Author: Michael Vlismas

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8th February 2025

Easton leads South African challenge in Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor

CAPE TOWN, Western Cape – Bryce Easton heads into Sunday’s final round of the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor in a five-way tie for the lead and determined to use the opportunity to start playing his way back onto the DP World Tour.

On a tricky day at the Royal Cape Golf Club where a swirling wind certainly caught the attention of the leading campaigners, Easton produced a composed 67 to share the lead on 11 under par.

Italy’s Filippo Celli, who has led from the first round, joined him with a level-par 72. And American Matt Oshrine (66), England’s Jamie Rutherford (67) and Spain’s Borja Virto (71) all took their place on 11 under par as well.

They are two strokes clear of England’s George Bloor, South Africa’s Justin Walters and Lyle Rowe, Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith and Italy’s Stefano Mazzoli.

Daniel van Tonder’s dreams of a hat-trick of victories on this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour stretch are also still a likelihood as he starts the final round three shots off the lead.

There is plenty at stake for so many of the leaders, and none more so than Easton who is hunting his first victory on the Sunshine Tour since 2018.

“I’m looking to get back into the winner’s circle, for sure, and to get my card back on the DP World Tour again. I’ve had a couple of quiet years with a baby boy being born, but I feel like a lot of that has settled down now and I’m able to shift back into golf mode fulltime and chase trying to get back to where I was a couple of years ago,” he said.

His love of this golf course show through in 2022 when he finished third in this tournament, and Easton believes his understanding of this venerable layout was key to him working his way into contention.

“As we got out there in the third round, and the wind was swirling a bit all over the place, I knew it was going to be tricky. I said to my caddie that if we’re finding it tough to get this wind right then everybody else will be doing the same. It’s just a matter of hanging in there, hitting it in the right places and trying not to give shots away.

“But this golf course rewards good shots, especially if the wind is blowing. That suits me. I’m also quite good at reading these greens. For some reason here I seem to pick a couple of the subtle breaks. I seem to be very comfortable with my reads here. So we’ll see what direction the wind blows on the final day. But that’s what’s great about this golf course – it changes every day with the wind.” – Michael Vlismas

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7th February 2025

Celli leads as Royal Cape course record is broken in Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor

CAPE TOWN, Western Cape – Italy’s Filippo Celli will take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor, but it was Frenchman Sebastien Gros who grabbed the spotlight in Friday’s second round with his remarkable course record 60 at Royal Cape.

Celli maintained his hold on this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament with a round of 67 to lead on 11 under par.

His nearest challenger is Spain’s Borja Virto on 10 under par following a 67 of his own. Daniel van Tonder and Malcolm Mitchell are the leading South Africans on eight under par following respective rounds of 67 and 69.

Van Tonder has won the last two tournaments on the Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour and should he achieve a hat-trick of wins this weekend he will automatically earn a DP World Tour card for next season.

But Celli said he is determined not to focus on anything but his own game this weekend.

“I’m very happy. It was another solid round. Hopefully I can keep the same mindset and patience over the weekend. I’m just staying focused on my own game. I like this golf course, but it is tricky. You have to be careful off the tee here. That’s the secret,” said Celli.

If anybody unlocked the secret of this venerable golf course then it was Gros. After three course record 62s – all of them occurring in this tournament over the years – Gros took full advantage of an early morning start in perfect conditions and wrote his name into the history of South Africa’s oldest golf club.

His 60 was made even more remarkable considering it came on the back of an 80 on day one.

“The first round was a nightmare and today was amazing. We never know what can happen in this game,” he said.

Teeing off on the 10th, he went out in 32 and then came home in 28 with not a single bogey on his card.

“When I made the putt on the last, even if it wasn’t for 59, I honestly felt like I’d won the tournament. It was the same kind of emotion,” he said.

