Author: Michael Vlismas

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will return to the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour schedules for the first time since 2019 at a celebrated new world-class host venue this December.

The sixth edition of this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament will break new ground when it travels to the northern region of the island for the first time and to the championship golf course of Mont Choisy Le Golf from 15-18 December 2022.

Mauritius will also be the grand finale of a strong conclusion to 2022 for the Sunshine Tour. The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will be played at the end of a four-week run of premier Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned events that begins in Johannesburg and ends on the island, featuring a selection of the finest professionals from both tours.

“We are delighted to make our return to the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour, and more importantly to be the catalyst for bringing the largest sporting event of the region to Mauritius for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is an important contributor to the Mauritian economy with a spillover effect to key sectors such as the tourism and financial services to name a few. This tournament, broadcast worldwide, always draws a strong field and plenty of international interest and remains a source of great national pride,” said Thierry Vallet, Founder Executive and Interim CEO of AfrAsia Bank.

The 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has once again drawn a glittering array of blue-chip sponsors, including Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels which is a premier accommodation partner to the tournament through its eight resorts in Mauritius.

“The Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels Group is firmly entrenched in the history of Mauritius, and we are proud to partner with the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and help to stimulate the Mauritius tourism industry as we have done since 1962. As the leading hotel group in Mauritius, we are ready to open the doors of our award-winning resorts to the field of international golfers as well as the spectators traveling from abroad to spend this memorable week with us,” said Gilbert Espitalier-Noel, CEO of the Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels Group.

Mont Choisy Le Golf will make its debut as the host of this year’s tournament, which travels to the magnificent Grand Baie region for the first time.

“It is a privilege for Mont Choisy Le Golf to host the 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and make our own bit of history in this event. As the only 18-hole championship golf course in the North, we look forward to welcoming the international field to our Peter Matkovich-designed golf course and trust they will enjoy the golf course as well as their week spent in the most prestigious address in Grand Baie at the Mont Choisy Golf and Beach Estate,” said Jyoti Jeetun, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Mont Choisy Group.

With a global television broadcast to almost 400 million homes, the 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will play a key role in reigniting the local tourism industry following the disruption caused by the global pandemic.

“I am delighted to see the return of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Mauritius has a strong golf tradition stretching back over 150 years, and the nation is home to some of the best golf courses in the world. We will once more welcome some of the best players in the game to compete at this prestigious event, as well as golf fans who will be there to cheer them on,” said Arvind Bundhun, Director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA).

Both the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour welcomed the return of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to their schedules as part of the Strategic Alliance between the two Tours announced last year which builds on a relationship which dates more than quarter of a century. The return of the two Tours to Mauritius is the continuation of a history of professional golf excellence that has seen four-time Major winner Ernie Els, 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 Open Champion and 2016 European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke, 2018 European Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Björn, and a host of former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players compete in this event in the past.

Ben Cowen, Chief Tournament Business Officer of the DP World Tour, said: “We are extremely pleased for the beautiful island of Mauritius and for our partners at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to be able to announce the return of this unique event to our DP World Tour international schedule as part of our Strategic Alliance with the Sunshine Tour. It has been a popular event with our members ever since the tournament launched in 2015, and following the challenges of Covid-19, we are looking forward to celebrating its resumption at a new venue in Mont Choisy as part of our 2023 schedule.”

Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said: “It’s been a challenging time for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, as it has for all of us in world golf. The return of this magical tournament is a true sign that we are back to normal in the world of professional golf and we cannot wait to celebrate this with all of our partners in this event.”

The other main sponsors of the event include Jaguar, Rogers, Heritage Resorts, IBL, Phoenix Beverages, Air Mauritius, Emtel, Mautourco and Hertz.

Chipping in on the 10^th green and then making birdie on the 13^th proved to be the key blows as Martin Rohwer and Merrick Bremner held off the chasing pack to win the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship by six strokes at Blue Valley Golf Estate on Saturday.

Rohwer and Bremner took a four-stroke lead into the betterball final round of this R1.2 million event, but that had all but evaporated as Combrinck Smit nailed a hole-in-one on the 173-metre second hole and then Erhard Lambrechts sank his second for an albatross on the par-five third hole.

But they are relative greenhorns compared to Bremner and Rohwer and the KwaZulu-Natal duo held their nerve superbly in tough, blustery conditions. Even so, they were only a couple of strokes ahead as they completed the front nine, before Rohwer chipped in for eagle on the 10^th and Bremner made an important birdie putt on the par-five 13^th.

