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George Coetzee won his first ever Sunshine Tour victory on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, and his love for it continued as he successfully defended his title at De Zalze Golf Club on Saturday.

Coetzee claimed a two-stroke victory in the winelands for his fifth victory overall on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, which started 15 years ago when he announced himself with a win on the series in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour.

It’s an achievement that now places him second on his own on the all-time list of winners on the series after Jean Hugo who has 11 titles.

Coetzee withstood a strong challenge from England’s Joe Long and closed with a 67 to win on 21 under par. Long had closed to within a shot of Coetzee with three holes to play but then bogeyed the 18^th as he took second place on 19 under with a final round of 67.

Kyle Barker finished third on 15 under par in one of his best performances on the Sunshine Tour, signing for a 66.

Jaco Prinsloo continued his good form as he followed up his win in last week’s FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge with a sixth-place finish at De Zalze. Prinsloo has now finished third, ninth, first and sixth in his last four Sunshine Tour event.

This was the opening tournament on the 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf series, with the next event taking place in Mpumalanga at the Highland Gate Golf & Trout Estate at the end of this month.

George Coetzee tightened his grip on the Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze Golf Club and will take a two-stroke lead into Saturday’s final round of this Sunshine Tour event.

Coetzee signed for a second round of five-under-par 67 to move to 16 under par overall as he looks to successfully defend his title and claim the 15^th victory of his career.

But England’s Joe Long could still have a say as the 2020 Amateur Championship winner made a big charge on Friday with a sublime 10-under-par 62 that lifted him to 14 under par overall. Long even made two bogeys in that 62.

And six strokes back, Albert Venter is hunting his second win of the season after his triumph in the FBC Zimbabwe Open in May. Venter moved into contention with a second round of 68.

Coetzee was five shots clear at the start of the round but was held back by a double bogey on the par-three ninth, and was kept from running away with the tournament by Long’s round of the day.

Coetzee is looking to move into second on the list of all-time winners on the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series. A win on Saturday would earn him his fifth Vodacom Origins of Golf title, placing him second behind Jean Hugo with the most wins on the series. Hugo has won 11 Vodacom Origins of Golf titles.

George Coetzee made a strong start in defence of his Vodacom Origins of Golf title at De Zalze Golf Club when he opened with an 11-under-par 61 to lead by five shots after Thursday’s first round.

A win this week would earn Coetzee a special place in the 18-year history of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, lifting him to five titles overall and placing him second behind Jean Hugo with the most wins on the series. Hugo has won 11 Vodacom Origins of Golf titles.

Coetzee won last year’s Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze on the back of an opening 63, and he was in even better form on Thursday with a round of nine birdies and an eagle.

His nearest challengers are the group of Ryan Cairns, Adam Breen, Albert Venter and the in-form Jaco Prinsloo who all opened with rounds of six under par.

“It felt great. The course was beautiful. I left a few early putts short but then got the speed right and rolled in some nice putts on the back nine. The greens are so good, but the whole layout of the golf course is beautiful. In these 54-hole events it’s so important to get off to a good start in round one,” said Cairns.

Jacquin Hess, a member of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class for transformation golfers, put himself in contention with a solid opening five-under-par 67.

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape (3 August 2022) – The generational success of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) was nowhere more clearly demonstrated than at this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at De Zalze Golf Club, where a golfer who years ago started with the SAGDB is now a coach in the programme and has his own son enrolled in it.

Reuben Adams stood on the driving range at De Zalze on Tuesday assisting with the Vodacom Origins of Golf clinic with the SAGDB golfers and Sunshine Tour professionals, and which included his son Sergio Japhets.

It was a sight that brought a smile to the face of Shawn Adriaanse, the SAGDB Manager for the Boland Region.

“Sergio has been playing for Boland provincial teams for a while now. His dad, Reuben, was himself an SAGDB player and was one of the players with whom we first started the programme in Riverside in Worcester, and now he’s a coach there and helping to coach SAGDB golfers,” said Adriaanse, who has seen so many success stories like this over the years.

He is also quick to point out the important role the Vodacom Origins of Golf series plays in the work of the SAGDB.

“For our SAGDB golfers to see the Sunshine Tour professionals face-to-face means a lot to them because they usually just see them on television. To receive coaching from them and learn how they play on tour is so valuable for these young golfers. Just to see how it changes or helps a kid to go in a certain direction and see how their lives are changed still moves me.”

The young golfers at the Vodacom Origins of Golf clinic came from Riverside as well as Rietenbosch Primary School in Cloetesville Stellenzicht Secondary School in Jamestown.

“We’re extremely proud as the Vodacom Origins of Golf, to support the important work of the SAGDB. The very story we had here at De Zalze with the father and his son going through the same SAGDB programme is an origins story of success all on its own. To play a small part in a journey like that is very rewarding. For us it’s about making that difference in somebody’s life and developing the opportunities of individuals,” said Carol Hall, Vodacom Managing Executive: Western Region.

