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SUN CITY, North-West – With his putter finally starting to fire, Hennie Otto began the final round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City with a birdie and just continued in that vein before making par at the first playoff hole to win the title at Gary Player Country Club on Friday.

Otto began the third and final day three shots off the lead, and apart from his three at the par-four first hole, he enjoyed the ideal start to his pursuit of his 14^th Sunshine Tour title by collecting four more birdies between the sixth and 10^th holes.

A veteran campaigner like Otto was not going to be overawed by the occasion either, as a trio of other contenders – Hayden Griffiths, Jovan Rebula and Martin Rohwer – also jostled fiercely for the top spot. On a windy day on one of the toughest courses in South Africa, Otto came home in one-under 35, for a final round of 67, thanks to another birdie on the par-five 14^th.

A bogey on the par-three 16^th was his only blemish, but the 46-year-old Otto showed the stuff of champions as he parred the testing last two holes to finish on six-under-par for the tournament, joining Griffiths in a playoff.

The 29-year-old Griffiths had shot a tremendous 66, also with just one bogey, to join Otto in the playoff, a clutch birdie on the par-three 16^th sealing his place.

Unfortunately, Griffiths hit his drive on the first playoff hole, the famous ninth at Gary Player Country Club with its island green, way left into the bushes and had to hack out. With Otto just off the fairway on the right, the Johannesburg-based Griffiths had to go for the green with his third, pulled it left and landed in the water.

That left Otto with the routine task of laying up, finding the green and two-putting for the win.

“My game has been so good lately but my scores have not shown it because my putting has not been up to standard,” Otto said after his second victory on the Gary Player Country Club course following his victory there in the 2011 Dimension Data Pro-Am.

“But today my putter started showing what it can do. Because I’ve been playing so well, I knew another win was close. On this course, in all the years I’ve played here, it’s all about hitting the fairway and making sure you don’t hit your ball in the wrong place. But it was even tougher today because of the wind and in the cold morning, your ball doesn’t travel so far.

“On 16, I had no real shot from the bunker and then I just had to make sure I made a four. And then it was just about making sure I parred 17 and 18. I actually nearly birdied the last hole, but my putt just lipped out.

“And then the playoff hole just became a formality after Hayden unfortunately hit his approach into the water,” Otto said.

Rohwer and Rebula both finished one shot behind on five-under-par and both showed excellent technical expertise on one of the most challenging courses in the world, before succumbing to late errors that proved very costly.

Rohwer was on eight-under-par and leading by two after he birdied the par-five 14^th hole, but then dropped a shot at the 15tth and then double-bogeyed the par-four 17^th, finishing with a 67 that was not quite enough.

Rebula had reached seven-under through 13 holes, but then bogeys on the 15^th and 18^th holes left him with a 70 and saw him fall just short of the playoff.

Keelan van Wyk, who led after the first two rounds of the three-round tournament, unfortunately saw his game suffer a meltdown on Friday as he posted an 80 to finish on four-over-par, in a tie for 33^rd place.

SUN CITY, North-West – Keelan van Wyk made a few silly mistakes on the front nine at Gary Player Country Club on Thursday and paid the price, but the CMR Golf Club representative can feel immensely proud of the way he bounced back to retain the lead after the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City.

Despite going out in four-over-par 40, Van Wyk showed his temperament by rectifying most of the damage with four birdies and just a single bogey on the back nine, to sign for 73. The going was so tough at the Gary Player Country Club on Thursday, however, that his one-over-par score was still enough for him to hang on to the lead. The 24-year-old will go into Saturday’s final round on four-under overall, one stroke ahead of Toto Thimba Jnr (72), Fredrik From (71), Jovan Rebula (69) and Matthew Spacey (72).

Van Wyk birdied the par-four first hole on Thursday, but that was followed by three successive bogeys. A double-bogey seven at the ninth then would have been enough, to paraphrase the words of the classic Boomtown Rats song I Don’t Like Mondays, to switch the silicon chip inside his head to overload were it not for Van Wyk’s impressive composure. He rebounded with birdies on the 10^th and 11^th holes, and was on his way back to the top of the leaderboard.

