Category: Homepage News

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

26th July 2024

Ahlers claims his 12th Sunshine Tour title at SunBet Challenge Wild Coast

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – Jaco Ahlers showed the experience of a mature golfer and the determination that comes from plenty of hard work as he withstood the threat of the on-fire duo of Shaun Norris and Brandon Stone to claim a one-stroke victory in the SunBet Challenge hosted by the Wild Coast Sun on Friday.

The 42-year-old held a four-stroke lead going into the final round, but with the weather having turned favourable after two days of strong wind, Norris and Stone launched a ferocious charge for the top of the leaderboard.

Norris, who has won 13 times around the world, produced a tremendous round after an early bogey on the par-four second hole. Thereafter the 2021/22 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy winner reeled off three birdies and an eagle on the front nine, and collected another six birdies on the back nine. Norris played the stretch of holes from the seventh to the 12th in six-under-par, and he needed a birdie at the last to shoot 59.

Norris could only make par on the par-four last hole, leaving him with a 60 for 11-under-par overall.

Stone, meanwhile, produced a superb, bogey-free seven-under-par 63 to finish on 12-under for the tournament, just failing to add to his five professional titles.

When Ahlers double-bogeyed the par-four ninth and then dropped another shot on the par-three 13th, he slipped to 11-under, tied with Norris and with Stone charging. But the now 12-time winner overcame a tough day for him by knuckling down when it really mattered and birdied the par-four 15th and then the par-five 16th, before finishing with two pars.

“I made it tough for myself. Conditions were good but it was a fighting day for me, full of poor ball-striking,” Ahlers said after his second professional win at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club. “But I just had to keep going. I felt it was my tournament the whole day, that kept me going and I didn’t think of losing.

“My experience definitely helped and counted for a lot in the end. It was a bad golfing day, but I always thought the tournament was mine to lose.”

Having seen what Norris had done when he teed off on the 10th, Ahlers then saw Stone’s score on the 15th. He responded with a drive that left him with an ideal number to hit a sand-wedge at the flag, hit it close and then holed the putt.

On 16 he hit an even better tee-shot, describing it as the most crucial shot of his round, leaving him with an easy iron into the green and a birdie.

While Ahlers’ two-putt for par and victory on the 18th may have looked devoid of drama, he said he still felt like he had a mountain to climb on the last hole.

“There’s always drama on 18! But I hit a good shot and then hit a wedge away from the flag, for a reasonable two-putt for par. It may have looked drama-less, but there’s always those thoughts in your head,” Ahlers said.

But the Centurion resident silenced those negative thoughts in impressive fashion, signing for a final-round 69 for 13-under-par.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

25th July 2024

Windy conditions no problem for ‘Lucky’ Ahlers at SunBet Challenge Wild Coast

PORT EDWARD – Jaco Ahlers backed up his opening-day 64 with another six-under-par score on Thursday in the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Wild Coast Sun, once again conquering the blustery conditions with barely a hiccup as he stretched his advantage at the top of the leaderboard.

Ahlers only dropped a single shot on Thursday, at the par-three 17th, but he collected five birdies and an eagle on the par-five 16th in his second-round 64 that took him to 12-under-par, four ahead of Keegan McLachlan going into the final round on Friday.

Ahlers started his round on the 10th on Thursday and was cruising from the outset with two birdies in the first three holes. He again did the bulk of his scoring on the back nine, going out in 31, and his bogey-free front nine featured birdies on the two par-fives – the third and the seventh holes.

“I’m pretty chuffed because it was a bit windy today. The greens on the back nine are a bit better, less bumpy, so I was able to roll the ball better and make more putts there,” Ahlers said.

“I missed a few putts coming in, I was a bit cautious on the greens and left a few short. But overall I didn’t miss many greens today and that’s the key at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, to give yourself opportunities. I will just keep doing what I’m doing: hit the greens and hopefully make a few putts. I play the course as it is because I’m not the longest hitter and I can’t overpower it,” Ahlers said.

The 11-time winner on the Sunshine Tour enjoyed a bit of fortune for his eagle on the 16th. Having tugged his tee-shot a bit on the 492m par-five, it rode the wind and lay in the semi-rough.

“I got a bit lucky,” Ahlers admitted. “That hole was downwind today and I only had 110 to the flag, I hit it to 10 feet and made the putt. Which I was very pleased about because everyone is going to score on that hole today.”