“The wind was up today so it made it tough,” Rohwer said. “But we hung in there and dovetailed together quite well. The chip-in at 10 and then a huge birdie at 13 when Merrick chipped it almost dead, just pulled us clear a bit.”

“We had seen a scoreboard on the ninth so we knew exactly how well Erhard and Combrinck were doing. But we stayed pretty aggressive and those three shots gained made it much easier for us down the stretch,” Rohwer said.

Bremner and Rohwer birdied the 15^th and then the par-five closing hole to finish with a 62 and 28-under-par overall. Lambrechts and Smit eventually posted a 61 to leave themselves on 22-under, alongside Jean Hugo and Hennie du Plessis, who were also 11-under on Saturday.

The victory was a particular relief for Bremner, a 36-year-old tour veteran for whom success has been elusive over the last year or so. It is his first victory since 2020.

For Rohwer, who claimed his second title at the Vodacom Origins of Golf final in January, the triumph rounded off a near-perfect week.

“It really helps with my exemption category which was going to run out in January. So now I’m in all the big co-sanctioned events and it’s just nice to win after putting in all the prep. It’s also massive for Merrick, who was great to have as a partner. It’s always special teaming up with a mate. And I absolutely loved the betterball-foursomes-betterball format, from start to finish,” Rohwer said.

Scores:

188 – M Rohwer & M Bremner 60 66 62

194 – E Lambrechts & C Smit 65 68 61, J Hugo & H Du Plessis 63 70 61

195 – D Mostert & K Barker 65 68 62, D Fichardt & G Coetzee 62 70 63

196 – J Prinsloo & C Grobler 61 69 66

198 – D van Tonder & MJ Viljoen 63 67 68

199 – E Conradie & F From 57 75 67, L Brown & H Griffiths 64 67 68

200 – A Venter & R Korb 65 69 66, M Palmer & R Kaminski 63 70 67, L Filippi & R Van Velzen 61 70 69

201 – D Van Niekerk & S Bradley 66 71 64, K McClatchie & J Pennington 64 71 66, L Rowe & J Redman 62 71 68

202 – R Nortje & Q Wilsnach 63 73 66, L Albertse & H O’Kennedy 66 69 67, M Hollick & J Harvey 64 69 69

203 – C Swanepoel & M Spacey 66 70 67, CJ du Plessis & T Fisher Jnr 65 71 67, JJ Senekal & R West 65 70 68, W Dingle & R de Smidt 67 67 69, N Rama & K Van Wyk 63 70 70, H Bruiners & J Hess 61 72 70

Merrick Bremner is one of the longest hitters on the Sunshine Tour and his playing partner Martin Rohwer was delighted to be on his team as they surged into the lead in the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship at Blue Valley Golf Estate on Friday.

Rohwer and Bremner dominated the foursomes in the second round of this R1.2 million event, shooting a six-under-par 66, the low round of the day. That left them on 18-under-par overall going into Saturday’s final round, when the format returns to betterball.

The pair of Durbanites are four shots ahead of Danie van Tonder and MJ Viljoen (67), and Jaco Prinsloo and Clinton Grobler (69) on 14-under, while Luke Brown and Hayden Griffiths, and Luca Filippi and Ryan van Velzen, are on 13-under-par.

The seasoned duo of George Coetzee and Darren Fichardt are a further stroke back.

“Merrick is awesome to play with,” Rohwer said after their round of seven birdies and just one bogey, on their penultimate hole, the par-three eighth. “He has a cool head on his shoulders and is very chill. He makes it easy for me to relax and play my own game. And of course he hits it miles. I can’t remember how many lob-wedges or sand-wedges I had going into the green, but that obviously makes a big difference,” Rohwer said.

The 28-year-old Rohwer said he and Bremner had decided to use the same strategy for the foursomes as they did in the first-round betterball, in which they shot 60 to finish three behind leaders Estiaan Conradie and Fredrick From, who slipped down the leaderboard on Friday with a three-over 75 leaving them with Coetzee and Fichardt on 12-under-par.

And there will be no change of plan for Rohwer and Bremner in Saturday’s final round.

“It was a great day and we both played really well,” Rohwer said. “We took the same mindset we had yesterday (Thursday) into today (Friday) and that was just to try and birdie every single hole. Keeping our foot on the gas for the whole round really helped us for shooting 66. On the holes where there is risk-and-reward, it meant the first one off would go for it and if they pulled off the shot, then there was licence for the second shot to be aggressive as well.”

