Category: Homepage News

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – The second round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast event saw much movement on the leaderboard but no change at the top as defending champion Pieter Moolman, drawing on all his happy memories of the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, backed up his 63 on the first day with a 66 on Saturday to extend his lead.

Moolman will go into the final round with a three-stroke lead over Ruan Korb, having weathered a testing back nine into the wind, after collecting four birdies on the front nine.

The 33-year-old Moolman shot a 62 in his last tournament at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, his fantastic final-round effort lifting him to tied-fifth in the SunBet Challenge event here in July. And last year Moolman shot a 64 in the final round to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf event here in a playoff, while he was also the runner-up in the 2022 SunBet Challenge tournament on the Wild Coast.

The Benoni Lake golfer backed up his tremendous front nine as he was able to make eagle on the 441m par-five 12^th.

“I had a lucky break on 12 because I didn’t hit a great tee-shot but I got a good bounce out of the car park. I then hit a lob-wedge to three feet,” a restrained Moolman said. “We always play golf to win and to pull it through tomorrow would make me really happy. But I will have to stick to the same game-plan tomorrow, just me playing the golf course the best I can.

“Obviously I’m happy with the position I’m in, especially since the wind was tougher today and it was more different. But Jacques Blaauw also shot 66 in our three-ball today and it helped to be able to feed off his momentum. I just tried to keep giving myself chances,” Moolman said.

Moolman did slip up after his eagle on the 12^th with bogeys at the next two holes, when he misjudged the switching wind, but the hour’s golf that followed was practically faultless, apart from a couple of missed birdie opportunities.

Silver Lakes Country Club golfer Korb also struggled on the back nine, copying Moolman with an eagle on 12 but also dropping two shots. Korb also had a wonderful front nine though, going out in 31, as he also posted a 66 to finish on eight-under-par, three behind Moolman.

Five golfers were tied for third on seven-under-par – Craig Ross (68), Ruan de Smidt (67), Keelan van Wyk (67), Fredrik From (67) and Luke Brown (67).

Ricky Hendler, who was second just one stroke behind Moolman after the first round, could only shoot level-par 70 on Saturday and slipped into the tie for eighth place on six-under-par, five strokes behind Moolman, with Jaco van Zyl (67), Samuel Simpson (65), Jean-Paul Strydom (67) and Ruan Conradie (67).

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – Defending champion Pieter Moolman continued his phenomenal hot streak at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club on Friday, shooting an excellent seven-under-par 63 to claim the lead after the first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast event.

Moolman leads by one stroke over Ricky Hendler, with the Benoni golfer overcoming a slow start after beginning his round on the 10^th, being one-over after six holes. But Moolman then birdied 16, 17 and 18, before a remarkable front nine in which he collected five birdies – at the second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth holes.

The 33-year-old Moolman shot a 62 in his last tournament at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, his fantastic final-round effort lifting him to tied-fifth in the SunBet Challenge event here in July. And last year Moolman shot a 64 in the final round to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf event in a playoff, while he was also the runner-up in the 2022 SunBet Challenge tournament held here.

“I can’t exactly explain it, but I’m just happy here,” Moolman said. “It feels like home. I really enjoy the layout and I just seem to know what to hit on whatever hole and whatever the wind. I just think I’m comfortable here no matter which way the wind blows, and you always play a little better when you like being somewhere.

“I hit some good shots coming in on my front nine after I started a bit slow. Starting on the 10^th was a bit tough because we were into the wind and it was blowing hard. I didn’t play badly, but I just missed a couple of up-and-downs on 11 [bogey 4] and 12 [par 5].

“I just tried to keep giving myself opportunities and this course is really about whoever makes the putts, and that was a bonus today. I was then really steady on my back nine, my tee-shots weren’t bad and I hit some good irons. It’s all about giving yourself the best chance when you are out of position, it’s more about where you miss than hitting perfect golf shots. On the weekend, I will just keep doing what I always do around here,” Moolman said.

A trio of golfers who also live far away from the coast also excelled on Friday, as did an overseas golfer.

Hendler, from Dainfern in Johannesburg, posted a 64, his lowest ever score on the Sunshine Tour. He also started on the 10^th but was out of the blocks straight away with birdies on his first two holes. In a wonderful round of bogey-free golf, Hendler collected further birdies on the 16^th, 18^th, first and ninth holes.