Trevor Mahoney, who shot 65 in the first round to be second, one stroke behind Ahlers, saw his hopes die an ugly death on the par-five 12th as he posted a 10, on his way to a 78 and missing the cut by just one stroke.

McLachlan is now second after shooting a 66, also with just one bogey, on Thursday. Gerhard Pepler is one stroke further back after a never-say-die 66, in which he bounced back from a double-bogey on the 12th by collecting birdies on the 14th, 15th and 18th holes.

Brandon Stone is in fourth place, seven strokes behind Ahlers after a second-round 67, but the leader will be anxious about Stone’s ability to go really low in the final round of events.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

24th July 2024

Hot putter carries Ahlers to lead in SunBet Challenge Wild Coast

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – Jaco Ahlers took full advantage of a hot putter on the back nine and soared to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Wild Coast Sun with a round of six-under-par 64.

Ahlers came home in a tremendous 30 strokes, making five birdies on the back nine. He leads Trevor Mahoney, who came home in 31 shots to post a 65, by one stroke, with Keegan McLachlan a shot further back after a 66 that included an eagle-two on the short, 315 metre par-four second hole.

The 41-year-old Ahlers has been playing solidly recently, but has not been getting the reward on the greens. His last four finishes have been ties for 13th, fifth, 23rd and 10th.

“I finally made some putts today. The putter was the catalyst for my 64. Not so much on the front nine, where I had 16 putts, including sinking one from off the green for birdie on the fifth. But on the back nine I had just 12 putts, so I capitalised on some pretty good golf and sank nice putts on the 13th and 17th holes,” Ahlers said.

“I played two weeks ago in Morocco on the Asian Tour, and the putter was very cold, that probably cost me the win. But I’ve been playing decent golf lately and in the last few months my acceptance of things on the course has been a bit better.

“That’s a big thing at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club where conditions are always different one day to the other. The greens can be bumpy and there are normally strong winds, you just have to not get too agitated. The wind was up today but it was just experience, having played here and done well many times before, that allowed me to manage it well,” said Ahlers, who won the 2016 Wild Coast Sun Challenge and lost in a playoff in the 2014 Vodacom Origins Wild Coast event.

Mahoney, a former South African amateur star, was level-par after eight holes, but then collected back-to-back birdies on the ninth and 10th holes. He was then able to further massage his score with a strong finish, picking up further strokes on the 15th, 16th and 18thholes.

McLachlan, from Silver Lakes Country Club, started his round on the 10th and went out in level-par. But the 25-year-old was excellent on the front nine, birdieing the first and fourth holes to add to his eagle on the second.

Jacques P. de Villiers, Gerhard Pepler, Pieter Moolman, Jaco van Zyl, Matthew Spacey and Leon Vorster were all tied in fourth place after shooting three-under-par 67s.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

20th July 2024

Burmester leads SA challenge at Open

Joburg Open champion Dean Burmester heads into the weekend of The Open just five shots off the lead and chasing the first Major victory of his career.

Burmester, who qualified for The Open by winning the Joburg Open at Houghton Golf Club last year, posted rounds of 71 and 69 at Royal Troon to finish 36 holes at two under par overall. Irishman Shane Lowry leads the field on seven under par.

Burmester is the leading South African going into the weekend.

Thriston Lawrence, winner of the Joburg Open in 2021, and Darren Fichardt, the 2017 Joburg Open champion who finished runner-up last year, also made the cut on three over par and six over par respectively.

Burmester was delighted with his second round performance in difficult conditions. “I’m enjoying it, and it was obviously a super special round of golf for me. I like the way I’m hitting certain golf shots. There’s some things obviously I could do better. But I’m taking it one day at a time and see what happens. I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m going to relish where I am. I’m going enjoy being part of this amazing event. It’s just super cool. I’ve won on tough golf courses before, and this is no different.”

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

15th July 2024

Els is a Major winner again!

Ernie Els is already a winner of 19 PGA Tour titles, including two US Opens and two Open Championships, is enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and has inspired countless young golfers from his homeland of South Africa through the years.

There was something missing among his many achievements, though, and he readily recognized it. Els, who turns 55 in October, had never won a Major championship among the over-50 set.

“I’m trying to put all the pieces together.”

That day arrived on Sunday at the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club’s South Course in Akron, Ohio. Els countered a regrettable bogey at the par-five 16th hole with two strong closing pars, and his reward was his first Major championship as a senior. Els shot a two-under 68 on Sunday to finish at 10-under 270, edging YE Yang by a shot.

