Category: Featured News

BELA BELA, Limpopo – Norway’s Baard Skogen and France’s Maxence Giboudot will head into the final round of the SDC Open tied for the lead on 15 under par after a thrilling third round of low scoring at the Zebula Golf Estate & Spa on Saturday.

Skogen signed for a 64 to top the leaderboard, and Giboudot birdied the last for a 68 to join him.

“I’m over the moon. I made some long putts and couldn’t be more pleased,” said Skogen, who finished fifth in this tournament last year.

The key to his round on Saturday was some incredible putting, especially for his two eagles on the 15^th and 18^th holes.

“I hit a nice shot into 15 and it stayed just short of the ridge, and I got lucky with the putt. On 18, that putt had some speed but went in the hole so I got lucky with that one,” he said.

His round of eight under was one better than he’d told his friend would be needed for him to get back into this tournament.

“I told my friend yesterday that if I shoot seven under I’d get back in the tournament. I played poorly on moving day here last year so I did better than that today. I felt like I did good work over the winter so hopefully I’m seeing the fruits of my labour.”

Giboudot remains in contention to become the second French winner of this title after Clement Sordet in 2022.

The leaders are one stroke clear of South Africa’s MJ Viljoen, who posted a 66, and Germany’s Jannik de Bruyn, who signed for a 67.

It’s a tight leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round, and it’s exactly what Skogen is looking forward to.

“Who wouldn’t be excited? We get to play for a win. That’s what we work for. Everybody wants to win. I haven’t won as a pro and didn’t win much in college. It’s been a long time since I’ve won something.” – Michael Vlismas

BELA BELA, Limpopo – It’s the start of something big in the bushveld this week. Bigger than the elephants that usually form part of the SDC Open prize giving at the Zebula Golf Estate & Spa. Big in the sense of the opportunities that accompany this first week of six vital weeks on the Sunshine Tour.

The SDC Open starts a run of four tournaments co-sanctioned with the HotelPlanner Tour, and this is followed by two tournaments co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour.

The four HotelPlanner Tour events – the SDC Open, the CIRCA Cape Town Open, the NTT Data Pro-Am and the Jonsson Workwear Durban Open – tee off the Road to Mallorca and the chance to graduate to the DP World Tour at the end of the season, which several South African golfers have already benefitted from. Last year JC Ritchie became the first South African golfer in history to finish top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings.

Then the two DP World Tour events – the Investec South African Open and Joburg Open – can be even more life-changing, with the national Open this year offering exemptions into both The Masters and The Open.

So it’s understandable to see why the putting green at Zebula on Wednesday was buzzing like a water hole in a game reserve at dusk.

“The next six weeks are very important. You work the whole season to get to this stretch, and this is where everybody wants to play well. If you get on a good run here there are a lot of opportunities for you. It can kind of set up your year,” said JJ Senekal, the winner of the 2023 SDC Open and one of three former champions of this event who are back in the field for this week.

“It’s always good to be in the bushveld. The golf course is looking superb. The fairways are cut tighter than previous years so it’s going to be a little bit more difficult. But I’m very excited for the week.”

Yurav Premlall arrives fresh off a top-five finish in last week’s Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player, and with an equal sense of wanting to take advantage of these next few weeks.

“The points and value of these events speak for themselves. There is a lot more expectation – and pressure – on these events. When you have the opportunities to get into the big events you want to make them count. I don’t feel I did that last year but I learnt a lot playing with some of the best players in the world about what I need to work on in these upcoming weeks to get to that level.” – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – Watched by Gary Player himself, Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith claimed his third Sunshine Tour title when he won the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player at Killarney Country Club on Sunday.

Starting the final round three shots behind leader Haydn Porteous, Follett-Smith produced a magnificent charge and signed for a closing 66 to win by a single stroke on 15 under par. Matthew Crisswell, Follett-Smith’s caddie, received a Sunshine Tour medallion as the winning caddie.

Porteous had a 10-foot birdie putt on the last to force a playoff which he missed, settling for second place on 14 under par with a final round of 70.

Kieron van Wyk finished third on 11 under par with a closing 70.

It was a remarkable victory by Follett-Smith that was built around his front nine of three birdies and an eagle, and which gave him the luxury of a bogey-bogey finish to still claim the title.

