four-under-par 68 on Sunday, which included two eagles and almost a third, carried him to 15-under-par and a three-stroke victory in the prestigious R1.2 million tournament.

“I was pretty much under pressure all day, I didn’t really feel comfortable and my swing wasn’t 100%,” Coetzee said after claiming his 14^th Sunshine Tour title.

“But golf is one of those games, it’s not like cycling where the more you cycle the better you get. You can have one swing on one day and then the next day another swing.

“So I was putting pressure on myself, but I stuck to the game-plan, made good choices and hit good shots, and luckily it was enough in the end,” Coetzee said.

Some of those shots were better than good as an eagle on the par-five third hole brought some early pleasure, and he holed out with a sand-wedge for an eagle-two on the par-four 10^th hole. In between those highlights, he could also have eagled the 350-yard par-four fifth hole after driving the green, but his putt was narrowly wide.

“We were put on the clock on the fifth and I didn’t have time to read my putt properly,” Coetzee laughed.

Unusually, Coetzee made bogey on the following hole on both occasions he registered an eagle.

“I was really happy with my two eagles after I saw a lot of chances in the third round. But then it was a bit hard to calm down and get back into my rhythm, get my head back into a good space,” Coetzee admitted.

But back-to-back birdies on the 12^th and 13^th holes put him firmly in control of the tournament and he parred his way in from the 14^th for a comfortable victory in the end.

Rookie Casey Jarvis produced his best Sunshine Tour result as he finished second after a final-round 69, and the experienced duo of Hennie Otto and Jake Redman were tied in third place, one stroke behind on 11-under-par, both shooting two-under-par 70s on Sunday.

Coetzee will now head to Sun City and this week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge, which is like the AGM of South African professional golf, assured that he has the game in place to contend for that massive title.

“The confidence I take from beating the field here is a big boost and I’m generally pretty happy with the swing that has shown up for the last couple of weeks,” Coetzee said.

Stephen Ferreira’s championship also ended on a winning note as he aced the par-three 17^th hole to win himself a new Volkswagen T-Roc courtesy of Dirk Ellis VW.

ST FRANCIS BAY, Eastern Cape – Casey Jarvis has been known as a top-class talent for some time now and the Sunshine Tour rookie produced a display of his considerable ability as he fired a brilliant four-under-par 68 on Friday to snatch a two-stroke lead after the second round of the prestigious PGA Championship at the St Francis Links.

The 19-year-old Jarvis goes into the weekend on a total of eight-under-par, two ahead of a chasing pack on six-under which includes a pair of decorated veterans in George Coetzee and Hennie Otto.

Jarvis, a star for the GolfRSA squad on fairways around the world before he turned pro this year, was a shot off the lead at the start of the second round. A measured front nine saw him reach the turn in level-par, with two birdies and two bogeys, but he then produced a sensational back nine.

He netted a pair of birdies on the par-four 10^th and 11^th holes, and then conquered the famous 533-yard, par-five 13^th with an eagle. With a tricky run of holes into the wind to finish, Jarvis did well to come home in par and complete a memorable day in his fledgling pro career.

“My iron play was really good today, I struck the ball well and I started pretty solid, but I didn’t make many putts. But then I hit good shots at 10 and 11, where I made a long putt, and a very good eagle at 13 after a great drive and hitting a wedge in to 10 feet,” Jarvis said.

“The wind picked up on the back nine and it was a strong breeze, there was wind on the front nine as well but it was not as hard. From 15 onwards, we were into the wind, so it was a tricky finish.

“I haven’t been in this position before on the Sunshine Tour and it’s great to be there, I’m really excited. I must just try not to get ahead of myself on the weekend, take it one shot at a time,” the leading amateur in the 2020 SA Open, said.

Coetzee had an up-and-down front nine with back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, but then three successive bogeys before the turn. He was now slipping a bit behind Jarvis, but a precious run of three consecutive birdies from the 12^th meant he would still finish under-par and stay well in touch despite another bogey on the par-three penultimate hole.

Malcolm Mitchell played excellent golf to also shoot a 68 and climb into the share of second with just one dropped shot on Friday. Otto shot a fine 69 to also sit on six-under at the halfway mark, while Rhys West and Hennie O’Kennedy posted two-under 70s to also share second.

But Martin Vorster was the biggest climber up the leaderboard with his 67, the joint-best round of the day that vaulted him from tied-19^th into the share of second.

Jake Redman also fired a 67 to sit a shot further back on five-under-par.

ST FRANCIS BAY (Eastern Cape) – George Coetzee shot a five-under-par 67 with just two bogeys to seemingly cruise into a share of the lead after the first round of the PGA Championship, but the multiple winner on both the Sunshine and DP World Tours said it had actually been a struggle on a typically testing day at the St Francis Links on Thursday.

Coetzee began his round with a bogey on the par-four 10^th, but then went to the turn with four birdies. On the front nine, his only other drop came on the par-four fifth, with birdies on either side of it, and the 36-year-old completed his round with an excellent birdie on the par-four ninth.

Coetzee, who won the 2011 PGA Championship at Country Club Johannesburg after finishing runner-up the year before, is tied for the lead with Danie van Niekerk, the 34-year-old Lichtenburg golfer who produced a brilliant bogey-free round with three birdies on the front nine, after he also started on the 10^th.

“It was definitely tricky out there and I’m happy with my score,” Coetzee said. “All-in-all, I’m happy just to be in the mix and to be in a good rhythm. I made a lot of putts on my last nine holes when it was really quite tricky, and that kept my scorecard together.

“But it was a hairy last bunch of holes into the wind,” Coetzee said.

The winner of a second consecutive Vodacom Origins of Golf Series De Zalze title when he last played in South Africa in August, Coetzee said that his two bogeys had come from a lack of familiarity with the seaside course.

“My two bogeys were basically down to a lack of knowledge of the course, taking the wrong club off the tee or playing to the wrong part of the green, like on my second on the 10^th hole. Hopefully I learn quickly and make better decisions tomorrow,” Coetzee said.

The top-10 on the leaderboard at the end of the first round is filled with experienced or in-form golfers that will ensure Coetzee and Van Niekerk are kept on their toes.

Jake Roos and Hennie O’Kennedy are one shot behind on four-under with Casey Jarvis, JJ Senekal and Rhys West.

Hennie Otto, who was the runner-up in the PGA Championship in both 2002 and 2008, is with Stefan Wears-Taylor and Samuel Simpson on three-under.

The PGA Championship is South Africa’s second-oldest professional tournament and Otto would dearly love to add that title to his 2011 SA Open win at Serengeti Estate.