“I made a few mistakes on the front nine and it was just a very intense round of golf. I battled off the tee and on the ninth I went way left and lost my ball, leading to the double-bogey,” Van Wyk explained.

“But I just told myself that I had now hit my low and I could not go any lower. I just channelled my thoughts and my focus on spiralling back up again. I just tried to take it shot-for-shot and stay in the moment.

“My caddy Lloyd also helped a lot, he was quite composed. We were chatting about how the golf course is so difficult, it feels like if you make one mistake then you’re going to drop back a few places, but every player will make mistakes. You can see that from the scores,” Van Wyk said.

Adding to the typically testing set-up of the Gary Player Country Club, there was a swirling wind on Thursday that would con the golfers into thinking it was going one way, but then switch directions on the same hole.

“The course was tough and the wind was swirling as well. It was just never in one direction,” Van Wyk said.

Rebula led the charge of the domestic golfers on Thursday with a brilliant three-under 69 that included just one dropped shot, on the par-four 17^th.

Spacey started his round on the 10^th and made two birdies in his first four holes to claim the lead. But a bogey on the 15^th and another one on the seventh hole saw him slip back, while Thimba Jnr survived three successive bogeys from the eighth hole to still post a level-par 72 and remain strongly in contention.

Sweden’s From was the leading overseas golfer, mixing six birdies with five bogeys in his round.

Three more South Africans, Jonathan Broomhead (70), Michael Hollick (70) and Kyle Barker (72) are two strokes back on two-under-par.

SUN CITY, North-West – Keelan van Wyk did not think he would be able to conquer the back nine at the Gary Player Country Club as comfortably as he did, but his marvellous five-under-par 67 set him up for pride of place on the leaderboard after the first round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City on Wednesday.

Although Van Wyk is just 24 years old and in only his third season on the Sunshine Tour, he is very familiar with the famous Gary Player Country Club layout and aware of all the challenges it poses. But starting his round on the 10^th tee, he birdied the 12^th, 14^th, 16^thand 18^th holes to go to the turn already four-under-par.

After collecting two more birdies on the front nine, he made his only bogey of the day on the ninth, his last hole, but his 67 was still his best round of the season thus far.

“My family comes to Sun City quite a lot on holiday, so I’ve played a few rounds here and I feel quite comfortable, although I haven’t had that many good scores. Usually the back nine is the tougher nine for the way I like to play, so to be four-under at the turn was certainly better than I projected,” Van Wyk said.

“But I’ve definitely put a lot of hard work into my game lately and I have been playing quite well, but just not scoring. But today I had my iron-play under control, I birdied three of the par-threes, and I managed to roll some putts in.

“My plan was to give myself lots of chances for birdies, I took a few of them and I am very, very pleased with my round,” Van Wyk said.

The Riverlea resident’s only real mistake came on the ninth when he caught a flyer out of the rough and went 35 feet over the pin. He left his first putt short and missed his second as well, ending an otherwise fine round with a bogey.

But it was not a day for cruising at the Gary Player Country Club on Wednesday, overcast, cool weather making the course even longer and the usual premium on precise golf being in play.

Four golfers – Robin Williams, Matthew Spacey, Toto Thimba Jnr and Jason Smith – were sharing second place two strokes behind on three-under-par, and only 16 golfers finished under-par on the opening day.

Williams was five-under through 12 holes but a double-bogey at the par-four 13^th was a telling blow. Spacey also notched up a six at the same hole, as well as one on the par-four eighth.

Smith had back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13, as well as one on the third, but you can tell how well Thimba Jnr played by the fact he also, like Van Wyk, only dropped one shot in his opening round.

IRENE, Tshwane –  Louis Albertse was all smiles after winning the Kit Kat Cash and Carry Pro-Am and R320 000 at Irene Country Club on Sunday, but he said even though he triumphed by a comfortable four strokes it felt like he had been climbing mountains all day.

Albertse finished in style by sinking a 30ft putt for birdie on the 18th hole, completing an impressive four-under 68 in the final round, and a total of 23-under-par for the R2 million event, well clear of Kyle Barker in second place on 19-under.

But both playing partner Malcolm Mitchell and Barker had put Albertse under pressure through the final day.

