Category: Featured News

ST FRANCIS BAY (Eastern Cape) – The inaugural SDC Championship has drawn a strong selection of the most in-form players on the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour for this $1.5 million tournament at St Francis Links from 16-19 March.

On the latest list of entries for this event, the Sunshine Tour’s stars include nine out of the top 10 on the current Luno Order of Merit, with four out of the top five players having won locally or internationally in the last three months.

The DP World Tour players include 12 out of the top 30 on the current Race to Dubai Rankings, with five of the last 11 winners in the DP World Tour’s current season. South Africa’s Ockie Strydom will tee it up as a two-time winner on the DP World Tour this season already and who is ranked first on the Luno Order of Merit and fifth on the Race to Dubai Rankings.

The field in St Francis will also include six out of the current top 10 on the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings, including every single winner on the tour this season.

Every winner of either a Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament, or a Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour co-sanctioned tournament since November 2022 will tee it up, namely Dan Bradbury (Joburg Open), Thriston Lawrence (Investec South African Open), Ockie Strydom (Alfred Dunhill Championship), Antoine Rozner (AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open), Benjamin Follett-Smith (Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open), Oliver Bekker (Dimension Data Pro-Am), JJ Senekal (SDC Open) and Dylan Mostert (Nelson Mandela Bay Championship).

This will be the first time that St Francis Links hosts a tournament of this magnitude, which is also one of the biggest sporting events for the region.

The SDC Championship enhances the Skills Development Corporation’s (SDC) already strong presence in golf through the SDC Open on the Challenge tour, and this new elevated tournament makes it one of six tournaments on the DP World Tour’s schedule in South Africa. – Michael Vlismas

CENTURION, Gauteng – Jake Redman finished with an eagle and two birdies for a 64 that earned him a one-shot lead after the first round of the Sunshine Tour’s Mediclinic Invitational at Centurion Country Club on Wednesday.

Redman’s opening round of eight under par put him one clear of the group of George Coetzee, Dylan Naidoo, Luke Brown, Trevor Fisher Jnr. and Keagan Thomas.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gone quite low and I’m very happy with the way things went,” said Redman, who certainly enjoyed the Centurion Country Club course.

“It’s a nice estate golf course. There are one or two demanding tee shots, but you can’t be too unhappy with the golf course shooting eight under par. I didn’t hit myself into any trouble and kept the ball in play.”

Teeing off the 10^th, Redman admits the 64 caught even him by surprise as he came through 15 holes on four under par.

“It felt like it came a bit out of nowhere. I didn’t make many putts over the first 15 holes, which was frustrating. But I was also hitting it quite close. Then I came to the last three holes and made a huge putt on the par-five seventh hole for eagle, a long putt for birdie on eight and then on in two for a birdie at the last. All round the game was solid and I’m happy with the way things went today.

“It’s been frustrating not to shoot a really low round because I’ve put myself in a good position to do so before. So it was nice to get it done today. When I was four under through 15 I felt like I could’ve been eight or nine under then already. So it was nice to get that reward at the end of it.”

With three rounds still to go, Redman is not getting ahead of himself. But it is a timely point in the season to hit good form, with two big DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournaments to come this month in the SDC Championship and the Jonsson Workwear Open.

“We’ve got some good opportunities to come over the next few weeks, but I’m taking it one step at a time.” – Michael Vlismas

CENTURION, Gauteng – Ockie Strydom is back on home fairways following a life-changing past few months as he tees it up in this week’s Mediclinic Invitational at Centurion Country Club, which starts on Wednesday.

After breaking through with the biggest victory of his career in December’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek, Strydom claimed his second DP World Tour title in six starts in February’s Singapore Classic.

Strydom is currently fifth on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings and first on the Sunshine Tour’s Luno Order of Merit as he returns to South Africa for this new Sunshine Tour 72-hole event featuring a purse of R2 million.

Strydom is back as a vastly more experienced golfer with a new level of confidence in his ability as he joins a field including George Coetzee and Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year leader Martin Vorster.