“The first nine went my way. As golf is, when it’s going your way it seems easy. I did exactly what I wanted to do for every shot on that front nine. I made a good putt for birdie on the 10^th so I thought it was going to continue, but the back nine was tough towards the end. I made a few silly errors coming in. Hitting it right of 17 was a rookie error for sure and finishing bogey-bogey wasn’t what I wanted to do. Luckily it was good enough so I’m very pleased,” said Follett-Smith.

This is his first victory since 2024 and following what he says was a somewhat frustrating 2025.

“It’s just been hard work and practice. I didn’t get too much out of my game last year. I was a bit stuck playing the HotelPlanner Tour and DP World Tour, but I kept coming back home to the Sunshine Tour as a great platform to play. The events here are awesome and world-class in terms of how they’re run. It’s awesome to be in the winner’s circle again and to guarantee my playing rights here.”

Follett-Smith’s rise in form is also perfect timing as the Sunshine Tour now moves into four weeks of co-sanctioned tournaments with the HotelPlanner Tour and then two weeks of co-sanctioned tournaments with the DP World Tour.

And the Zimbabwean was also delighted to win in front of Gary Player.

“It’s the second time I’ve met Mr Player and it’s an honour. He’s one of the best golfers to every live and to have a few minutes to chat to him and hear his advice is something else.” – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – Haydn Porteous is hunting his first victory of the new year as he takes a three-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player at Killarney Country Club.

Porteous, who has led from the first round, maintained his challenge with a third round of 68 on Saturday which lifted him to 14 under par overall.

After waiting eight years between victories, Porteous could now win twice in just over four months. A win on Sunday would be his second this season on the Sunshine Tour following his victory in September’s Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm.

His nearest challengers are Kieron van Wyk and Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith on 11 under par.

Van Wyk surged into contention following a sublime third round of 62, while Follett-Smith signed for a 67.

As solid as Porteous has been all week, it was Van Wyk who provided the true fireworks on Saturday with his 62 – the lowest round of the tournament thus far.

“I felt like Gary Player on the greens today,” he said of South Africa’s greatest ever sportsman.

“I was able to get the putter rolling pretty quickly and just saw myself making a bunch of birdies.”

After four straight pars to start his round, Van Wyk followed up with eight birdies thereafter and didn’t drop a single shot.

“I haven’t been hitting the ball that well but I found something on the range which I said I was going to bring into my game today. I struggled a little bit for the first three holes, but I made a good up-and-down on the fourth and from there it was pretty much open gates. I was able to see the lines really well today and rolled the putts where I was looking.”

Much has been expected of Van Wyk upon his return to South Africa following a stellar amateur career at college in the United States, and he’s certainly excited about the opportunity that awaits on Sunday.

“I knew I needed a low one to get into contention, and now that I’ve done that I know my game can stay at that level for the final round. I’m excited. I didn’t think it would come this early in the new year but I’m excited for the opportunity.” – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – Haydn Porteous held onto his top spot on the leaderboard in the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player and will take a three-stroke lead into the weekend at Killarney Country Club.

Porteous shared the first-round lead with a 64 and then distanced himself from the pack with another 64 on Friday to climb to 12 under par overall.

It was another flawless performance from Porteous who has yet to drop a shot in 36 holes.

His nearest challenger is England’s Joe Long who signed for a 63 on Friday to hit the halfway mark at nine under par.

Zimbabwe’s David Amm and Benjamin Follett-Smith, and the South African duo of Nikhil Rama and Herman Loubser are currently tied third on eight under par.

Porteous has continued to ride the momentum of a big 2025 in which he made his long-awaited return to the winner’s circle with his victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm where he was given an invitation by the Sunshine Tour and made the most of the opportunity.

“The win at Gowrie Farm was an awesome reboot for my career. For a long time I’ve battled with confidence and feeling like I’m moving in the right direction. Now for the first time in my career, I feel like I’m putting some big blocks down and building on them,” he said.

He also had the benefit of playing in a Blu Label Bushveld Tour event at Killarney Country Club the week before this Sunshine Tour event. Porteous missed the cut in that event with rounds of 75 and 69 and says it was a timely wake-up call for him.

“I realised I had a bit of rust in my game so I did some hard work towards the end of that week and leading up to this event, and it looks like that work has paid off.”

But arguably the biggest change in his game has come off the fairways.

