Author: Michael Vlismas

The Sunshine Tour today announced the launch of its new Sunshine Tour Transformation Class with the support of its patrons Investec, Betway, VAT It and Credit Guarantee, and which aims to provide a sustainable solution to the development of the professional careers of historically disadvantaged golfers and promote greater inclusion in the game.

The Sunshine Tour Transformation Class for the 2022/23 season will include 59 golfers who qualified by virtue of their performances during the previous Sunshine Tour season, the recent Sunshine Tour Qualifying School and Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament, and on the IGT Tour. The Sunshine Tour Transformation Class will be reevaluated every season.

The members of the 2022/23 Sunshine Tour Transformation Class will receive monthly financial assistance towards their tournament golf expenses. Their membership and tournament entry fees for the Sunshine Tour and Altron Big Easy Tour will also be fully paid for. They will receive access to quality coaching, golf courses, gyms and fitness instructors at the World of Golf. TaylorMade and Cobra Puma Golf will provide them with equipment and apparel. They will also have access to a sports psychologist and career counseling.

Members of the Sunshine Tour Transformation Class who are interested in working in the golf industry will be enrolled with the PGA of South Africa to begin the qualification to become recognised PGA Professionals.

“We are delighted to launch the Sunshine Tour Transformation Class at the start of our new season, and with the incredible support of our partners Investec, Betway, VAT It and Credit Guarantee,” said Ludwick Manyama, the Head of Transformation for the Sunshine Tour.

“The Sunshine Tour has a longstanding commitment to the development of historically disadvantaged professionals as can be seen from the previous programmes we have put in place on the Tour. All of these programmes have helped us to build towards this new Sunshine Tour Transformation Class which, thanks to our partners, gives us a highly effective transformation solution for professional golf.”

The 2022/23 Sunshine Tour Transformation Class

Dylan Naidoo, Heinrich Bruiners, Jacquin Hess, Keenan Davidse, Nikhil Rama, Toto Thimba Jnr, Wade Jacobs, Yubin Jung, James Kamte, Thanda Mavundla, Tumelo Molloyi, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Adriel Poonan, Thabang Simon, Evans Vukeya, Franklin Manchest, Gerrit Foster, Jastice Mashego, Karabo Mokoena, Keelan van Wyk, Keelan Africa, Siyanda Mwandla, Tristin Galant, Lwazi Gqira, Makhetha Mazibuko, Allister De Kok, Dwayne Basson, Gerard du Plooy, Lincon Denzy Cele, John Bele, Shalan Govender, Ethan Joseph, Fezekile Kana, Richard Kruger, Mike Maile, Sandy Makume, Sentanio Minnie, Brandon Moodley, Thabo Moraba, SP Mthethwa, Thabiso Ngcobo, Omar Sandys, Alphius Kelapile, Boeta Nasie, Byron Van Der Merwe, Darren Slingers, Derrick Petersen, Gerard Moodly, Irvin Mazibuko, Jason Diab, Lindani Ndwandwe, Lindani Mthiyane, Mark Maart, M-Jay Xaba, Murad Hoosen, Ricco Motsa, Slenda Sithebe, Teboho Sefatsa, Thato Maponyane.

The Sunshine Tour announced today that Luno, the global cryptocurrency platform that aims to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands, is the new sponsor of the Luno Order of Merit on the Tour.

In announcing the new sponsorship, the Sunshine Tour also unveiled a new format for the Luno Order of Merit for the upcoming 2022/23 season as it shifts from a money-based Order of Merit to the more globally recognized points-based rankings system.

The Luno Order of Merit also offers exciting new incentives for the Sunshine Tour professionals.

The leading golfer on the Luno Order of Merit at the end of the season will receive R500 000 in Bitcoin, paid directly into the golfer’s Luno account. The second-ranked golfer on the final Luno Order of Merit will receive R200 000 in Bitcoin, and the third-ranked golfer will receive R100 000 in Bitcoin.

“Luno is focused on empowering people by building a new financial system that is easily accessible, meets the challenge of a constantly evolving world, and which is more suited to the digital age. We’re the facilitators of a new way of thinking about money, and we’re delighted that we can partner with a progressive brand such as the Sunshine Tour in delivering this message. Professional golfers have a very different way of thinking about risk and reward, both on and off the golf course. Their careers are constantly evolving, and this aligns perfectly with our vision to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands by making it safe and easy to buy, store and learn about crypto,” said Marius Reitz, Luno GM for Africa.

Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said: “Luno is a brand which fits our strong digital focus and the new, younger audience we are reaching, and we are delighted to welcome them to the Sunshine Tour. We are a Tour that is constantly evolving for the benefit of our member professionals, and the new Luno Order of Merit reflects this vision and our desire to partner with brands that see potential and opportunity as differently as we do.”

The new points system for the Luno Order of Merit will come into effect as of 30 April 2022. Points will be allocated according to the tournament prize money on offer as follows:

Tier 1 tournament (prize money up to R2 000 000.00):  2 000 points.

Tier 2 tournament (prize money between R2 000 001.00 and R5 999 999.00): 4 000 points.

Tier 3 tournament (prize money between R6 000 000.00 and R10 000 000.00): 6 000 points.

Tier 4 tournament (prize money between R10 000 001.00 and R19 999 999.00): 10 000 points.

Tier 5 tournament (prize money of R20 000 000.00 or more): 12 000 points.

KEMPTON PARK, City of Ekurhuleni – Tristen Strydom made his professional breakthrough on the Sunshine Tour when he won the season-ending Tour Championship in record style at Serengeti Estates on Sunday.

Strydom built on his two-stroke lead overnight and closed with a 66 to win by six shots, which is the biggest margin of victory in the history of the Tour Championship.

Strydom also claimed the record for the lowest winning total in the history of the Tour Championship on 21-under-par 267, surpassing the previous record of 19-under-par 269 by Garrick Higgo in 2020.

And he is also the first player in Sunshine Tour history to win the Tour’s Qualifying School and the Tour Championship. Strydom won the Qualifying School in 2020.

“I can’t describe how it feels. It’s been hard for me and I’ve worked extremely hard to get where I am today. I’m blessed with a lot of good people around me. It makes it so special to get that first victory for everybody who believes in me,” said Strydom.

Pieter Moolman took second place on 15 under par with a final round of 70, while George Coetzee finished third on 11 under with a closing 70.

Strydom was never under pressure on the final day as he made four birdies on the front nine – three of them in succession – to continue moving away from the field. He stumbled with a bogey on 10 but corrected this with another birdie on the 11^th. When he added a birdie on the 14^th the title was beyond doubt, and his final birdie on the 18^th confirmed it.

“I came out with an attacking mindset. I didn’t want to give anybody a chance. I had a good gameplan and I felt really comfortable with the golf course. I’ve had so many second-place finishes and it does get to you after a while. Buy my caddie just kept telling me to stay patient and it will happen at the right place and right time. And it’s great to have finally done it,” said Strydom.

The win is a groundbreaking one for a player who was one of South Africa’s top amateurs and who then took some time to adjust to the professional ranks. The victory earns Strydom a one-year exemption on the Sunshine Tour.

The Tour Championship wrapped up the Sunshine Tour 2021/22 season. Shaun Norris claimed the top spot on the final Order of Merit thanks largely to his victory in the DP World Tour co-sanctioned Steyn City Championship. That earns Norris exemptions into the US Open and Open Championship this year as well as the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City. Dean Burmester finished second on the Order of Merit and Thriston Lawrence ended the season in third place.

Jayden Schaper’s finish of fourth in the Tour Championship secured him the Rookie of the Year award. – Michael Vlismas.

KEMPTON PARK, City of Ekurhuleni – In the spirit of Africa’s great Serengeti, there was definitely a sense of survival of the fittest in Saturday’s tough third round of the Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates. And it’s a battle Tristen Strydom is busy winning at the moment.

Strydom ended a day of strong wind and some tricky pin placements on the challenging Serengeti Estate’s greens with a two-stroke lead on 15 under par. It came thanks to a round of 68 which he said was one of the best rounds of his career in these conditions.

“That was some of the toughest golf I’ve played in a very long time. The wind was up, the greens are fast, and there is just no shying away from it,” he said.

Behind him, his nearest challenger Pieter Moolman did just as well to stay in touch on 13 under with a 69.

“It was a challenge out there. Your ball striking has to be really good on this golf course when the wind blows because it can become very long, especially on the back nine,” he said.

George Coetzee came through 54 holes in third place on nine under par and as one of only 12 players in this 36-man field who are currently under par.

Both Strydom and Moolman are chasing maiden victories on the Sunshine Tour. Strydom has been in this position on a few occasions in what has been his most successful season to date, and he’s determined to apply those lessons on Sunday.

“I’m very excited for the final round. I’m going to have fun and give it my all. I love this game and it’s so nice to be able to compete with the some of the best on the Sunshine Tour,” he said.