“The two DP World Tour victories have given me the self-belief to know I belong out here and that I can compete against the top players in the world,” he said.

“It’s just the mindset that is changing at the moment where you know you’ve been in this situation before and you know you can do it again.”

After a well-publicised collection of 19 runner-up finishes in his career, interrupted by his victory in the 2019 Vodacom Origins of Golf in Sishen, Strydom admits he wondered if he would ever break through on a bigger stage.

“It was always on my mind – if I would ever win on the DP World Tour. Especially after so many second places. I just focused on what I could control. Technically, my coach Doug Wood and I worked on my clubface in the week of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and to square it up as it was closed at the top of my swing. And then Willie the physio helped me get through the week physically. My back was under big pressure and I was in quite a bit of pain that week.

“Then in Singapore I was really calm throughout the final round. My chip on the final green to win was probably one of the best chips that I have ever played under pressure. To be honest I didn’t think I would ever win the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Then to win again in Singapore was amazing.” – Michael Vlismas

Jonsson Workwear has elevated its partnership with the Sunshine Tour as this year’s Jonsson Workwear Open (JWO) becomes a DP World Tour co-sanctioned event. The tournament will tee off at the iconic Steyn City from 23 – 26 March 2023, leading a field of local & international professional golf players to compete for an increased prize of $1.5 million. The workwear & apparel brand leader prides itself in hosting this sporting extravaganza which forms part of the Sunshine Tour’s lucrative start to the 2023 season and the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.  

As a joint venture between South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and the European Challenge Tour, the inaugural event took place last year at the Durban Country Club (DCC) which is undergoing renovations, following the devastating floods which took place in April 2022. JC Ritchie won the first incarnation of this tournament, having notched an impressive hole-in-one, and set a 54-hole Challenge Tour record score of 25-under along the way.

Both humbled and proud to host this major tournament again, CEO & Chairman of Jonsson Workwear, Nick Jonsson said, “We’re incredibly grateful to be able to grow this tournament into a prominent event on the South African sports calendar. Last year’s event played out to be a great success and we’re thrilled to continue providing players and spectators with an unforgettable golfing experience. I’d like to extend my gratitude to Steyn City for opening their doors and working with us to piece this prestigious event together. We value the hard work and peak performance affiliated with both this tournament and our brand. It’s also a delight to bring this tournament to the Gauteng province which is home to eight of our retail stores, distribution centre and customisation facility.”

“It is an enormous privilege to host an event of this calibre on our course,” says Steven Louw, CEO of Steyn City Properties. “Around South Africa, The Club at Steyn City is known to offer not only beautiful surrounds and a challenging layout, but also outstanding service. Being selected as a host of a DP World Tour event validates our belief that these attributes are of a world standard, and we are delighted to be able to share them.”

With all roads leading to one of the best courses in the country, the Jonsson Workwear Open is expected to become a magnet for eager spectators to witness greatness in action.

Excited to join forces with Jonsson Workwear again, the Sunshine Tour’s Commissioner, Thomas Abt said, “We are extremely proud to welcome the Jonsson Workwear Open to our list of tournaments co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour. This was a journey we began with Jonsson Workwear on the Challenge Tour, and it has now grown into a major international tournament offering even greater opportunities for our member professionals. Jonsson Workwear shares our belief in the greatness inherent in South Africa and its people, and we’re proud to be able to even further showcase this greatness and continue to take this message to the rest of the world.”

“We’re delighted to welcome the Jonsson Workwear Open to the Race to Dubai in 2023,” said Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the DP World Tour. “The tournament is a perfect example of the value of our Strategic Alliance and our longstanding partnership with the Sunshine Tour as it represents the real growth of an event from its debut on the European Challenge Tour to a DP World Tour co-sanctioned event.”

Viewers will be able to catch the 4-day tournament live on SuperSport, and for the first time, spectators will get access to the 18-hole Nicklaus Design championship golf course at Steyn City. 