“Even though you tend to play a little safer in foursomes because you can end up with only one chance, being pretty aggressive helped us. So we’ll have pretty much the same gameplan for the final round. You’ve got to play well whenever you’re in with a shout in the final round. You can’t expect average golf to get the job done.

“So we will stick to the same gameplan as the first day betterball and try and give ourselves as many opportunities as we can, as many looks as we can. If we give ourselves two chances on every hole then anything can happen,” Rohwer said.

Scores:

126 – M Rohwer & M Bremner 60 66

130 – D van Tonder & MJ Viljoen 63 67, J Prinsloo & C Grobler 61 69

131 – L Brown & H Griffiths 64 67, L Filippi & R Van Velzen 61 70

132 – D Fichardt & G Coetzee 62 70, E Conradie & F From 57 75

133 – H Bruiners & J Hess 61 72, J Hugo & H Du Plessis 63 70, M Hollick & J Harvey 64 69, D Mostert & K Barker 65 68, N Rama & K Van Wyk 63 70, M Palmer & R Kaminski 63 70, L Rowe & J Redman 62 71, E Lambrechts & C Smit 65 68

134 – W Dingle & R de Smidt 67 67, A Venter & R Korb 65 69

135 – JJ Senekal & R West 65 70, L Albertse & H O’Kennedy 66 69, K McClatchie & J Pennington 64 71

136 – CJ du Plessis & T Fisher Jnr 65 71, R Nortje & Q Wilsnach 63 73, C Swanepoel & M Spacey 66 70

137 – D Van Niekerk & S Bradley 66 71

Missed the cut:-

137 – F Manchest & Y Jung 65 72, R van der Spuy & A De Decker 66 71

138 – JH du Preez & T Gauche 63 75, JP Strydom & S Cronje 64 74, T Thimba Jnr & G Foster 63 75, A Van Dyk & R Joubert 67 71, H Loubser & H Konig 67 71, C Waugh & B Bawden 64 74, J Van Zyl & M Mitchell 67 71, M Calderon & B Bailey 62 76, S Ferreira & M Muthiya 68 70

139 – C Cannon & M Faber 64 75, M Vorster & A Breen 62 77

140 – O Strydom & S Wears-Taylor 66 74

141 – M Mazibuko & S Mwandla 66 75, T Mavundla & T Simon 66 75, K Davidse & P Karmis 66 75

144 – P Moolman & J Long 68 76, T Nel & A Gounden 68 76

145 – D O’Riley & M Kok 70 75, H Otto & D van den Heever 65 80

148 – A Haindl & J de Villiers 69 79

150 – A Michael & C Mowat 73 77

152 – W Jacobs & J Duminy 73 79

Estiaan Conradie and Fredrik From proved on Thursday in the first round of the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship at Blue Valley Golf Estate that neither ultra-aggression nor a conservative approach is an illness when it comes to the game of golf.

Conradie and From combined superbly in the betterball format on the first day of the R1.2 million event to claim a three-stroke lead, with 13 birdies and an eagle giving them a score of 15-under-par 57.

They finished three strokes clear of Martin Rohwer and Merrick Bremner on 12-under-par 60, while Jaco Prinsloo and Clinton Grobler, Heinrich Bruiners and Jacquin Hess, and Luca Filippi and Ryan van Velzen all posted 11-under 61s.

“It was a lot of fun. I enjoy betterball. It helps to be an aggressive player like me, with my partner backing me up really well. We worked well together and I’m super-happy,” Conradie said after the first round.

“Our style is a bit of a mix-and-match, but it worked for us with me being more aggressive and Fredrik more conservative.”

The fact that Conradie and the 33-year-old From dovetailed so well with their different styles of play actually complementing each other meant they were cruising from the start of their round.

Teeing off at the 10^th hole of the Gary Player-designed course, Conradie and his Swedish partner birdied four of their first six holes, and he said they were in a happy mood as they approached the turn.

“We were in good spirits and then we got five birdies in a row, so we were really happy when we reached the par-five third. I hit the middle of the fairway and then Fredrik was in the middle of the green, 20-25 feet away in two and I put my second 10-12 feet behind the flag. He left his putt just short, which meant I had like a free putt and the perfect line. That was a really nice eagle to get,” he said.

Conditions were perfect for low-scoring on Thursday, but the 24-year-old Conradie said he expects the foursomes in the second round to throw up some different challenges.