Mitchell was four-under-par through the front nine as he closed to within two strokes, but then a horror run from the 12^th hole saw him drop four strokes in three holes, including a double-bogey on the par-three 13^th hole, when his tee-shot hit a tree and he then three-putted.

Barker produced excellent golf on the last day in a bogey-free 67, which could have been even better and would have put Albertse under even more pressure had a couple of late birdie putts not missed the hole by an inch or two.

Nevertheless, Albertse was not to be swayed on Sunday. He made a pair of crucial birdies around the turn and then played solid, error-free golf to par his way to the last hole.

“It’s always really hard to win, it never gets easier. Everyone here is extremely talented and the pressure can get to you; 18 holes is a long time,” the representative of Dundee Golf Club, in the foothills of the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, said after his second Sunshine Tour victory.

“Malcolm Mitchell played extremely well out of the blocks and that motivated me because I knew if I make mistakes then he will overtake me. I just tried to stay in it, focus on my own game as much as I could.

“The birdies at nine and 10 were crucial, with Malcolm missing a birdie putt at 10. I hit some good shots around the turn and I just tried to play good shot after good shot,” Albertse said.

Far from being insipid golf, Albertse’s run of pars from the 11^th hole was a calculated strategy by the 26-year-old to eliminate risk, on a course he loves, having finished third in the same event last year.

“Having a good lead is nice because it means you can hit conservative shots, especially on holes 14 to 16. It also showed on my choice of club off the 18^th tee when I hit a five-iron.

“I scored my first nine-under here at Irene, back in my amateur days. I just really enjoy the course and coming back here, I feel comfortable here,” Albertse said.

Sean Cronje, the 22-year-old from Durbanville, hit the big time on Sunday as his phenomenal eight-under 64 lifted him into third place on 17-under-par, his first top-10 finish on the Sunshine Tour.

Mitchell finished with a 71 to share fourth place on 16-under with Wynand Dingle (67).

IRENE, Tshwane –  Although Louis Albertse’s five-under-par 67 was not faultless golf, the 26-year-old showed perfect composure as he maintained his four-shot lead after the third and penultimate round of the Kit Kat Cash and Carry Pro-Am at Irene Country Club on Saturday.

Albertse will go into Sunday’s final round with a brilliant score of 19-under-par, following rounds of 66-64-67, a very handy lead with half-a-dozen golfers within six shots of him.

Albertse took a while to get going on Saturday and a bogey on the par-four fifth hole left him one-over for the round. But birdies on the sixth and eighth holes brought some momentum, and he then produced a brilliant back nine of four-under 32.

The Dundee Golf Club representative made some mistakes coming in, but showed a tremendous ability to recover quickly from his mistakes. Twice he made birdies after poor shots left him out of position, courtesy of a wonderful wedge on the par-five 10^thand a phenomenal 45ft putt across the green on the par-three 16^th.

“I had a bit of nerves at the start, I’m not going to lie, and I didn’t hit good drives on the first two holes,” Albertse said. “I was glad I got through those with birdies on six and eight, and then birdies on 10 and 11 made me feel even better. That settled me and I had a good round going.

“I just tried to stay composed. Acceptance in this game plays a really big part in success and the quicker you can accept mistakes, the easier it is. I just tried to forget about the previous shot.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of nerves in the final round and things might feel different. But that’s why we practise all these years, to be in this position. I’m just going to try and enjoy it as much as I can, and at 19-under-par there’s no reason to change anything in my game,” Albertse said.

Although the man who enjoyed seven top-10 finishes last season will be the favourite to win the R320 000 first prize on Sunday, it is by no means a done deal with several other golfers playing marvellous golf on Saturday to put themselves in the picture.

Malcolm Mitchell produced a magnificent back nine of 31 as his 66 lifted him into second place on 15-under. The lanky KwaZulu-Natalian chipped in for eagle on the 10^th hole and finished his round with three consecutive birdies.

Kyle Barker also chipped in from off the green for an eagle on the par-four 15^th and then finished birdie-birdie to post a 68 that left him in third place on 14-under.

A resurgent Trevor Fisher Jnr is on 13-under after cruising to a 66, alongside youngsters Jovan Rebula (68) and Adam Breen (64).