ST FRANCIS BAY (Eastern Cape) – As St Francis Links prepares to host its first Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament with this month’s SDC Championship, the focus is on presenting a golf course that is “as playable as it is beautiful”.

That’s the vision St Francis Links CEO, Jeff Clause, and his team have for when this Jack Nicklaus Signature Course hosts the most global tournament in its history with the $1.5 million SDC Championship from 16-19 March.

“We’ve spent 16-and-a-half years now trying to make this a golf course that’s as playable as it is beautiful. The golf course is ready,” Clause says of a course that was voted South Africa’s Best New Course in 2007 and which is currently ranked fourth in the country.

St Francis Links has already established itself as a championship venue through its hosting of several tournaments on the Sunshine Tour, and more recently as the home of the prestigious South African PGA Championship.

“We’ve hosted everything from junior golf tournaments to women’s senior tournaments and everything in between. For the past two years we’ve hosted the South African PGA Championship which we wanted to associate with because of its history and standing in South African golf,” says Clause.

“The fit with SDC (Skills Development Corporation) is perfect for us because that’s what we have in our future here as well. We’re looking to create more facilities here for skills development. This tournament is a match in a lot of different ways. We want to use this opportunity to show off our area within the Kouga Local Municipality. We’re a golfing, surfing, hiking, cycling, boating and fishing mecca and we want to attract more people. This tournament will do that for us.”

Nestled on a hill overlooking the picturesque seaside village of St Francis Bay, Clause predicts that St Francis Links should be a challenging but fair test for this field.

“Every hole here offers everything, and we’ll have a good variety of par-three shots in particular. We’ve made a few small changes here and there. But we also know what Mother Nature can do at this golf course. If we get a bit of wind this golf course will be formidable from any tee and any pin placement. March weather is generally a bit more passive and then there will be a lot of birdies and opportunities out there.

“The golfer who can manage his ball around this golf course and keeps his ball in play will be right up there in the end.”

GQEBERHA (Eastern Cape) – Dylan Mostert birdied the last to win the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship by a single stroke at Humewood Golf Club on Sunday, and earn his second Sunshine Tour title and his first on the European Challenge Tour.

Mostert stood over a three-metre birdie putt on the final green that he needed to separate himself from fellow South African Jaco Prinsloo, whose storming 62 had earned him the clubhouse lead on 15 under par.

And Mostert took the words of his sports psychologist to heart as he rolled in the putt for a final round of 67 and victory on 16 under par.

“We spent a lot of time talking before this tournament and the main message was for me to just stay calm. My mental game definitely got me through this week. That’s what won me the golf tournament,” said Mostert after a solid final round performance in gusting conditions.

“I was so relieved when I holed that birdie putt to win. It was a grind the whole week with the wind. The golf course was difficult for me. But once you taste victory like this you just want more of it. To be a two-time winner is a great achievement for me.”

Mostert will now continue his journey on the Challenge Tour as he chases a new goal of gaining a DP World Tour card.

“Winning is hard, and this is such a relief. The standard of golf on the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour is so good. All the golfers out here are hungry and want to win and move to the next level in their careers. I’m definitely going to play Challenge Tour events this year. Casey Jarvis and I will tour together, and the main goal is to get that DP World Tour card, so I’ll put my head down and go for that.”

Ireland’s Ruaidhri McGee (64), Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise (68), Frenchman Tom Vaillant (71) and South African JJ Senekal (70) shared third place on 14 under par.

This was the final event of the four-tournament South African Swing between the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour, with Southern African golfers making a clean sweep.

Zimbabwean Benjamin Follett-Smith won the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open followed by South Africa’s Oliver Bekker winning the Dimension Data Pro-Am, JJ Senekal winning the SDC Open and now Mostert winning in Gqeberha. – Michael Vlismas

GQEBERHA (Eastern Cape) – The wind arrived at Humewood Golf Club on Saturday, and it shook up the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship leaderboard like a three-legged washing machine on full spin cycle.

Frenchman Tom Vaillant did well to hold on to his overnight lead with a fighting 73 for a total of 13 under par in third-round conditions which Humewood General Manager Brendon Timm described as “a day when the birds walk rather than fly”.