The victory was Els’ sixth on PGA Tour Champions, made Els the first player to get to three victories this season, and catapulted him to No. 1 in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup standings. Winning the Kaulig Companies title, formerly the Senior Players, also puts Els in the field next March for his 25th career appearance in The Players at TPC Sawgrass.

“This has been a long time coming on this golf course,” Els said at Firestone. “Thirty-two years ago I started playing here … but I never got to win here. So this was really great.”

Els was testing shafts earlier in the week in preparation for next week’s 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland, and he came upon a nice discovery. He shifted the ball a little further back in his stance, and as a result his contact was good throughout the bag all week. Sunday, it was the putter that came through big at pivotal moments. There was a 10-foot save for par at 12, just after a bogey at 10; then, at the par-four 14th, where 54-hole leader Steve Stricker stumbled to a triple bogey, Els poured in a 30-foot curler for birdie to regain his lead.

At the par-four 17th, where Els’ tee shot found a left-side fairway bunker, Els made a brilliant lag putt from the very back of the green to within inches of the cup for an easy par.

Yang, meanwhile, kept on charging with the best round of the day. The winner of the 2009 PGA Championship, where he took down Tiger Woods at Hazeltine, shot four-under 66 despite missing two short putts in his final seven holes. He missed from inside three feet for par at the par-three 12th and from two feet after a great approach at 17 seemed to have set up a tournament-tying birdie.

Yang finished alone in second. Jerry Kelly, a two-time champion at Firestone, overcame a sluggish Sunday start to shoot 69 and finish alone in third at 273, one shot better than KJ Choi (70) and Stricker (73). Stricker, 57, a six-time winner in 2023, started the day leading by one and stretched the lead to two, but he fell out of the tournament with his bogey at 13 and triple bogey at 14. He continues to seek his first victory of 2024, though here’s something for perspective: In 10 starts this season, only once has Stricker finished worse than eighth.

For Els, he now can enjoy the relief that accompanies landing his first senior Major. It mostly was made possible by his 64 at Firestone on Saturday, a round that matched his best effort of the season and was fueled by an eagle two at No. 17, where he dunked an approach from back in the fairway. He started Sunday a shot behind Stricker. It wasn’t as if Els was not giving himself chances in the bigger events; Sunday’s victory was his fourth finish of T8 or better at PGA Tour Champions Majors this season.

In fact, in 18 previous starts in senior Majors heading into the Kaulig Companies, Els had been T5 or better in half of them. At the 16th hole on Sunday, however, he appeared to make a major gaffe. Els had 222 yards to the hole at the water-guarded par five and, with a one-shot lead and pressing to make more birdies, he went for it. But his approach faded weakly right and short, splashing down in the penalty area. He dropped from 87 yards out, hit a poor wedge, and failed to convert the putt for par.

“It was my mistake – I made a bad swing,” Els said of his errant approach. “But as I look it now, I was trying to make birdie, because I saw that YE was at 10 (under). I was trying to really get ahead of him … but then it was kind of a nervy finish at the end.

“We got it done.”

With a little assistance, he did. Els finished the task with his quality two-putt par at 17, and then really stepped up at the finish. The 18th at Firestone’s South Course is a long, tree-lined par four of 464 yards that moves right-to-left. A true, old-school four. Els stood up and smashed a driver on a line that climbed over trees down the left side and faded back into the fairway. One more solid iron from 155 yards left him hole-high to a back hole location, and he made easy work of two putts for par from there, coaxing his first putt just inches short.

Now he is a senior major champion. Having proudly carried so many titles throughout his career, Els had waited a long time to carry that one, and it really might unlock something inside for a guy who, in his words, had yet to hit on all cylinders as a post-50 player.

“Well, I’ve just been watching Steve (Stricker) do it out here the last couple of years, he’s been the man,” Els said. “Him and Bernhard (Langer) and some of the other guys. I like to work at my game still. I’m trying to keep myself healthy where I can swing hard at the ball; it’s kind of fun still.

“It’s just trying to improve. As I say, I came here this week tinkering and then going through the basics of the golf swing and the fundamentals, and I found something. So, really fortunate.”