“The evening before I just thought something like this was possible. You never know with this game, but I just had a feeling. As soon as you start believing, sometimes good things can happen. To get a course record is always a good sign. But especially here where you’ve got 140 years of history in a wonderful golfing country. To get the lowest round on this golf course is one of the biggest milestones I’ve ever achieved in my life. I’m very proud and humble.” – Michael Vlismas

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6th February 2025

Celli takes early lead in Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor

CAPE TOWN, Western Cape – Italian Filippo Celli produced a highly composed six-under-par 66 in gusting conditions at Royal Cape Golf Club on Thursday to lead the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor by a single stroke.

Celli, one of Italy’s top amateurs who also won the silver medal for the low amateur at the 2022 Open Championship, started his round superbly and was three under par through his first three holes on his way to claiming the early lead in this Sunshine Tour and HolidayPlanner Tour event.

His nearest challengers are South Africa’s Malcolm Mitchell and Spain’s Borja Virto, while Daniel van Tonder – the winner of the last two Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournaments and looking for a hat-trick this week – came through day one just three shots off the lead.

But Celli was delighted with his start to this event.

“I played really solid golf so I’m very happy. It was a tough afternoon. The gusts were so strong and I handled it well. I just took it shot by shot. We know in this game you need to be patient, and that was very important today. If you made a bogey you had to just be positive in these tough conditions,” he said.

Behind him, South Africa’s Mitchell revelled in the windy conditions, having grown up in Durban.

“I love playing in the wind. To have no bogeys and give birdies on a day like today, I’ll definitely take that. But when it comes to the wind, that really takes me to my happy place,” he said.

Mitchell was particularly pleased to have finished higher up the leaderboard than Van Tonder on day one, considering the two are brothers-in-law and are fiercely competitive on the golf course.

“There’s always that bit of competition. We often play social rounds together and it’s always brutal competition between the two of us. Daniel hates to lose,” he said.

It’s a competition Van Tonder has been winning of late with his incredible form, and clearly something Mitchell aspires to as well.

“His form has been great to see. I’ve been working on a couple of things, one of which is being a lot more positive and seeing what I’m capable of.” – Michael Vlismas

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In-form Norris determined to claim Investec South African Open glory

Shaun Norris is determined to add his name to the illustrious list of Investec South African Open champions as he joins a field that already includes defending champion Dean Burmester at Durban Country Club from 27 February to 2 March 2025.

Tickets are available to buy at https://sunshinetour.com/ticket-open?id=224S&code=SAOP

The 42-year-old is playing some of the best golf of his career at present.

After winning his second DP World Tour title in December’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, Norris started 2025 with back-to-back finishes of sixth and 16th in the United Arab Emirates and is currently the highest ranked South African in fourth place on the Race to Dubai.

Norris is now determined to capitalise on his form and give himself the best possible shot at a maiden Investec South African Open crown.

“I’ve been swinging the club very well for a while now and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year. This is the tournament that any South African golfer wants to win. It’s our national Open. My two DP World Tour wins are proof to me that my golf is good enough to compete with all the players on the DP World Tour.

So with my game feeling as good as it is at the moment, I’m definitely going to go for a win in Durban,” he said.

Norris already has a victory in the Japan Open to his name in 2021, and said he’d loving nothing more than to add the Investec South African Open to this list.

“It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, to win any national Open is massive. The next step for me is definitely to be able to win the Investec South African Open.”

The fact that this year’s $1.5-million tournament – co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour – will be played at the revamped Durban Country Club also excites Norris.

“I love Durban Country Club, and it will be an interesting and different challenge now that they’ve made some changes,” said Norris, who has top Investec South African Open finishes of tied 11th in 2012 and tied 20th in 2018.

The Investec South African Open will also play a key role in Norris’ quest to reclaim his top spot on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy. After holding that number one position at the start of the year, Norris was unseated by Daniel van Tonder and is now second on the rankings.

As the headline sponsor of the Investec SA Open, Investec is dedicated to elevating local talent and showcasing South African golf talent on the international stage.