“It felt like the wind was 100km/h in my head. I just tried to fight as much as possible. It was some of the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in. I just fought as hard as I could. In this wind you don’t have to try and make birdies. You’re just trying to keep the ball safe,” said the battle-weary Frenchman.

“The final round will just be me against the golf course and the conditions. It’s my first year on tour and I know I can win. I’ll try and do my best.”

Vaillant’s nearest challenger is South Africa’s JJ Senekal on 12 under par following his 71, and he’s looking for back-to-back wins on this Sunshine Tour and European Challenge Tour South African Swing.

“The front nine played ridiculously hard. The first six holes are brutal straight into the wind. You’re hitting driver and seven iron and driver and five iron into every hole there. It’s a brutal start to the golf course in this wind. But I’m in a good spot one shot back,” said Senekal.

And then South Africa’s Hennie O’Kennedy, Brandon Stone and Dylan Mostert as well as Englishman Josh Hilleard and American Dan Erickson are lined up on 11 under.

“I think that’s the best round of three under par I’ve ever shot in my life,” said Mostert following his 69. “On the 15^th I had a putt that I’d read as a cup outside on the left, and I aimed a ball right because of the wind, and I still missed it on the left.”

As tough as it was, the likes of O’Kennedy still made six consecutive birdies over the turn, Stone birdied three of his final four holes, Hilleard holed out for eagle on the par-four ninth and then added another eagle on the 11^th, Senekal had an eagle and two birdies on a tough back nine, and Vaillant birdied two of his final four holes.

The Humewood locals were pleased. They’d come to see just how the Sunshine Tour’s finest handle the wind that batters their regular league matches on this historic links.

And they nodded their approval. – Michael Vlismas

GQEBERHA (Eastern Cape) – South Africa’s JJ Senekal is hunting back-to-back victories on the Sunshine Tour and European Challenge Tour as he heads into the weekend of the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship just three strokes off the lead at Humewood Golf Club.

Senekal won last week’s SDC Open in wire-to-wire fashion and has carried that form to Humewood, with a second round of 67 on Friday lifting him to 11 under par and chasing the 14 under par lead held by Frenchman Tom Vaillant following his 64. Swede Adam Blommé also came through 36 holes on 11 under following a 70 on Friday.

“I’m just riding the momentum of last week,” said Senekal as he looks forward to another strong weekend of being in contention.

After his victory last week Senekal took up membership of the Challenge Tour, and seeing his name in third place on their Road to Mallorca rankings has certainly inspired him.

“That’s when the victory kind of really sunk in for me. Now it’s a case of putting my foot on the gas and seeing if I can win three of them this season and get to the DP World Tour, or end as high as I can to get that DP World Tour card,” he said.

Friday’s stiff breeze had a few Humewood locals nodding their heads in approval, but the scoring was still impressive and Frenchman Vaillant set the clubhouse target of 14 under with his 64 in the morning.

“I’m quite comfortable on a links course,” said Vaillant. “My style of play is to just hit my target and not be too aggressive, and that’s what you have to do on links golf courses. It was great. I hit almost all of my targets and it helped me to go low.”

Senekal also felt the sharper focus Friday’s wind brought to his game.

“I played solid and made a couple of long putts. It was tougher out there with the wind but I kept my composure pretty well after I made a double bogey on the par-three sixth and then came back strong with an eagle and made my day worthwhile at the end. The wind protects this golf course and you need the wind for it to play to its true potential. Today was a good show of that.”

And it’s set him up for a tantalising weekend of possibly more success.

“Last week I was protecting a lead. This time I can go and chase it. On this golf course anything can happen quickly. Hopefully I can put another good round together and then have a shot on Sunday.” – Michael Vlismas

GQEBERHA (Eastern Cape) – Sweden’s Adam Blommé uses his words with the same precision as a scalpel as he describes the course strategy that earned him a 63 and the first-round lead in the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship at Humewood Golf Club on Thursday. “Keep the ball in play. Hit greens. Make putts. Nothing new”.