“You know, getting married and welcoming our baby girl who is now coming up to four weeks old – you start to realise what life’s all about and that’s hopefully going to show in my game.” – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – Haydn Porteous and Tyran Snyders set the tone for 2026 on the Sunshine Tour, and it began with their respective 64s to share the lead in the first round of the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player at Killarney Country Club on Thursday.

In the first competitive round of the new year on the Tour, Porteous didn’t drop a single shot as he continues his resurgence in the game, and Snyders threw in an eagle two on the first hole to join him as the holders of a one-stroke lead over the field.

“Today was a good day,” said Snyders.

“I had a specific gameplan for Killarney because it’s a demanding golf course from tee to green. It’s not a course where you can go out and try and overpower it. It’s tight off the tee so you don’t hit many drivers and a lot more irons. Positional play is key and that was my gameplan. I executed it pretty well.”

The work Snyders did over the festive season on his chipping and wedges certainly paid off on Thursday. Teeing off the 10^th, he struggled to make too much happen on his first nine. But it came together on the second nine, beginning with a hole-out for eagle on the first.

“I didn’t get any putts to drop on the first nine. Then on the first I holed out with a wedge for eagle and that was a bonus. Then I made two birdies thereafter with good wedge shots. In the break I worked hard on my chipping and wedges and getting a variety of shots there.”

It also led to Snyders’ first 29 over nine holes in a tournament, on the par-70 Killarney layout.

“I’ve never shot a 29 in a tournament before so I was very happy about that. It’s a great way to start the year.”

Their nearest challengers are a group of six players on five under, including Deon Germishuys who is looking to build on the momentum of his victory in the Fitch and Leedes PGA Championship last November.

Porteous, after a strong comeback victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm late last year, continued that form with an opening round that adds to a solid run for him over the past few months.

Since winning in September last year, Porteous has had five top-15 finishes in his last eight Sunshine Tour events. That includes 14^th in the DP World Tour co-sanctioned Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Snyders has also started to feel more at home near the top of leaderboards, and has had five top-15s this season already.

Their 64s were certainly a clear indication of the scoring tone set for this year, with just under half the field finishing under par after day one. – Michael Vlismas

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng – MJ Daffue is back in South Africa to tee it up in this week’s Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player at Killarney Country Club, and says he’s excited about getting that excitement for his game that the Sunshine Tour does so well to provide.

“The Sunshine Tour creates such great opportunities. They just do things differently. It’s a different feel here and I love that. It’s really focused on the golfer and golf and providing what I’m looking for at the moment, which is that pure joy and excitement of playing the game,” says Daffue, who has spent the majority of his career campaigning on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.

His return to his roots on the Sunshine Tour comes after a difficult past two years in which he struggled with injury, and which in turn took its toll on his overall enjoyment of the game.

“It’s been an interesting two years for me. In 2023 I got a bone disease in my right hand and had to undergo surgery. The next year I got an infection in the same hand and had to get three more surgeries. It was a crazy two years of trying to get healthy and get the game back, and finding confidence again.”

With his son having just turned five and never been to South Africa, Daffue decided now was as a good a time as any to make the trip and play a run of Sunshine Tour events including the upcoming co-sanctioned tournaments with the HotelPlanner Tour before heading back to America in April.

“Struggling with the injuries has been a mental challenge for me. I’d also played a lot of golf before that and was a little burned out. I wasn’t enjoying the game and the traveling. It was just becoming a job and I had no enjoyment. But I’ve made some changes to get things back on track. I’m healthy and playing really good golf at the moment. So this seemed like a great opportunity to come to South Africa and find my game and get the love of the game back. I don’t take anything for granted. Competition is competition. I just want to compete and have fun again.

“I’m not focused too much on goals. What I’ve really worked on is to try and respect my own time. If I’m going to play this week, then my time is valuable and I’m going to respect it and make sure I do everything to the best of my ability and focus on that. I still visualise myself winning Majors, but I’m working hard on staying in the present and just being the golfer that I’m satisfied with.”

With this tournament played in honour of Gary Player, Daffue says it certainly resonates with him – as it does with all South African golfers – the path that Player laid out for them.

“When I was 11 years old I watched a tournament with Mr Player in it and he came over and handed me a signed golf ball. He set an example to spread your wings and leave South Africa and become an ambassador for us in the game, and I’ve tried to follow that in my own career.” – Michael Vlismas