Jonsson Workwear is the official workwear partner of the Investec South African Open and the Sunshine Tour, joining other partners such as Hyundai, The Courier Guy, CIRCA, Airlink and Provantage as major brands supporting the national Open.

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5th February 2025

Vorster ready to build on good form in Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor

CAPE TOWN, Western Cape – A few months ago Martin Vorster wasn’t sure he’d be able to retain his playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour without a medical exemption. This week he heads into the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor at Royal Cape Golf Club just outside the top 10 on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

“I get goosebumps just thinking about that,” he said ahead of Thursday’s first round of this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament.

Last year the talented young star had to work his way back from a hip injury, and he made his return to the Sunshine Tour last August.

Then last week he pushed the in-form Daniel van Tonder right to the final hole of the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood before finishing second.

“Six months ago I never expected to be in this position. I had such an incredible team around me and we just kept positive and decided to just do what we could daily. And now it’s paying off. I was very proud of myself for just being able to stay in the running last week. Daniel has been playing unbelievable golf and my goal was just to try and give him a go and I think I did that. I’m just pleased I kept myself in the mix, and hopefully we can do the same again this week,” he said.

This week represents yet another opportunity for Vorster on a golf course he’s excited about.

“I grew up in Mossel Bay so I’ve played a lot of golf in the wind, and we’re expecting some high winds which should be fun. The course is looking unbelievably good, and I think a tournament like this has to be played in some wind.”

Vorster is part of a group who have arrived in the Mother City like a rising tide of golfers in good form at the moment.

Daniel van Tonder’s back-to-back wins the past two weeks make him an obvious contender. A third win this week would automatically secure him a DP World Tour card for next season.

Nikhil Rama has finished 12th and fourth in his last two Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned events, while Irishman Liam Nolan arrives in Cape Town with finishes of third and fourth in his last two events on South African fairways.

And former champions Benjamin Follett-Smith and JC Ritchie are chasing their own place in the tournament’s history as they each seek to become the first three-time winner of this event. – Michael Vlismas

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2nd February 2025

Van Tonder wins back-to-back with MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood triumph

HARTBEESPOORT, North West – Daniel van Tonder continued his incredible form with a two-stroke victory in the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood on Sunday, claiming back-to-back victories on the Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour as well as his fourth victory this season.

Van Tonder closed with a 67 to win on 27 under par, claiming his second victory in as many weeks after winning the SDC Open.

It also entrenched his number one position at the top of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca rankings.

“It’s amazing. I’ve been playing well and have just backed myself. I’ve been working hard and it’s nice to see the results come through now,” said Van Tonder.

Martin Vorster finished second on 25 under par with a closing 65, and as the only man on the day who came closest to catching Van Tonder.

Van Tonder appeared to be cruising to victory, but then came a two-shot swing on the par-four 15th where he made bogey from the greenside bunker to drop to 26 under par and Vorster made birdie to climb to 24 under par.

Van Tonder responded with a birdie on 16 and Vorster kept up his challenge with a birdie on 17 before both parred the last.

Australia’s Danny List took third place on 24 under par with a closing 67.

It’s been a dream past few months for Van Tonder, who has also celebrated the birth of his baby daughter Gabriella Grace. He now needs one more victory on the HotelPlanner Tour to secure his DP World Tour card for next season.

“I’ve been very blessed and feel very grateful. I’m just going to continue reaching for the stars and see where I land,” he said. – Michael Vlismas

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1st February 2025

Van Tonder keeps living his best MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood

HARTBEESPOORT, North West – Daniel van Tonder is chasing his second victory in as many weeks on the Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour as he takes a three-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood.

Van Tonder produced a composed 66 at Pecanwood on Saturday to climb to 22 under par, with Australia’s Danny List his nearest challenger on 19 under par following an impressive 62.

Van Tonder has been in rampant form over the last two weeks.