The difference? The truly good ones never stop searching. Els’ wife, Liezl, and their son, Ben, were there to celebrate the victory off the 18th green. That pretty much sums up Sunday in Akron, Ohio, for big Ernie Els – 19-time Tour winner, four-time Major champion, Presidents Cup player and captain, World Golf Hall of Fame member … and now, at long last, senior major winner. The new title was enough to put a smile on his face he will carry all the way to Royal Troon. – PGA Tour.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

15th June 2024

Viljoen chasing third Sunshine Tour title at Mopani Zambia Open

KITWE (Zambia) – MJ Viljoen may have wondered why his fortunes turned sour on the back nine, but the 29-year-old held his round together to take a one-stroke lead after the third and penultimate round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Saturday.

Viljoen was three-under-par for his round through eight holes on Saturday, but suffered four bogeys coming home. But he showed his mettle by birdieing the 16th and 17th holes to finish with a one-under-par 71 for nine-under-par overall.

Jacques P. de Villiers shot an excellent 68 on Saturday to move to eight-under-par, tied for second with Dayne Moore, who slipped back in the third round with a 74.

Conditions were more difficult on Saturday with the wind picking up around the woodlands course.

“The wind was up today and it kept me busy, especially on the back nine,” Viljoen said. “I almost turned three-under but I was unfortunate on nine. I hot two gorgeous shots but I unfortunately went three metres too far and the ball rolled down the back and from there it’s bogey all day.

“And then on 10 I just nicked a tree, which threw me into trouble. So I had two bad lies in a row and then I had a bad bounce long-right on 13. I just struggled to get momentum on the back nine. But otherwise I was going well and played some flawless golf.”

The Serengeti Estates golfer said positive things is what he will be focusing on going into the final round as he chases his third Sunshine Tour title and his first since September 2022 at the SunBet Challenge Wild Coast.

“I’m trying to look at all the good bounces I got rather than the bad ones and I won’t be changing anything in my game-plan. My mental coach, Shaun Landsberg, has been working with me on uysing bad thoughts to my advantage. Last week I had a breakthrough, I must just let go and let it happen. My focus is going to be on where my confidence is,” Viljoen said.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

14th June 2024

Moore gets memorable hole-in-one to lead Mopani Zambia Open

KITWE (Zambia) – First-round leader MJ Viljoen played another solid round of golf but home favourite Dayne Moore was too great an adversary in the second round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Friday as he shot a spectacular 64, that included a hole-in-one, to snatch top spot on the leaderboard.

Viljoen followed up his excellent 66 in the first round with a two-under 70 on Friday, but still surrendered a two-stroke lead to Moore, whose 64 was his best ever round on the Sunshine Tour.

The Zambian’s hole-in-one came on the par-three third hole, but Moore produced plenty of superb golf as he went bogey-free and collected six birdies as well.

“Three is such a tough hole and I was just trying to get on to the top level, to be honest,” Moore said. “It was 221 metres to the flag and down off the right, and I hit a high six-iron which just came off exactly how I wanted.

“But the scorer at the back of the green wasn’t looking, so there was no reaction. When I walked up to the green, I actually started looking over the green at first. It’s my third hole-in-one and I got one on the Big Easy Tour at Wingate two years ago.

“But apart from being lucky at the third, my putter worked really well, especially on quite a few clutch par putts. And I hit 15 greens in regulation. I’ve been seeing coach Neil Cheetham and he has completely changed my long game, he has helped me a lot. That’s where I was lacking, because my short game has always been something I could lean on,” Moore said.

Moore leapt up to 10-under-par going into the weekend, and Viljoen was also on that mark after 12 bogey-free holes on Friday that included an eagle on the par-five second. But the par-fours coming in proved his stumbling block as he dropped shots on the 13th, 14th and 16th holes, before birdieing the par-five 17th to finish on eight-under-par.

Kyle Barker also had an excellent second round, shooting a 68 to claim third spot on six-under-par.
Jacques P. de Villiers and Fredrik From both shot 70s to share fourth place on four-under-par, while Lyle Rowe completed the top six, notching a level-par 70 on Friday for three-under-par.

Jason Roets was sharing second place after the first round with Keegan Thomas, but tumbled down the leaderboard on Friday, having six bogeys in his 76 that saw him finish on level-par.
Thomas suffered even more, struggling to an 80 in the second round, which left him on four-over-par.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

13th June 2024

Viljoen flies high with albatross to lead Mopani Zambia Open

KITWE (Zambia) – A wonderful albatross at the par-five fourth hole lifted MJ Viljoen to a six-under-par 66 and the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Thursday.

Viljoen said his game-plan has generally been to hit three-woods off the tee, but the tee-box being moved up on the 484m fourth hole was why he decided to try his driver. And what a decision it was as he notched the first albatross of his career.