His round of nine under par puts him one stroke clear of South Africa’s Pieter Moolman, with the quartet of South African Anthony Michael, Frenchman Ugo Coussaud, Scotland’s Craig Howie, England’s Jack Singh Brar and Swede Henric Sturehed all well placed on seven under par in this Sunshine Tour and European Challenge Tour co-sanctioned tournament.

And then Blommé adds, “No links shots whatsoever today”. That was the most telling comment on day one of this tournament on South Africa’s most historic links golf course. Blommé took full advantage of the ideal conditions and the lack of wind to entrench his number one status on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca standings, and confirm his good form coming into this event.

“We were lucky with the draw. There was no wind out there in the morning,” he said on a day when one of his playing partners, Ireland’s Conor Purcell, remarked that it was hard to believe his own round of five under par was the worst score in their group.

“This course is built for wind. We need the wind to pick up to make it challenging. I wouldn’t mind a bit of wind to be honest,” said Moolman.

The first round certainly rewarded the in-form golfers in what is the fourth and final event on the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour’s South African Swing.

Blommé has finished second and tied seventh in his last two tournaments in South Africa. Behind him, Moolman has finished no worse than 14^th in his last three tournaments. And in the group on seven under, Coussaud has finished no worse than 13^thin his previous three tournaments in South Africa.

When you consider that further back on six under par lies JJ Senekal, last week’s SDC Open champion, and Casey Jarvis, who has finished in the top-10 in his last two tournaments, then it will take something to separate a group of golfers all playing very well at present. – Michael Vlismas

GQEBERHA (Eastern Cape) – Zander Lombard had a broad smile on his face as he walked the rolling fairways of Humewood Golf Club in his practice round ahead of this week’s Nelson Mandela Bay Championship. “This smells like amateur golf and all those great memories,” he said.

Memories of Humewood and Lombard’s highly successful amateur days came flooding back to him at a time when he now returns to this venerable links as an accomplished professional in tremendous form going into this Sunshine Tour and European Challenge Tour co-sanctioned event. In his last three tournaments on the DP World Tour, Lombard has finished tied second, tied sixth and tied 17^th, placing him 20^th on the Race to Dubai rankings.

“I’ve been playing really solid golf and I’m just looking to keep building on that. It’s great to be able to come back home and play golf courses like this one again. As an amateur I remember winning the Inter-Provincial Tournament with Gauteng North here in 2010. We used to play this course so much as amateurs and it’s just such a great golf course to come back to.” Lombard also finished fourth in the Eastern Province Stroke Play at Humewood in 2013.

“This is a special place,” said Lombard.

It is indeed a unique week for specifically the Sunshine Tour professionals, playing a links course that has hosted five Investec South African Opens, with Ernie Els winning his national Open here in 2006. It’s a golf course that has a framed letter written by Bobby Locke in its clubhouse in which he declares his fondness for this layout. And at its heart is a mercurial set of fairways and greens, the sheer unpredictability of which is what Lombard so loves about the links game.

“I love links golf for exactly that reason – its unpredictability. We are very hard on ourselves as professionals. But when you play links golf, you can’t control the kind of bounces you’re going to get and that almost gives you a break from that accountability. You see different lines and aim points here. I love the creativity of it.”

Gqeberha local Lyle Rowe, who knows this course better than most and is relishing playing in front of his home fans this week, echoes this approach.

“When you play this golf course, you need to be patient. You’ll get good and bad bounces that are out of your control, and that’s links golf.”

The other defence of this course is the wind, but it’s been a fairly calm build-up to Thursday’s first round.

“It would be nice if there’s a little breeze for this golf course. It just makes it a little bit more interesting,” said Rowe.

This is the fourth and final tournament of the Sunshine Tour-Challenge Tour South African Swing. It’s been a good run so far for the Southern Africans on this stretch with wins by Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith and South Africans Oliver Bekker and JJ Senekal in the last three tournaments. – Michael Vlismas