He won the SDC Open at Zebula last week and in the process reclaimed his number one position on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy while also taking the number one spot on the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca standings. A win on Sunday would be his fourth victory on the Sunshine Tour this season.

“It would be amazing to win again on Sunday. It would help a lot towards my goal of winning the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and then I’m also chasing three wins on the HotelPlanner Tour which secures me a DP World Tour card,” he said.

But it did take him some time to get going on Saturday. He turned in level par after a frustrating front nine, and then played the back nine superbly as he came home in 30.

“I had a good finish on the back nine. It took a while for me to get going on the front. I had a bit of bad luck on the front nine with a couple of holes, and made that bogey on the par-five fifth. That was frustrating. But I just kept telling myself it will come sooner or later. I kept giving myself chances and then I used them on the back nine,” he said.

Australia’s List was one of those applying the pressure as Van Tonder worked through his frustrations on the front nine, and surged through the field with his 62. List was born in Ghana and still feels a strong kinship with that country, which he hopes to also represent on Sunday.

“I definitely have some pretty big ambitions for Ghana golf and I’m trying to represent them as best I can out here. The Sunshine Tour is a brilliant Tour and the quality out here is so impressive. I didn’t know that Africa had this much depth in golf talent, and it’s great to see Africa thriving in golf,” he said.

And Van Tonder clearly has goals of his own for Sunday. In his own inimitable way, he explained his focus.

“I’ve become a father for the first time, and that means I now have two women in the house and that’s expensive. So I have no option but to win.” – Michael Vlismas

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31st January 2025

Van Tonder eyes another victory in MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood

HARTBEESPOORT, North West – Daniel van Tonder holds a two-stroke clubhouse lead going into the weekend of the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood and is hunting back-to-back victories on the Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour.

Van Tonder signed for a second round of 66 on Friday to climb to 16 under par overall. His nearest challenger is Martin Vorster who posted a second round of 65 for a total of 14 under par.

But the second round will have to be completed on Saturday morning after play was suspended for a little under two hours due to dangerous weather conditions from an approaching storm.

Van Tonder is coming off a win in last week’s SDC Open and kept his hold on this tournament on another low-scoring day.

Van Tonder, who led the first round with a 62, teed off the first and did most of his scoring around the turn with a run of seven birdies in 10 holes and only one bogey in that stretch.

“I’m very pleased. I played solid. I didn’t really think about how to follow up my 62 yesterday. I took it as a new day to start fresh. But I did feel like I left a few birdies out there, especially on the front nine,” he said.

“You need to keep making birdies here. I’m looking forward to a bit of pressure. I play better when I’m under pressure. My gameplan on the weekend will be the same – head down and attack.”

Behind him, Vorster is also looking forward to a weekend of being in contention after his top-20 finish last week.

“I’m in a great position and excited for the weekend. Everything stays the same for the next two days and then we’ll add up the score at the end,” he said.

Vorster managed his game exceptionally well on Friday on a course where the temptation could be to try and force the birdies.

“It’s easy to get too aggressive on a course like this. You’re tempted to go for every flag, but sometimes taking a wedge and aiming just three steps left or right of the flag is the right shot. You know the scores are going to be really low here, so you need to remind yourself that if you give yourself chances the putts are going to drop. I just stuck to my gameplan very well today,” he said as he chases a maiden professional title.

With the scores as low as they are, the weekend still offers plenty of opportunity for those chasing Van Tonder, including Sebastian Friedrichsen and Nikhil Rama four shots behind him. – Michael Vlismas

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30th January 2025

Van Tonder chasing back-to-back wins in MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood

HARTBEESPOORT, North West – Daniel van Tonder is in the kind of free-flowing mood that makes him feel like he can win every time he tees it up, and he showed this again on Thursday with a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 to lead the first round of the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood.