IRENE, Tshwane –  Being newly married and coming off his most successful season yet may have added some extra load onto the broad shoulders of Louis Albertse, but the 26-year-old played with great freedom on Friday as he posted a tremendous eight-under-par 64 to claim a four-shot lead after the second round of the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am at the Irene Country Club.

Claiming eight birdies and an eagle on the 112-year-old parkland course, Albertse will go into the weekend on 14-under-par, with his nearest challengers being Kyle Barker (64), Wynand Dingle (69) and Yurav Premlall (65) on 10-under.

Having been tied for third after his 66 in the first round, Albertse started on the 10^th hole and took a while to find the same success on Friday and was just one-under after his first seven holes. But the Dundee Golf Club representative broke the shackles around the turn, going birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie from the 17^th hole to snatch the lead. A bogey on the par-three fourth did little to break the momentum as he finished strongly with three more birdies in the last five holes.

Albertse, who finished a career-best 17^th in the 2022/23 The Courier Guy Order of Merit with seven top-10 finishes, made his eagle on the 368m par-four first hole when he unleashed a fabulous drive that finished just short of the green and he was able to putt the ball into the hole for a two.

“There’s probably a little bit more added pressure when you’re coming off your best season and last week in Zambia wasn’t great, maybe because I was rusty after taking two weeks off to get married,” Albertse said.

“But I know I’m playing nicely and it’s just about trusting the process. It’s nice to see scores coming in though and luckily it all turned out in may favour today.

“I have a game-plan before the tournament which I try and follow, but some days are just better than others and you feel able to be more aggressive and it just works out.

“I gave myself quite a few opportunities today and just tried to be patient from the start. Having a birdie-bogey start wasn’t great, but after that things started to fall into place and I had an amazing stretch through the turn when I really hit second gear.

“It doesn’t happen often, but even then you just try and stay patient, although you take those runs with open arms. And it was an amazing drive on the first,” Albertse smiled.

Barker is another who has carried over his form from last season, when he broke through by finishing 22^ndon the order of merit and won the Stella Artois Players’ Championship at Dainfern Country Club.

The 25-year-old, who moved over to Titleist in the off-season, started his round with a birdie on the par-five 10^th. But he could only pick up more shots on the last two holes of the back nine, before coming home in style with four birdies in his last five holes to claim the lead before being overtaken by Albertse.

“It was a fantastic morning out there, I drove the ball very nicely and hit most of my targets. My wedges were pretty decent and I putted really well – my putts were in the low 20s,” Barker said.

Rookie Premlall was also highly-impressive with his 65. The 19-year-old finished his front nine with three birdies and an eagle, and then came home with birdies on the par-three 16^th and par-five 17^th holes.

IRENE, Tshwane – Wynand Dingle says his game is not yet 100% technically sound, but the 38-year-old still has the recipe for success as he took advantage of the receptive greens at the Irene Country Club and shot a seven-under-par 65 on Thursday to share the lead after the first round of the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am.

Dingle fired four birdies on each nine, following a bogey on the fourth hole he played, the 168m, par-three 13^th with its menacing bunker in front of the green.

Young Jovan Rebula was in the same three-ball that teed off at 7am on Thursday, and he matched Dingle with seven birdies and no bogeys on his card.

Dingle and Rebula enjoy a one-stroke lead over Louis Albertse and Englishman Jack Hawksby, who eagled the par-four first hole, his 10^th, to go with six birdies, but also had a couple of bogeys.

Seven-under 65 was a superb score on Thursday, but Dingle was not entirely satisfied.

“I didn’t have such a good start, it was cold in the morning and tough to get the body going and the ball didn’t go that far. And then I bogeyed my fourth hole,” Dingle said.

“But I got three birdies in a row straight afterwards and that kick-started my round, with another on 18 and then another three-in-a-row from the first. The greens are receptive and rolling nicely, you really can’t fault the course.

“One of my concerns though is my consistency is lacking a little bit. I need to get four rounds together and especially have better rounds on the weekend. Technically I’m not 100%, so when I’m under the gun I lose it a bit. It’s because technically I’m not totally sound.