Moolman has also impressed with his consistency and is relishing having a shot at this title.

“Anything can still happen and if the wind blows like it has it will get interesting. I’ve got 18 holes on Sunday and that’s 18 opportunities. I have a shot at a win. Tristen is playing well and he’s hitting the ball so solid, but I can only try my best,” he said. – Michael Vlismas.

Tristen Strydom will take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the Sunshine Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship following a magnificent eight-under-par 64 in tricky conditions at Serengeti Estates on Friday.

Strydom’s bogey-free 64 was a remarkable round of golf considering the windy conditions and the challenging Serengeti greens. It lifted him to 11 under par overall and one stroke clear of Pieter Moolman, who signed for a 68 to keep himself in contention.

Strydom, who lives at Serengeti, showed just how comfortable he feels on this golf course when he managed to make par on the par-five eighth after finding the water there. Such was the quality of his golf that it prompted his playing partner, Michael Hollick, to declare that it was the best round of golf he’d witnessed in the last 10 years.

“I played beautifully tee to green. I gave myself a lot of good opportunities and fortunately took advantage of them. I really feel comfortable with the golf course and it’s such a nice environment that we’re playing in. I’m just having fun and playing almost carefree golf,” said Strydom, who didn’t seem to mind the difficult conditions.

“The greens and the wind are the greatest challenge here. The wind normally picks up in the afternoon and they can tuck the flags on these greens if they want to. That makes it challenging, but I look forward to that challenge.”

George Coetzee managed to work his way up to seven under overall through 36 holes, and which puts him in third place. But Strydom has learned enough to know that he’ll need to keep pushing forward over the next two days and not get comfortable.

“It can change quickly out here. There are a bunch of good players down the leaderboard and they’ll come out with guns blazing on the weekend. So hopefully I can keep the momentum,” he said.

With this being the final tournament of the current season, Strydom will wrap up his best season since turning professional in 2017. He’s currently 12^th on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.

“It feels good to be where I am. I had a rough start to my career and learned a lot in my first year. I set myself goals at the beginning of this season and fortunately it’s gone my way. I’m very pleased with where I’m at. But I’m not satisfied. I can still be better and work harder.” – Michael Vlismas.

Photo Credit: Heinrich Helmbold /Sunshine Tour

KEMPTON PARK, City of Ekurhuleni – Pieter Moolman was the only player in the field to not drop a single shot on a difficult opening day of the Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates as he took the lead with a six-under-par 66 in the Sunshine Tour’s season finale on Thursday.

Although Moolman admitted he didn’t have his best swing out there it didn’t show as he finished two strokes clear of the field, with his nearest challenger being Trevor Fisher Jnr. who made one of the few eagles on the day during his 68.

George Coetzee, Tristen Strydom and Luke Jerling finished the first round tied for third place on three under par.

It was a tricky opening day where a combination of wind and challenging greens kept most of the field in check.

“I kept it pretty solid. My swing isn’t really there but I got a bit lucky with my lies in the rough and chipped and putted well. I’m very pleased. It’s always fun going bogey free,” said Moolman, who took a lot of confidence from his runner-up finish behind Dean Burmester in last November’s South African PGA Championship.

“I’ve played well this season and a win this week would certainly be the cherry on top. That second in the SA PGA Championship did a lot for me. It gave me good confidence for the rest of the season. I had a seventh-place finish in the Limpopo Championship as well. I seem to be moving in the right direction, but there is always one day that’s a bit off for me. If I can get over that one day it will lead to much better results.”

Behind him is plenty of experience in Fisher Jnr. and Coetzee.

“I’m hitting the ball well and four under is always good around here,” said Fisher Jnr., whose eagle on the par-five eighth was one of only two eagles in the first round.

“That was nice. I holed my bunker shot which is always nice. Overall I played solid. The greens are tricky here and you need to be patient. The course is playing tougher than usual, but it’s a good test of golf.”

Justin Harding and Wilco Nienaber both finished the day with rounds of level par, while JC Ritchie signed for an uncharacteristic 78. – Michael Vlismas.

KEMPTON PARK, City of Ekurhuleni – The Sunshine Tour this week celebrates the end of one of its most successful seasons in history with the Tour Championship which tees off at Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate on Thursday.

JC Ritchie, Wilco Nienaber, George Coetzee and Justin Harding headline the field for a Tour Championship that was last played in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and which Garrick Higgo won on his journey to becoming South Africa’s latest PGA Tour star.

