PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – The Vodacom Origins of Golf Series is at Wild Coast Sun Country Club this week, a perilously rugged course, and young contender Jonathan Broomhead says it is important for him to bring his best game for the challenge.
Fortunately Broomhead is in good form, having ended in the top-10 last week, further up the east coast at the SunBet Challenge Sun Sibaya event, and the 23-year-old has had five other top-10 finishes this season, including being the runner-up at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Highland Gate tournament. He is currently seventh on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, the same position he finished last season, speaking to the consistency the Durban Country Club player is producing.
“At the Wild Coast, you always hope that you’re going to be on the better side of the weather, because it can get really nasty around here. You can’t come here with expectations, you just have to try and play your game. When the wind blows, you can only focus more on what you can control, play according to your game-plan, make sure you stick to that,” Broomhead said.
“You have to make sure your golf is where it needs to be when you come here because it is a very tough course. You need to manage yourself and play the course as it is. You have to stay patient because you can get bad bounces every now and then; you can quickly be two or three over and scrambling. But if you make a putt or two, then you can ride that momentum.
“Last week was nice for me; I struggled a bit for the first two rounds but then had a good third round of 67. My game is heading in the right direction, it’s in a nice place, but there are still a few things to improve on. I just need to take every opportunity and try and keep going with that momentum,” Broomhead said.
Broomhead’s mature approach and comfort in the wind mark him out as one of the main threats in this R2 million event, which is the third leg of the series and the last before the final at Oubaai from November 14-17.
Veteran Jean Hugo was the runner-up in the SunBet Challenge event held here last season and pipped Broomhead to the Vodacom Origins of Golf title at Highland Gate, while the seasoned MJ Viljoen is fifth on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.
The experienced Heinrich Bruiners, a member of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class, is also in great form, having finished fifth in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen event last month and fourth last week at Umhlali Country Club, while Pieter Moolman is the defending champion and has a couple of other recent top-five finishes at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club.