“This programme is so important for us to support because the SAGDB has that focus of not just making great golfers but using golf to help these scholars improve in their schoolwork as well and to give them better opportunities through the positive impact of the game.” – Michael Vlismas

Photo Credits: Troy Winfield.

STELLENBOSCH, Western Cape (2 August 2022) – Former Springbok Schalk Brits says he can’t recall ever seeing a Springbok team go into a Test against the All Blacks as such favourites as the current one, but that he also knows his former teammates will never underestimate their New Zealand opponents.

Speaking from the De Zalze Golf Club course on Tuesday where he is making his debut in this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf pro-am series on the Sunshine Tour, Brits’ mind was as much on his swing as it was his fellow Springboks preparing for their Rugby Championship opener against the All Blacks in Mbombela this Saturday.

“For once the All Blacks have shown weakness. You have to give credit to Ireland and what Mr Farrell and his team are doing there. They were phenomenal in taking New Zealand on at their own game and the intensity and bravery with which they played was phenomenal. I definitely think Australia and New Zealand are missing the physicality of South African rugby. But do not underestimate the All Blacks,” said Brits.

With his debut appearance on the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series, Brits joins an illustrious list of former South African rugby greats to have teed it up on the longest running pro-am series on the Sunshine Tour.

Francois Pienaar, Morné du Plessis, Rudolph Straueli, Nic Mallet, André Joubert, Breyton Paulse and Wayne Fyvie have all had their time inside the ropes on this series, which first teed off in 2004.

“Playing with the pros and seeing how they get around the course is amazing. It’s my first experience of the Vodacom Origins of Golf and I’m loving it. It’s quite a reality check as an athlete and an amateur golfer. You think you hit the ball far but then you get a pro who is half your size and hits it 30 metres past you. How they play the game is a thing of beauty to watch,” said Brits. – Michael Vlismas

Photo: Former Springbok Schalk Brits in action at the Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament being held at De Zalze Golf Club on Tuesday. Credit: Troy Winfield.

KHOLWANE, Eswatini – Multiple Sunshine Tour winner Jean Hugo and Wynand Dingle got to within a stroke at times, but Jaco Prinsloo held his nerve to stay in front and complete a wire-to-wire three-stroke victory in the FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge at the Nkonyeni Lodge and Golf Estate on Saturday.

Prinsloo shot a three-under-par 69 in Saturday’s third and final round to finish on 12-under-par in the R1 million tournament, with Hugo posting a 68 to finish on nine-under-par, and a bogey on the par-three 18^th hole seeing Dingle sign for a 68 as well, but slipping back into a tie for third with Keegan Thomas (68) and Martin Rohwer (69) on eight-under.

The 32-year-old Prinsloo, who counts big titles such as the 2017 Vodacom Origins of Golf Final and last year’s Players Championship among his five professional titles, led by two strokes going into the final round. He made a nervous start with a bogey at the par-four first hole, but his lead grew again with three successive birdies from the seventh hole.

The Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate golfer went three ahead with a birdie at the par-four 12^th hole, but a bogey at the par-four 14^th, which Hugo birdied, made for a nervous finish, especially with the last hole being a tricky par-three.

But Prinsloo crucially managed to get a birdie-three on the 16^th hole, while Hugo made bogey and Dingle could only make par, and the Centurion resident parred the last two holes for a victory that got him up to fourth on the Luno Order of Merit.

What was most impressive about Prinsloo’s win was that he did what he said he was going to do as the frontrunner on the final day: He kept his head down and stuck to his game-plan, no matter what the compelling duo of Hugo and Dingle threw at him.

KHOLWANE, Eswatini – Eleven successive pars and then two birdies coming in were enough for Jaco Prinsloo to retain his lead after the second round of the FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge at the Nkonyeni Lodge and Golf Estate on Friday, and the 32-year-old will take a two-shot lead into Saturday’s final round.

Following his brilliant 65 on the opening day, Prinsloo did not find the going as easy on Friday as his ball-striking was not as good and he battled to get the ball close to the hole. He showed wonderful patience, however, and kept grinding away, starting his round on the 10^th and registering nine pars before also playing the first and second holes in regulation.

All that determination finally paid off on the par-four third with his first birdie, and he picked up another shot on the par-five eighth.

“It was definitely harder for me today and I just did not hit the ball as close to the hole as I did on the first day, so I didn’t have as many birdie opportunities,” Prinsloo said after his 70 took him to nine-under-par.

“It was good to be bogey-free though because this is not the easiest course. But it’s still a weird place to be with 11 pars in a row. It’s good but not so good.

“It meant I was still playing solid golf and in control of the ball, and I’m definitely happy to still be in front,” Prinsloo said.

Herman Loubser was two behind Prinsloo after the first round, but he could only shoot a level-par 72 on Friday and has been overtaken by CJ du Plessis, who roared into second place with a 68 that took him to seven-under-par overall.

Loubser has slipped into a tie for third on five-under with Jean Hugo (68), Rhys West (69), Martin Rohwer (68) and Ricky Hendler (71).

“I’m not going to change anything,” Prinsloo said of his approach to the final round of the R1 million event. “I’m going to take it as just another round and the game-plan will stay the same.