Veteran Trevor Fisher Jnr from Modderfontein had bogeys on the par-four second and par-five 12^th holes, but gathered five birdies and an eagle on the 492m par-five 16^th, to post a 65 and finish in the tie for third.

Gerhard Pepler of Mogol Golf Club in Limpopo dropped just one shot, on the 168m par-three 13^th, but also eagled 16 and made four other birdies to also shoot 65.

The other golfer to shoot 65 was Scotsman Craig Ross, who was also bogey-free.

Brittney-Fay Berger was the leading women’s golfer with a 71.

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – The Vodacom Origins of Golf Series is at Wild Coast Sun Country Club this week, a perilously rugged course, and young contender Jonathan Broomhead says it is important for him to bring his best game for the challenge.

Fortunately Broomhead is in good form, having ended in the top-10 last week, further up the east coast at the SunBet Challenge Sun Sibaya event, and the 23-year-old has had five other top-10 finishes this season, including being the runner-up at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Highland Gate tournament. He is currently seventh on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, the same position he finished last season, speaking to the consistency the Durban Country Club player is producing.

“At the Wild Coast, you always hope that you’re going to be on the better side of the weather, because it can get really nasty around here. You can’t come here with expectations, you just have to try and play your game. When the wind blows, you can only focus more on what you can control, play according to your game-plan, make sure you stick to that,” Broomhead said.

“You have to make sure your golf is where it needs to be when you come here because it is a very tough course. You need to manage yourself and play the course as it is. You have to stay patient because you can get bad bounces every now and then; you can quickly be two or three over and scrambling. But if you make a putt or two, then you can ride that momentum.

“Last week was nice for me; I struggled a bit for the first two rounds but then had a good third round of 67. My game is heading in the right direction, it’s in a nice place, but there are still a few things to improve on. I just need to take every opportunity and try and keep going with that momentum,” Broomhead said.

Broomhead’s mature approach and comfort in the wind mark him out as one of the main threats in this R2 million event, which is the third leg of the series and the last before the final at Oubaai from November 14-17.

Veteran Jean Hugo was the runner-up in the SunBet Challenge event held here last season and pipped Broomhead to the Vodacom Origins of Golf title at Highland Gate, while the seasoned MJ Viljoen is fifth on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

The experienced Heinrich Bruiners, a member of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class, is also in great form, having finished fifth in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen event last month and fourth last week at Umhlali Country Club, while Pieter Moolman is the defending champion and has a couple of other recent top-five finishes at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club.

ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – Before this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Robin Williams’ best memory of the famed 18^th hole of the Old Course was the amount of times he’d played it on PlayStation. But on Sunday he turned a dream into reality when he birdied the hole to finish tied fourth on debut in this prestigious DP World Tour event.

The 23-year-old South African and young Sunshine Tour star ended a dream week with a 66 on the Old Course for a total of 19 under par. England’s Tyrrell Hatton won the title by a shot on 24 under par, becoming the first player in history to win it three times.

Williams finished as the leading South African in a star-studded field of Major winners, and was overwhelmed by his performance.

“As we walked up 18, my caddie said to me, ‘Just enjoy this moment and soak it in. You’ve played this hole so many times on PlayStation, so just enjoy it and soak it in’. And I did that. And then they introduced us as we walked up. It hasn’t sunk in enough yet. It’s a dream come true. My main goal this week was just to make the cut and enjoy the week, but I managed to play some good golf. I’m just trying to soak it all in,” he said.

It’s certainly been a breakthrough week for the Sunshine Tour golfer who was the Tour’s Fortress Rookie of the Year in the 2023/24 season, and whose second place on the Sunshine Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy that season earned him a DP World Tour card for this season.

“It means everything in terms of my confidence. At the start of this year I was at a really low point with my game and kind of questioning a lot of things. To be able to turn it around and be in this situation competing against the big names on such a big stage, it’s mind blowing. I would never have believed it at the start of the year.

“It’s more just seeing my name alongside some of the biggest names in golf. This is such a strong field so to be able to perform the way I did against these guys means the world to me.” – Michael Vlismas

ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – History beckons for England’s Tyrrell Hatton as he seeks to become the first golfer to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship three times after equalling the course record on the Old Course with a 61 to lead by one shot on Saturday.