“Conditions were perfect, there was just a light breeze and the greens were pretty good. You can’t ask for much better conditions to play golf. But playing foursomes means things will change a bit. But we’ve worked on our gameplan and our style of play will work quite well, I think.

“Foursomes has been a focus for us because we have not played a lot together and it’s something we’ll need to be good at. We have high hopes,” Conradie said.

The golfers will return to the betterball format for the third and final round on Saturday. 

Scores:

57 – E Conradie & F From

60 – M Rohwer & M Bremner

61 – J Prinsloo & C Grobler, H Bruiners & J Hess, L Filippi & R Van Velzen

62 – L Rowe & J Redman, M Vorster & A Breen, M Calderon & B Bailey, D Fichardt & G Coetzee

63 – JH du Preez & T Gauche, J Hugo & H Du Plessis, D van Tonder & MJ Viljoen, T Thimba Jnr & G Foster, N Rama & K Van Wyk, M Palmer & R Kaminski, R Nortje & Q Wilsnach

64 – C Cannon & M Faber, C Waugh & B Bawden, K McClatchie & J Pennington, JP Strydom & S Cronje, L Brown & H Griffiths, M Hollick & J Harvey

65 – H Otto & D van den Heever, E Lambrechts & C Smit, A Venter & R Korb, F Manchest & Y Jung, D Mostert & K Barker, JJ Senekal & R West, CJ du Plessis & T Fisher Jnr

66 – T Mavundla & T Simon, K Davidse & P Karmis, L Albertse & H O’Kennedy, O Strydom & S Wears-Taylor, C Swanepoel & M Spacey, R van der Spuy & A De Decker, M Mazibuko & S Mwandla, D Van Niekerk & S Bradley

67 – H Loubser & H Konig, J Van Zyl & M Mitchell, W Dingle & R de Smidt, A Van Dyk & R Joubert

68 – P Moolman & J Long, T Nel & A Gounden, S Ferreira & M Muthiya

69 – A Haindl & J de Villiers

70 – D O’Riley & M Kok

73 – W Jacobs & J Duminy, A Michael & C Mowat

George Coetzee won his first ever Sunshine Tour victory on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, and his love for it continued as he successfully defended his title at De Zalze Golf Club on Saturday.

Coetzee claimed a two-stroke victory in the winelands for his fifth victory overall on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, which started 15 years ago when he announced himself with a win on the series in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour.

It’s an achievement that now places him second on his own on the all-time list of winners on the series after Jean Hugo who has 11 titles.

Coetzee withstood a strong challenge from England’s Joe Long and closed with a 67 to win on 21 under par. Long had closed to within a shot of Coetzee with three holes to play but then bogeyed the 18^th as he took second place on 19 under with a final round of 67.

Kyle Barker finished third on 15 under par in one of his best performances on the Sunshine Tour, signing for a 66.

Jaco Prinsloo continued his good form as he followed up his win in last week’s FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge with a sixth-place finish at De Zalze. Prinsloo has now finished third, ninth, first and sixth in his last four Sunshine Tour event.

This was the opening tournament on the 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf series, with the next event taking place in Mpumalanga at the Highland Gate Golf & Trout Estate at the end of this month.

George Coetzee tightened his grip on the Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze Golf Club and will take a two-stroke lead into Saturday’s final round of this Sunshine Tour event.

Coetzee signed for a second round of five-under-par 67 to move to 16 under par overall as he looks to successfully defend his title and claim the 15^th victory of his career.

But England’s Joe Long could still have a say as the 2020 Amateur Championship winner made a big charge on Friday with a sublime 10-under-par 62 that lifted him to 14 under par overall. Long even made two bogeys in that 62.

And six strokes back, Albert Venter is hunting his second win of the season after his triumph in the FBC Zimbabwe Open in May. Venter moved into contention with a second round of 68.

Coetzee was five shots clear at the start of the round but was held back by a double bogey on the par-three ninth, and was kept from running away with the tournament by Long’s round of the day.

Coetzee is looking to move into second on the list of all-time winners on the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series. A win on Saturday would earn him his fifth Vodacom Origins of Golf title, placing him second behind Jean Hugo with the most wins on the series. Hugo has won 11 Vodacom Origins of Golf titles.

George Coetzee made a strong start in defence of his Vodacom Origins of Golf title at De Zalze Golf Club when he opened with an 11-under-par 61 to lead by five shots after Thursday’s first round.

A win this week would earn Coetzee a special place in the 18-year history of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, lifting him to five titles overall and placing him second behind Jean Hugo with the most wins on the series. Hugo has won 11 Vodacom Origins of Golf titles.