Van Tonder picked up right where he left off after winning last week’s SDC Open and immediately claimed a two-stroke lead in this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament.

His nearest challengers on eight under par are Luke Brown, Nikhil Rama, Jason Roets and Peter Karmis who all added to a day of low scoring. Karmis in particular holed out with his second on the par-four ninth to join the chasing group.

But as Van Tonder overtook them all in the afternoon, there was a sense that this has happened before.

He won twice on the Sunshine Tour in 2014, then four times in 2020, and twice again in 2024. It’s the kind of pattern that suggests when he starts winning, there is usually more to come.

“I’ve been playing well the last year or so, so it’s nice catching this good form and riding it. It’s nice to reap the rewards of my hard work over the past few months. But I’ll just keep working hard, keep my head down and do my thing,” Van Tonder said.

He recently moved back into first position on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and also took the lead on the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca.

And whereas last week he came from seven shots back in the final round to win in a playoff, this week he’s the early frontrunner.

“It’s a bit different this week. I’ll just keep my foot on the gas and keep going. But it’s quite nice to start the week with a round of 10 under par. It makes my job a bit easier over the next three days. The course is playing well and I feel like I left a few more birdies out there. There are low scores out there. This is a good golf course. It places a premium on the tee shot so if you’re hitting it well you’ve got a chance.”

Behind him, Rama has made another good start for the second week in succession. He finished tied 12th in last week’s SDC Open.

“My game’s been feeling good for a long time now. It’s just nice to see the putts dropping. Everybody is going to score well around here if the putts drop,” he said.

And Roets also continued with his good form after finishing tied fifth last week.

“I was three under through the first three holes and I’ve put myself in a good position. If your short game is good here then the scores are out there. I’m definitely building on the confidence of last week,” he said. – Michael Vlismas

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29th January 2025

Top tour contenders chasing glory in MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood

HARTBEESPOORT, North West – The MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood has drawn an incredibly strong field with a number of rankings contenders on various tours who have gathered on the banks of Hartbeespoort Dam for this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament.

None more so than Daniel van Tonder, who currently holds the top spot on both the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca rankings following his victory in last week’s SDC Open.

Van Tonder has had a clear goal to reclaim his number one position on the Sunshine Tour standings, and this week he wants to keep that momentum.

“I just want to extend my lead. I want to win our Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and see where that takes me, because it opens a few doors for me,” he said.

Fellow South African Shaun Norris is back on local fairways this week and playing some of the best golf of his career. He is currently second on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and third on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai following an incredible run of form.

After winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in December, Norris started 2025 in equally strong form with finishes of sixth and 16th in the DP World Tour’s last two events in the United Arab Emirates.

“It’s great to be back and spend some time at home. The first thing I did was have a braai. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year. I’m very happy with the way I’m swinging the club and I’m having a lot of fun with my brother on the bag. Pecanwood has always been a good venue, and the course looks good this week,” said Norris.

This week’s field also includes Wilco Nienaber, JC Ritchie, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Nikhil Rama, who are all currently in the top 10 on the Road to Mallorca rankings.

And the three young stars of Jonathan Broomhead, Yurav Premlall and Dylan Naidoo will also be looking to strengthen their positions within the top five on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

It’s a tantalising showcase of South African golf talent, and one which Daniel Egdes, CEO of MoreCorp Membership, says they’re proud to support.

“We believe in what the Sunshine Tour is doing in terms of creating opportunities for South African professionals to compete not only here but also against international golfers from the HotelPlanner Tour and the DP World Tour. Further to this, the MyGolfLife brand is an engagement platform for golfers to reward them for participating in the sport they love. With their increased participation, we also gain more golfers interested in watching tournaments and attending Sunshine Tour events. In any sport, fans need heroes and the Sunshine Tour has created wonderful golf heroes. That also creates more people interested in the game and fuels that increased participation. So it all weaves together in the whole eco system of our game.” – Michael Vlismas