“You just have to keep your head down and see where you land up.”

KHOLWANE, Eswatini – Jaco Prinsloo is an avid fisherman and his ‘catch’ on the par-fives at the Nkonyeni Lodge and Golf Estate was the major reason why he leads the FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge after the first round on Thursday.

If Prinsloo was a birdwatcher then he would have been equally thrilled with the two eagles and two birdies he bagged on the four par-fives on the bushveld golf course next to the Usutu River, making up the bulk of his gains in a seven-under-par 65 that left him top of the pile, two strokes ahead of Herman Loubser.

Prinsloo eagled the eighth and 15^th holes, while also collecting birdie fours on the fourth and 13^th holes. The 32-year-old’s other birdies came on the third and ninth holes, and he dropped just one shot, on the par-four fifth.

“I hit the ball pretty good today,” Prinsloo said. “I hit it really close for my one eagle and made a decent putt for the other. It was a case of really good putting today and good hitting, there were a couple of very good shots.

“The tour had a break of more than a month so it’s been a while since I played competitively and these are not the fastest greens, different to what we’re used to compared to winter in Johannesburg.

“It’s a new course for us because we’re used to playing at the Royal Swazi Sun, but Nkonyeni is an absolute beauty, really challenging but fun in the bushveld,” Prinsloo said.

Prinsloo is enjoying a solid season and is 15^th on the Luno Order of Merit, saying he feels he is “moving in the right direction” and needs to “keep doing what I’m doing”.

If the Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate representative can back up his 65 over the next two rounds then he will keep his challengers in the R1 million event mum.

Modderfontein’s Loubser is foremost among those, a marvellous run of four successive birdies around the turn leading him to a 67.

Ricky Hendler and young Kyle McClatchie are a stroke further back on four-under, while Jovan Rebula, Lyle Rowe, Clinton Grobler and CJ du Plessis are all on three-under-par.

ST FRANCIS BAY, EASTERN CAPE: The 87^th PGA Championship hosted by the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency returns to St Francis Links from 3-6 November 2022, and with the championship’s legacy project in full swing as it continues to touch lives through the game of golf.

Nazeen Goeda from Humansdorp is the first recipient of a full PGA three-year study bursary valued at R78 000 as part of the objective to work with the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) to use the championship to make a meaningful impact in the local community. The 29-year-old has been enrolled as a PGA associate at St Francis Links as part of the programme.

The easing of Covid measures is also expected to see an increase in golf development initiatives, local staff recruitment and local procurement at this year’s championship as it contributes to the socio-economic development of the province.

“The PGA Championship is the pride of the PGA of South Africa and its flagship event, and it remains one of South Africa’s must-win professional tournaments. The success of the 2021 championship can also be directly attributed to the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, and the Sarah Baartman and Kouga Municipalities’ support,” said Ivano Ficalbi, Chief Executive of the PGA of South Africa.

The 87^th PGA Championship will celebrate the history of this great championship with a host of activities including live entertainment for golf fans and their families as it shines the spotlight on the local community.

“The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) is mandated to promote economic growth through tourism and utilises this golf tournament as such. Our partnership with the PGA is aimed at stimulating the Eastern Cape Province’s tourism sector and thus to save and provide much needed jobs as the tournament will support local businesses and attract local and international visitors,” said Vuyani Dayimani, ECPTA Chief Executive Officer.

According to Dayimani, partnering with the globally-recognised brand of the PGA contributes towards the Eastern Cape’s aim of reaching national and international audiences.

“According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF) golf participation and interest has seen an 8% increase year-over-year and a near 20% gain in the last 5 years. The NGF also revealed that the number for very interested non-golfers has increased by 1.5 million compared to 2019. This shows the pull the sport has and we couldn’t be more pleased to tap into its resources and audiences for tourism benefits as per the ECPTA’s events strategy, which is about using events that have a huge following and loyal fanbase to sell and showcase the Eastern Cape as a tourism destination of choice to wider audiences across the globe. As the travel restrictions are eased, this showpiece event could not have come at a better time,” added Dayimani.

Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour professional Dean Burmester claimed the title last year and was delighted to add his name to such a prestigious trophy.

Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said: “The PGA Championship is one of the most historic tournaments on our schedule and a title every South African professional wants to win at some point in his career. We are proud to partner with the PGA of South Africa and ECPTA in showcasing this incredible event.”

Jimmy Headbush, the Tournament Promoter, said: “The PGA Championship is a demonstration of a successful Private-Public partnership collaboration to benefit the community. Elite professional golfers, golf enthusiasts, holiday makers and business executives will all be part of the spectacle.”

Photo (From left to right): Ivano Ficalbi, Chief Executive of the PGA of South Africa; Jeff Clause, CEO of St Francis Links; Ald. Brenton Williams, Speaker Kouga Municipality; and Cllr. Solethu Lucas, MMC Corporate Services Sarah Baartman Municipality at the launch of the 2022 PGA Championship at St Francis Links. Credit: PGA Championship.