KEMPTON PARK, Ekurhuleni – Sunshine Tour rookie Jonno Broomhead will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Tour Championship delivered by The Courier Guy at Serengeti Estates as he chases a maiden win in the season-ending tournament.
Broomhead signed for a third round of 67 to lead this exclusive field drawn from the top 50 on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy on 13 under par, with Kyle Barker his nearest challenger on 12 under par following a 69.
It’s another realistic shot at a maiden Sunshine Tour victory for KwaZulu-Natal professional Broomhead, who came close when he was in the running for the Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge last year before finishing 12th there. This season he’s also had top finishes of sixth in the Blue Label Challenge and tied eighth in the SunBet Challenge Sun Sibaya tournament.
“It was good today,” said Broomhead of a third round that started with three birdies and an eagle in his first five holes. “I made a couple of drops on the way but generally kept it very steady and played where I needed to and finished quite nicely.”
It’s been a solid rookie season thus far for Broomhead and one which he now hopes will culminate in a title on Sunday.
“It’s been great. I think the switch from amateur golf to professional golf was a lot bigger than I thought. But I’ve had a fairly decent season and I’ve enjoyed it.”
Just one shot behind him, Barker is equally looking forward to signing off a season in which he claimed his second Sunshine Tour title and played in his first Major in The Open on a high at Serengeti on Sunday.
But he was also full of praise for Broomhead’s performance.
“Well done to Jonno. He’s played great the last three days. To get to 13 under on this golf course in three days is pretty tough so that’s great golf.
“As for my own game, I’m driving the ball well and committing nicely to the shots. I’m feeling really good. I’ll just keep it the same in the final round. I’ll keep hitting drivers and hope to make the putts. I like the challenge of looking at the leaderboard during a final round, so it will be great fun.”
The third round also featured the culmination of the Bain’s Whisky Par-3 Shootout.
The Shootout saw all the professionals who have made holes-in-one on the Sunshine Tour this season coming together on the par-three ninth hole at Serengeti to challenge for the title of overall champion.
Jacques Blaauw claimed the overall title as the player nearest to the pin, winning himself R70 000 as well as a bottle of 21-year-old Bain’s Whisky.
“The Shootout was a lot of fun. There were definitely a lot more players who made holes-in-one on the Sunshine Tour this season than last season, which is great,” he said. – Michael Vlismas.