Hatton took advantage of a beautiful day on one of golf’s most venerated courses and signed for a magnificent round of 11 under par to lead the field on 22 under overall. Darren Fichardt remains the leading South African on 15 under par following a 70 at Carnoustie.

Of the other South Africans in the field, Robin Williams and former champion Branden Grace came through the third round on 13 under par, while Dean Burmester finished the day at 11 under overall.

It was a magnificent day of incredible scoring, with Hatton leading the way with his nine birdies and an eagle for what was also his lowest competitive round as a professional.

“I just tried to make as many birdies as I could. I’ve shot 10 under on this course before so I really wanted to birdie the last and was trying harder than I normally would. It was a cool day. It’s really exciting. I know I’m capable of winning around here. This course has been pretty good to me. It’s a special place to play golf. There probably isn’t another course in the world where I play so well,” said Hatton, who won here in 2016 and 2017 and who also leads the team competition this week with his father, Jeff.

His nearest challenger is Nicolas Colsaerts on 21 under par, with the Belgian creating some drama of his own with an albatross on the 16^th at Kingsbarns on his way to a 65.

A Saturday of remarkable scoring also included a 61 from Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen at Kingsbarns – the second on this course this week –  to see him finish on 17 under par.

And Rory McIlroy threw in a 29 on the front nine of the Old Course on his way to a 68 and a total of 10 under par. – Michael Vlismas

ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – South African golf is poised for a big weekend at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with three players within the top 20 chasing glory, and two of whom are amongst the Sunshine Tour’s brightest young stars.

Darren Fichardt maintained his challenge in this prestigious championship, following up his opening 61 with a 70 on the Old Course on Friday to place him on 13 under par overall. He is one shot behind the leaders, Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium and Australia’s Cameron John.

But behind the 49-year-old Fichardt, the next generation of South African golf is also making its presence felt with 23-year-old Robin Williams just two shots off the lead and 21-year-old Yurav Premlall only four shots behind.

Williams, making his debut in this event, signed for a 66 on the Old Course on Friday to climb to 12 under par overall, while Premlall, playing in only his second Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, posted a 68 on the Old Course for a total of 10 under par.

“If you had told me at the start of this year that I’d be in this position now I’d have never believed you,” said a delighted Williams.

“To shoot a 66 at The Home of Golf is so special. I think I’ve only shot that score on PlayStation. This is such a big tournament with so many big names, and to put myself in a position with them is definitely a pinch me moment. Hopefully I can give myself a shot for Sunday.”

Premall was equally delighted with his progress so shortly after breaking through with his maiden victory on the Sunshine Tour in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen.

“I’ve put myself in a good position. I’m just feeling very comfortable with my golf game and it’s a nice frame of mind to be in. It’s also always nice seeing fellow South Africans near the top of the leaderboard and hopefully it’s one of us that lifts the trophy on Sunday.”

With five DP World Tour victories to his name, Fichardt is the experienced campaigner of the three and is hoping to make his own memories come Sunday on an Old Course that is extremely special to him.

“It’s always special playing the Old Course. I played my first Major here in 2000 when Tiger Woods won, and hearing my name echo out on the first tee was daunting. I’ve never played such a tight fairway in my life as when they called my name. But walking up the 18^th here you always think of all the past champions in the Majors and even in this event. It’s very special. I’m excited for the weekend,” Fichardt said.

It’s a tantalising weekend indeed with the three Sunshine Tour professionals perfectly poised, and even 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Branden Grace at nine under par.

“It shows the product that the Sunshine Tour produces every year and how well it works. Everybody involved there is doing the job needed to get players from the Sunshine Tour all the way to compete with the big guns on a stage like this,” said Williams. – Michael Vlismas

BALLITO (KwaZulu-Natal) –  Normally this season when Danie van Tonder has put pressure on the leader in the final round, things have headed south for the frontrunner, but on Friday, Luke Jerling held his nerve to claim his maiden Sunshine Tour title as he won the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun Sibaya at Umhlali Country Club.

Jerling fired a fantastic three-under-par 68 on Friday to finish on 13-under-par, beating Van Tonder, who closed with a 70, by four strokes in the end. But their gripping duel was much more closely fought than the final winning margin suggests, with Van Tonder, who began the day two behind, drawing level on the 13^th hole.