“I keep telling everyone it was just two perfect golf shots. There’s a little sluit in the way on the fourth, and I didn’t expect them to move the tee-box up. That gave me the idea to maybe try driver and I hit it over the sluit and into a perfect position. I had 187 metres to the flag and my six-iron only goes 180 and it was a touch into the wind. So I was never going to go too long and I could just swing as hard as I can.

“It came out just unreal and I saw it going straight for the hole. Jean Hugo and the guys on the next tee-box affirmed that it went in like a putt, if it had missed the hole it would have only been by two or three inches,” Viljoen said.

The tremendous round came at a time when the Serengeti-based Viljoen feels like he is getting back to being the golfer who soared to two Sunshine Tour wins and more than R4 million in prizemoney after joining the tour in 2015. But last season was a real struggle for him as he tried to juggle his commitments at home and playing on the Asian Tour and Challenge Tour; he finished 64th on the Order of Merit Delivered by the Courier Guy, the first time he was outside the top-30 since 2018/19.

He completed the season well, though, with top-20 finishes in the Stella Artois Players Championship and the Limpopo Championship. This season he has finished in ties for sixth, 14th and 34th in the three events so far.

“Last year was a struggle, but I have played good golf in the past so obviously I know what it takes. That kept me mentally alive, even though my head was all over the place playing on the Asian Tour, having some status on the Challenge Tour and trying to keep my card in South Africa. I also struggled with my equipment and made big changes at bad times.

“I was in a downward spiral but then I went back to my old equipment and my old coach, Hendrik Buhrmann. Shaun Landsberg looks after the mental side for me, telling me how the brain works and putting that puzzle together.

“So today was the way I know I can play and even though it’s just one round, it’s nice to get a pat on the shoulder from the game. I’m very happy with my round as a whole, I played very solid golf and I can’t see how I would not have a good score playing like that. It was pretty flawless,” the 29-year-old Viljoen said.

His divine moment on the fourth also separated him from the chasing pack, with Keegan Thomas and Jason Roets both shooting four-under 68s. Thomas was bogey-free around the 94-year-old, 6571m course, the only golfer to achieve that feat on Thursday.

Home favourite Madalitso Muthiya was in a tie for fourth on three-under-par after a 69 that included a seven on the par-five 17th. The Zambian is alongside Lyle Rowe and Heinrich Bruiners.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

12th June 2024

Sunshine Tour and Gauteng Provincial Government take golf to the people

The Sunshine Tour’s long-held ambition of making the game of golf accessible to all South Africans gained momentum this past week as the Tour, alongside the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) -Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation , held golf clinics in Ekurhuleni and  Tshwane this past weekend.

Different to other initiatives, this Sunshine Tour and GPG programme is aimed at retaining identified talents with the view of reintegrating them into the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) which was formed to ensure that the game of golf reached as many young South Africans as possible.

The first of these clinics, facilitated by the Balderstone Sports Institute (BSI), was held at Norkem Park High School in Kempton Park on Saturday while the second was held at Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports Complex in Laudium, Tshwane on Sunday. Over 80 children – boys and girls – from neighboring areas attended the clinics and they were introduced to the basics of golf under the watchful eyes of teachers from BSI.

“It’s the Tour’s ambition to get as many people involved in the game of golf as possible,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. “And our partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government provides us with the perfect platform to achieve this objective. As we all know that Gauteng is the home of champions and a perfect place to unearth more talent.

“We have partnered with BSI on this initiative because of their well-established knowledge base and experience in sports development. The aim is to find kids with real potential, put them through a 10-week programme and those who perform well will then be integrated into the SAGDB structure where their development will be facilitated and accelerated.”

Director of Competitive Sport within the Gauteng Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation department, Philasande Muvevi, echoed Abt’s comments, detailing her department’s vision in this regard.

“As a province, we want to produce more champions and this initiative gives us that opportunity. As you may know, many in our communities still view golf as an elitist sports only accessible to those who are wealthy. We are in the process of changing this perception and proving that golf is accessible to everyone.

“The kids we will select from these groups will continue their development in the 10-week programme we have designed and after that, we will see how far they go. The main thing here is to introduce these kids to the game of golf and see who among them has the potential and the love for the game.

“We are fortunate to have partners like the Sunshine Tour because through their connections with BSI, initiatives like these can have proper impact in the lives of these youngsters. The SAGDB is renowned for its track record in producing quality golfers and administrators and having a structure like that as part of this programme is an advantage because we know these kids will be part of a successful story of development in this country.”