“There are a few things bugging me in my swing and if I can correct those then it will stand up under pressure. But it’s not mental, it’s a technical thing,” Dingle said.

It was another fine day in the office for the in-form Neil Schietekat, who is top of The Courier Guy Order of Merit, as he shot a five-under 67 to share fifth place with Trevor Fisher Jnr.

Schietekat started slowly, reaching the turn at just one-under, but he then gathered four birdies on the back nine. 

Fisher Jnr began on the 10^th and had a poor bogey-bogey start, but he played his last 13 holes in seven-under-par.

It was a tough day for Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi, the winner of last weekend’s Zanaco Masters in Zambia, as he shot a four-over 76.

LUSAKA, Zambia – Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi has won a couple of times on the Safari Tour, but on Sunday he clinched his first title of global significance when he won the Zanaco Masters at Lusaka Golf Club in a playoff over Neil Schietekat, in just his 11^th Sunshine Tour start.

Chinhoi, who began the day two shots off the lead, put himself in contention by collecting two birdies in a bogey-free front nine, and then claimed the lead with three more birdies on the back nine, before a pulled drive saw him bogey the 17^th and then only make par on the par-five final hole, leaving him with a 68 for 17-under-par for the tournament.

That was enough to get him into a playoff though, with Schietekat, the winner of the previous event on the Sunshine Tour, the FBC Zimbabwe Open a fortnight ago. Schietekat was six-under for his final round through 13 holes, roaring up the leaderboard, but he then made a crucial bogey on the par-four 14^th hole and then could only par his way in to the clubhouse.

The pair played the 515-metre 18^th hole again in the playoff and the 32-year-old Chinhoi produced an excellent tee-shot that left him 207 metres from the green. From there he hit a seven-iron short of the green, made sure he left his chip below the hole on the hard green, and calmly slotted a five-foot putt for birdie to claim the title, as the experienced Schietekat could only make par.

“I am just so grateful, I thank God, for this victory because it puts my name on the map,” a delighted Chinhoi said. “This win will be life and game-changing for me. I was getting tired of being in my comfort zone, I wanted to go away and play at another level. I managed to lift my game and this week has changed everything.”

While Chinhoi was superb off the tee on Sunday, he putted with computer-like accuracy under the pressure of the final round and a large crowd of contenders.

Young Ryan van Velzen birdied the 18^th hole to finish with the clubhouse lead on 16-under and then faced an anxious wait, but Chinhoi and Schietekat did not drop any further strokes, leaving the 21-year-old alone in third place.

Stefan Wears-Taylor was also in contention but then bogeyed the last to post a 69 that left him on 15-under, a score matched by Sean Bradley, who had reached 16-under by the 10^th hole, but then had seven straight pars and a bogey to finish.

Rupert Kaminski (65) and Trevor Fisher Jnr (66) were the other golfers to share fourth place on 15-under-par.

LUSAKA, Zambia – Sunshine Tour rookie David Wicks fired a bogey-free five-under-par 67 on Saturday for a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Zanaco Masters at Lusaka Golf Club, but even though a victory would make a world of difference for the Englishman’s career, he said winning is not that important for him on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Wicks previously competed on the EuroPro Tour, but last year decided to give up his professional career, before his management agency suggested he try the Sunshine Tour. Coming to Southern Africa has been a game-changer for Wicks, as he finished sixth in Q-School and then enjoyed his best performance as a professional in finishing in a tie for 15^thin the season-opening FBC Zimbabwe Open a fortnight ago.

A congested leaderboard now stands between him and a remarkable maiden victory, with at least a dozen golfers in with a shout for the title. While Wicks is on 15-under-par, Sean Bradley (-14), Robson Chinhoi (-13) and Stefan Wears-Taylor (-12) are leading the chasing pack.

Gerhard Trytsman and the in-form Neil Schietekat are on 11-under, while six golfers are on 10-under, including seasoned champion Hennie Otto and previous Tour winners in Jake Redman, Ryan van Velzen and Martin Rohwer.

“I’m not sure how I’m going to handle the nerves and emotions in the final round, but I am in a really happy spot at the moment and a happy golfer is tough to beat,” Wicks said.