“It feels unbelievable to have finally won. There were times when I never thought this day would come and you wonder if you can get over the line,” a delighted Jerling said. “I haven’t been in this position for a while and going toe-to-toe with Danie was something I really enjoyed for the whole day.

“And the contest was a lot closer than four strokes, there were momentum swings all through the day. From the get-go, Danie came out firing, driving through a narrow gap and over the bunkers on the first hole. But I stuck to my game-plan, putted nicely on the tough greens and my iron play was solid. I was not overly aggressive.

“I really enjoyed being in contention with Danie. The other times I’ve been in contention, I didn’t really enjoy the moment, it was more a feeling of not wanting to mess up. So that’s testament to the work I’ve been doing with my coach Neil Cheetham. My swing really held up under the gun today and it felt like my day, momentum just seemed to be on my side,” Jerling said.

It was a tricky day out on the sub-tropical south-east African coast, with a strong wind blowing. That wind helped Jerling on the hole which he believed was the most critical to his triumph – the par-four 14^th.

“I made a really good birdie on 12 to go two ahead. But then on 13 the wind took my ball left into the trees. I chipped out sideways and then I thought I hit a good third, but the wind didn’t hit it and I was left with a tricky chip. I made bogey and Danie made birdie so that was another two-shot swing.

“But in retrospect it was actually good that Danie teed off first on 14 because he hit a really good shot and I had no choice but to be aggressive. It was playing 259m to the front edge and it was straight downwind. But three-wood was too much and I was worried that two-iron wouldn’t cover the water or the bunkers. In the end I threaded a two-iron between the bunkers, it was probably my shot of the day, leaving me with a 12-foot eagle putt, which I made.”

Jerling was suddenly three shots ahead when Van Tonder, who missed some crucial shortish putts in the final round, bogeyed the par-four 15^th. The Royal Johannesburg and Kensington golfer then parred his way in while Van Tonder, still pushing hard, bogeyed the last two holes.

Pieter Moolman, who has done well on this stretch of coastline before, finished third on eight-under-par, five strokes behind Jerling, after a 70 on Friday, while Heinrich Bruiners (69) had to share fourth place on seven-under with amateur Astin Arthur, who completed his outstanding week with a 71.

ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – South Africa’s Darren Fichardt impressed some of the biggest names in world golf as he opened with an 11-under-par 61 to lead Thursday’s first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Fichardt finished the day with a one-shot lead over Australian Cameron John following a round at Kingsbarns that was one shot off the course record held by fellow South African Branden Grace. In the 2012 edition of this DP World Tour event, Grace opened with a 60 at Kingsbarns and went on to win the tournament.

“Let’s hope we can carry that South African flag high and continue what Branden did,” said Fichardt, who leads one of the strongest fields assembled for this tournament.

Jon Rahm started his tournament with a 65 at Carnoustie, while Tommy Fleetwood signed for a 68 on the same course. Carnoustie was also where Rory McIlroy opened with a 69, Billy Horschel shot a 70, and Brooks Koepka signed for a 71. Patrick Reed posted a 70 on the Old Course.

“It was crazy,” Fichardt said of his round. “If I was on the green it was either going in or just missing. My putter was obviously really hot today, and my driver was exceptional. I was never really in trouble. I didn’t try and attack today. I didn’t take on any flags. I played to the open sides, and I was just making those putts. I’ve shot rounds in the low 60s before, but there’s nothing like shooting 61 in the Dunhill Links.”

Fichardt said he felt like his game was heading in the right direction coming into this tournament.

“I’ve come off a really frustrating year and been working really hard. The last couple of weeks I could feel certain things were clicking, but you never quite know. Then today, the weather was amazing at the start and I think we were second out. I had a good warm-up, but you can never get too excited. On my first hole I made a long putt for birdie and thought, ‘Ok, here we go’. Then I three-putted the next hole and thought, ‘Oh jeez’. But then I made a good putt for eagle on the 12^th hole – my third – and I just kept it going from there. I started making a few putts, feeling the flow, and before I knew it I was 11 under.”

He remained at 11 under with two holes to play, including the par-five ninth as his finishing hole, and looked well on track to match the course record.