The 2021/2022 season was a groundbreaking one in all respects as the Sunshine Tour concluded a landmark partnership with the DP World Tour, significantly enhanced its longstanding relationship with broadcaster SuperSport, grew its list of sponsors and Tour partners, and expanded its schedule with a host of new events.

Another major new incentive will play out this week when the overall winner of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit at the end of this tournament is rewarded with a place in the US Open in June.

The expanded DP World Tour partnership included the addition of a further two DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournaments in South Africa for a current total of five.

This partnership also brought with it an injection of a host of new Challenge Tour events in South Africa and which made for a strong South African Swing of six events on the Challenge Tour. JC Ritchie took full advantage and won two of these to currently lead the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca rankings. The benefit for South African professionals was evident in the fact that after this South African Swing, 10 South Africans were ranked in the top 20. The top 20 at the end of the Challenge Tour season will gain promotion to the main DP World Tour.

The enhanced broadcast partnership with SuperSport has been one of the main drivers of the Tour’s growth and includes an even more comprehensive offering with live coverage of the majority of Sunshine Tour tournaments.

The Tour’s growth attracted new brands such as Jonsson Workwear, Stella Artois, Distell, ProItUp, 30South and Jaguar Land Rover. And the Tour even changed its corporate identity as it moved from its previous blue colours to the green and gold that is so iconic of South African sport, and which also reflected the new slogan it unveiled that “Greatness Begins Here”.

According to Commissioner Thomas Abt, the Tour’s growth was based on a clear message coming out of the COVID-19 lockdown that, “We’re open for business.”

“We came out of lockdown and showed that we were a Tour that could play again in a safe and responsible manner. We sent a clear message to the market that the Sunshine Tour was open to any way you as a brand wanted to step into the golf space and find value. We’ve created more tournaments and more opportunities. A South African golfer can now see the progression from playing well on the Sunshine Tour and then moving to the Challenge Tour, playing well on the Challenge Tour and then moving to the DP World Tour. But we’re working with a vision that we can do more. Our 2022/23 season will potentially have over 35 tournaments. It’s incredibly exciting.” – Michael Vlismas

DAINFERN, Johannesburg – Jaco Ahlers claimed his 10^th Sunshine Tour victory when he beat Ockie Strydom in a playoff for the Stella Artois Players Championship at the Dainfern Golf Estate on Sunday, and a week before his current win exemption category on the Tour was due to end.

Ahlers won with a birdie on the second playoff hole. His playoff experience certainly proved crucial as he has now won half of his 10 titles in playoffs. Ahlers has also now won five of the seven playoffs he’s been involved in on the Sunshine Tour.

“I’ve had a bit of experience with playoffs. It’s really nice to get this win,” said Ahlers, who was rewarded with one of the most unique trophies on the Sunshine Tour in the shape of a Stella Artois beer tap.

“I actually asked the Stellas Artois people whether it was a working beer tap because this trophy is going to look great in my bar. But it’s just so good to win. My win exemption was going to end in the final tournament of the season next week so the timing couldn’t be more perfect, and especially with me now having an Asian Tour card and I can also focus my efforts there.”

For the second year in succession this tournament was decided by a playoff as Ahlers and Strydom finished the regulation 72 holes tied for the lead on 18 under par. Both golfers had the chance to win it in regulation though, and both missed the very makeable birdie putts they had on the par-five 18^th on their way to respective final rounds of 66.

Both birdied the 18^th on the first playoff hole, with Strydom escaping with a lucky bounce after he pulled his drive and it hit a tree and kicked back towards the fairway.

Playing the 18^th for a second time, Ahlers hit the green with his second while Strydom finished just off the left fringe. Ahlers holed his birdie putt to put the pressure on his playing partner. Strydom opted to chip and although he came inches close to holing out, his ball ran 10 feet past and he was unable to hole the birdie putt coming back.

“My short game was good all week. My ball striking not so much, but I suppose standing here at the end of it all is what counts the most,” said Ahlers, who made a big putt on the 17^th to tie for the lead with Strydom.

“I said to my caddie that if we can birdie 17 and 18 we might be in with a chance. I wasn’t able to birdie 18 in regulation, but then again, standing here is what counts.”

Tristen Strydom, Estiaan Conradie and JJ Senekal shared third place on 17 under par, while Neil Schietekat shot through the field with a final round of 63 to finish tied ninth.

The Sunshine Tour heads to the Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate this week for the season-ending Tour Championship. – Michael Vlismas.