“It doesn’t matter if I win or lose, as long as I stick to my process and keep smiling. If I do that, then it doesn’t matter to me if I win the tournament of not. I will still look back on the week as a success, because I’m confident that if I stick to my process then it will yield a win at some stage.

“It’s about building a foundation and winning for me is really irrelevant, it’s about sticking to my process, having fun, enjoying what I’m doing. And then I will add up my score at the end and see where I stand,” Wicks said.

While the likes of Bradley, who followed up his 64 in the second round with a 69 on Saturday that included two eagles and four birdies, Chinhoi (70, four birdies) and Wears-Taylor (71, five birdies) produced some scintillating play, Wicks showed there is sometimes no replacement for good, old-fashioned error-free golf.

“Going bogey-free was very important for me, both mentally and for my score. When other people are making lots of birdies and eagles, dropping even one shot can feel like a double-bogey,” Wicks said.

“Fortunately I did not make any silly mistakes to drop back, while amidst all the birdies on the rest of the leaderboard there were lots of bogeys and doubles too.

“My plan was to first and foremost make par and then go for birdie,” Wicks said.

It sounds like the sort of plan which could yield a life-changing victory on Sunday.

LUSAKA, Zambia – Stefan Wears-Taylor now really feels he belongs as one of the main contenders on the Sunshine Tour after his 2022/23 campaign, his fourth season in the professional ranks, was his most successful yet, so it was fitting that he says his mindset was his strongest attribute as he soared to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Zanaco Masters at the Lusaka Golf Club on Friday.

Wears-Taylor backed up his 67 on the first day with a fantastic six-under-par 66 on Friday, which lifted him to 11-under-par at the midway point of the tournament. The Centurion Country Club representative collected eight birdies in all, four of them in a row from the 15^th hole as he ended his opening nine in spectacular fashion.

He is not alone on 11-under-par, however, with Sean Bradley and Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi sharing the lead with him.

Bradley managed to fit in seven birdies and an eagle in his superb 64, while Chinhoi collected four birdies on the front nine in his 67.

Wears-Taylor finished 24^th on the order of merit last season and claimed his first Sunshine Tour title in the MediClinic Invitational on his home course in March. He then made a solid start to the new season by finishing 17^th in the FBC Zimbabwe Open. Friday’s round at a sunny Lusaka Golf Club was a continuation of that form.

“My attitude on the first two days is what I’m most proud of. I started the first round with a few errant shots to the left, which is unusual for me,” Wears-Taylor explained. “But I’ve just stayed patient and enjoyed my day out on the course, enjoying where I’m walking and there are some huge trees here which are fascinating.

“I’ve just been staying positive because this golf course is going to bite you if you make mistakes. I started on the 10^th and I had a productive morning, slowly building momentum until I had the wind in my sails and then some putts fell in the last few holes and I hit a very nice Sand-Wedge to three feet on the 17^th.

“Things slowed down a little after the turn, unfortunately I made some soft mistakes, but that will happen on this tough course. There are tight tee shots on both nines and visually, you have overhanging trees which makes it complicated for the eye. And it’s definitely simpler hitting from the fairways because the greens are tough with firm bounces if you don’t get spin.

“But I’ve built up experience over the last couple of years. It takes time to find your feet on tour, especially because I didn’t have any real amateur background.

“It’s taken time to get to where I am, but I am seeing steady growth and learning more about myself both as a player and a person. I’m really enjoying the journey and hopefully it leads to a long and fruitful career,” Wears-Taylor said.

Chinhoi said his ball-striking and approaches to the greens were his strong points on Friday.

“It was a good day for me, I’m so happy with how I am striking the ball and my control on the greens. The trick though is off the tee, I used Driver on most holes and I was just trying to be more aggressive.

“I am so grateful to see my name at the top of the leaderboard and I will keep to the same strategy and just try to keep it rolling. It shows that I am just as good as everyone here and I will just keep focusing and pressing,” Chinhoi said.

First-round leaders Neil Schietekat and David Wicks are still strongly placed just one shot off the leaders after they both shot three-under 69s on Friday, and Trevor Fisher Jnr (67) and Malcolm Mitchell (65) are a stroke further back.