“I felt good, and then I just read the wind wrong on my second last hole and three-putted there. I thought I could make eagle on the last and I hit a great second shot but it just caught the bank and came back. But I was happy with birdie.”

Robin Williams and Yurav Premlall are the next best South Africans in the field following their rounds of six-under 66 at Kingsbarns. Branden Grace opened with a 67 on the Old Course, while Rupert Kaminski, Thriston Lawrence, Olive Bekker, MJ Daffue, and Kyle Barker all started their tournaments with rounds of four under par. – Michael Vlismas

BALLITO (KwaZulu-Natal) – Luke Jerling rates Umhlali Country Club as being one of his favourite courses and he continued to show how comfortable he is on the 5943m Peter Matkovich design as he fired a second consecutive 66 on Thursday to claim a two-shot lead after the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun Sibaya.

The 32-year-old Jerling had eight birdies but three bogeys on the first day, but he played much more controlled golf on Thursday, dropping just the one shot, on the tough par-four 15^th hole. A hot putter allowed him to collect six birdies as he goes into Saturday’s final round on 10-under-par.

“I really enjoy this golf course, I finished third here in this event last year and just missed out on a playoff,” Jerling said. “I’m not the longest hitter and this is not a bomber’s paradise. There are quite a few fiddly tee-shots and good par-threes.

“Fortunately my short game is my strength and I also made a few putts after struggling for a while with the putter. It was nice to see a few roll in and my iron-play was also very solid,” Jerling said.

Danie van Tonder is poised for another final-round charge as he lies second on eight-under-par, following a 67 on Thursday that included an eagle on the 489m par-five 10^th hole.

Pieter Moolman (66) and Astin Arthur (69), the amateur from nearby Mount Edgecombe who has won five events this year, are tied for third on seven-under-par.

Overnight leader Jacob Oakley endured a disappointing day as he shot a 75 to finish on four-under-par, still inside the top-10 though. There are a host of Sunshine Tour winners in the top-10, including the in-form Malcolm Mitchell, who is ninth on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

Jerling has come close before to winning his maiden Sunshine Tour title, finishing third three times and being the runner-up in the 2022 Manguang Open. Although he is now based at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Jerling is with the coastal players who are hoping for the wind to get up in the final round.

“The wind might pick up more and I won’t mind at all coming originally from Port Elizabeth, where you have to shape the ball a bit. It’s the sort of course where my game-plan will be the same whether I’m chasing the cut or enjoying a five-shot lead, I’ll hit the same shots.

“So I’m not going to think too much about the final round, although it would be lovely to get over the line. It’s actually a bonus being in contention because I’ve been doing some good work with my coach Neil Cheetham and we made a breakthrough last week with my driver and my transition of weight, getting a better turn off the ball with more width. I can see the improvement, which is exciting,” Jerling said.

ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – Louis Oosthuizen has tipped Thriston Lawrence as a strong candidate to become South Africa’s next Major champion.

Lawrence has been in phenomenal form this year having just broken into the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking, currently in second place on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings, and having recently finished tied second in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth for his fifth runners-up finish on the DP World Tour this year.

Speaking at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Oosthuizen said he has his eye on Lawrence for the next few Majors, and in particular The Open.

“Thriston had an unbelievable Open Championship this year, and then played so well at Wentworth recently. He’s a good ball striker, and windy and difficult conditions are right up his alley. I think he’s definitely one to watch in the next few Majors, and especially The Open where he’ll be up there and performing well,” he said.

Oosthuizen, the winner of the 2010 Open on the famed Old Course of St Andrews, will again be chasing some history of his own here this week.

He heads into this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship hoping to equal a record only one other player in history has managed to achieve, and who also happens to be a fellow South African.

As the reigning champion of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa following his victory at Leopard Creek last year, Oosthuizen is hunting the rare ‘Dunhill Double’ this week.

Countryman Branden Grace is to date the only player in history who has managed to win both the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and its South African sister tournament, the Alfred Dunhill Championship, which he did in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

“It would mean a lot to me to win the double. It’s a great opportunity to have. This is just such a special week to be able to see old friends and mix with the amateurs, and the golf is almost secondary to those friendships in the week. But if I start to play half decent, then I’ll definitely set my mind on winning a tournament,” said Oosthuizen. – Michael Vlismas