The Balderstone Sports Institute, led by Michael Balderstone, has a rich history of producing fine athletes. Toto Thimba Jnr, a winner on the Sunshine Tour and member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, is one of the great talents the institution has produced over the years.

Balderstone expressed confidence in the initiative, saying his institution is excited to partner with the Sunshine Tour and the Gauteng Provincial Government in this programme.

“We are delighted to partner with the Sunshine Tour and the department of sports and recreation to bring golf to the people,” Balderstone said. “We have kids who have never played golf before and the excitement in the faces is beautiful to see. We will identify 10 kids here and take them through a programme and see what happens.

“Golf is meant to be enjoyed by everyone and we must applaud the Sunshine Tour and the department for doing the best to make sure golf is accessible. It’s a great sport to play and we are just glad to be part of this programme.”

The kids were taken through their paces; shown how to hold golf clubs properly, taught how to hit balls and given activities to help them with balance and basic ball skills. These, coupled with discipline and patience, are fundamental aspects of playing golf. The programme will be reviewed at the end of the 10-week programme to establish areas which must be improved to make the initiative even more impactful. The Sunshine Tour is Southern Africa’s leading golf Tour which has produced 27 major winners including Ernie Els and Louis Oosthuizen among others.

BACK TO ALL NEWS STORIES

SHARE ON: [addtoany buttons='facebook,twitter,email']
PRINT

7th June 2024

Blaauw wins first title in eight years at SunBet Challenge

SUN CITY – Jacques Blaauw made par at the first playoff hole to win the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City at the Gary Player Country Club on Friday, with the 38-year-old breaking an eight-year win drought and doing it at one of his favourite courses.

It all led to an emotional celebration by Blaauw as he admitted to being “like a madman, going crazy on the phone” with his wife and father shortly after the trophy presentation.

“It’s been a while since my last win – 2016 – but I’ve been playing very well the last two months and I was thinking the win was coming,” Blaauw said, following up his four rounds in the sixties to finish third in the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am a fortnight ago with rounds of 71-71-69 for five-under-par at Gary Player Country Club.

“And I played really well today, besides my finish in regulation play when I bogeyed the 15th and 18th holes. But the wind made conditions really tough today and those last holes were playing difficult.

“I’ve been putting very well recently and my approach play today was much closer than I’m used to, which gave me more chances for birdies. A lot of hard work has gone into this, especially with my driving, which I’ve struggled with lately. But I worked on it yesterday and changed my settings.

“This game keeps you humble, there are more ups and downs. It’s funny, but what I consider to be my first professional win came at the Gary Player Country Club, one of the best courses in the country, when I won the Klipdrift Touring Pro-Am back in 2010/11. I’ve waited so long now for this win, so I was like a madman, going crazy on the phone when I spoke to my wife and dad,” Blaauw said.

Blaauw’s two late bogeys left him tied with Tristin Galant, Yurav Premlall and Jonathan Broomhead as that trio finished their rounds.

Premlall and Broomhead both made bogeys at the last hole, but Galant made an excellent par to force the playoff.

Blaauw and Galant then made their way to the par-five ninth, with both laying up. After their approach shots to the green, it was advantage Galant as he was nine feet from the hole after a fantastic shot, with Blaauw hitting a poor shot, by his own admission, to be 35 feet from the flag.

But Blaauw still attacked the birdie putt, hitting it five feet past but showing his composure and previous winning experience by making the par putt coming back. Galant missed his birdie putt and then unfortunately missed a three-footer for par.

Blaauw had been superb for most of his final round, making birdie on the first two holes and then adding an eagle on the par-five 10th and a birdie on the par-three 12th.

Two superb hits on the 505m 10th with a Driver and a four-iron set Blaauw up with a nine-foot eagle putt, and he was even more delighted with his four-iron into the 18th. Even though he ended up making bogey, the Els Club Copperleaf golfer said “it’s one of the best shots of my career and was crucial to my win”.

Galant shot a 70 on the final day and also suffered late blows with bogeys on the par-five 14th and par-four 17th.

Premlall made his fifth birdie of the round on the par-three 12th to hit eight-under-par, but he then double-bogeyed the par-four 13th and had two more drops coming in.
Broomhead was on six-under-par overall through 10 holes, but then made two bogeys coming in to sign for a level-par 72.

Overnight leader Werner Deyzel suffered a number of body blows on the brutal course, finishing with a seven-over 79 which included a triple-bogey on the 14th.