Coetzee won last year’s Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze on the back of an opening 63, and he was in even better form on Thursday with a round of nine birdies and an eagle.

His nearest challengers are the group of Ryan Cairns, Adam Breen, Albert Venter and the in-form Jaco Prinsloo who all opened with rounds of six under par.

“It felt great. The course was beautiful. I left a few early putts short but then got the speed right and rolled in some nice putts on the back nine. The greens are so good, but the whole layout of the golf course is beautiful. In these 54-hole events it’s so important to get off to a good start in round one,” said Cairns.

Jacquin Hess, a member of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class for transformation golfers, put himself in contention with a solid opening five-under-par 67.

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape (3 August 2022) – The generational success of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) was nowhere more clearly demonstrated than at this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at De Zalze Golf Club, where a golfer who years ago started with the SAGDB is now a coach in the programme and has his own son enrolled in it.

Reuben Adams stood on the driving range at De Zalze on Tuesday assisting with the Vodacom Origins of Golf clinic with the SAGDB golfers and Sunshine Tour professionals, and which included his son Sergio Japhets.

It was a sight that brought a smile to the face of Shawn Adriaanse, the SAGDB Manager for the Boland Region.

“Sergio has been playing for Boland provincial teams for a while now. His dad, Reuben, was himself an SAGDB player and was one of the players with whom we first started the programme in Riverside in Worcester, and now he’s a coach there and helping to coach SAGDB golfers,” said Adriaanse, who has seen so many success stories like this over the years.

He is also quick to point out the important role the Vodacom Origins of Golf series plays in the work of the SAGDB.

“For our SAGDB golfers to see the Sunshine Tour professionals face-to-face means a lot to them because they usually just see them on television. To receive coaching from them and learn how they play on tour is so valuable for these young golfers. Just to see how it changes or helps a kid to go in a certain direction and see how their lives are changed still moves me.”

The young golfers at the Vodacom Origins of Golf clinic came from Riverside as well as Rietenbosch Primary School in Cloetesville Stellenzicht Secondary School in Jamestown.

“We’re extremely proud as the Vodacom Origins of Golf, to support the important work of the SAGDB. The very story we had here at De Zalze with the father and his son going through the same SAGDB programme is an origins story of success all on its own. To play a small part in a journey like that is very rewarding. For us it’s about making that difference in somebody’s life and developing the opportunities of individuals,” said Carol Hall, Vodacom Managing Executive: Western Region.

“This programme is so important for us to support because the SAGDB has that focus of not just making great golfers but using golf to help these scholars improve in their schoolwork as well and to give them better opportunities through the positive impact of the game.” – Michael Vlismas

Photo Credits: Troy Winfield.

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape (2 August 2022) – Former Springbok Schalk Brits says he can’t recall ever seeing a Springbok team go into a Test against the All Blacks as such favourites as the current one, but that he also knows his former teammates will never underestimate their New Zealand opponents.

Speaking from the De Zalze Golf Club course on Tuesday where he is making his debut in this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf pro-am series on the Sunshine Tour, Brits’ mind was as much on his swing as it was his fellow Springboks preparing for their Rugby Championship opener against the All Blacks in Mbombela this Saturday.

“For once the All Blacks have shown weakness. You have to give credit to Ireland and what Mr Farrell and his team are doing there. They were phenomenal in taking New Zealand on at their own game and the intensity and bravery with which they played was phenomenal. I definitely think Australia and New Zealand are missing the physicality of South African rugby. But do not underestimate the All Blacks,” said Brits.

With his debut appearance on the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series, Brits joins an illustrious list of former South African rugby greats to have teed it up on the longest running pro-am series on the Sunshine Tour.

Francois Pienaar, Morné du Plessis, Rudolph Straueli, Nic Mallet, André Joubert, Breyton Paulse and Wayne Fyvie have all had their time inside the ropes on this series, which first teed off in 2004.

“Playing with the pros and seeing how they get around the course is amazing. It’s my first experience of the Vodacom Origins of Golf and I’m loving it. It’s quite a reality check as an athlete and an amateur golfer. You think you hit the ball far but then you get a pro who is half your size and hits it 30 metres past you. How they play the game is a thing of beauty to watch,” said Brits. – Michael Vlismas

Photo: Former Springbok Schalk Brits in action at the Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament being held at De Zalze Golf Club on Tuesday. Credit: Troy Winfield.