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Like a man watching his favourite movie for the umpteenth time, George Coetzee’s love for Pretoria Country Club shone through once again as it took him into the joint first-round lead of the Sunshine Tour’s Titleist Championship on Wednesday.

On a golf course he first stepped onto as a young boy, every hole played itself out like a fond memory as Coetzee signed for bogey-free five-under-par 67 to finish an overcast first round tied for the lead with birthday boy Hennie O’Kennedy.

They are one-stroke clear of Clayton Mansfield, and with Jaco Ahlers and Merrick Bremner two shots off the lead.

It was hardly surprising to see Coetzee at the top of the leaderboard in this Rise-Up Series tournament, played on a course he knows so well it’s like an extra few shots on the field before they’ve even teed off.

Coetzee won his first tournament here as a 10-year-old, has played countless social and competitive rounds of amateur golf here, and won two of his four European Tour events here in the 2015 and 2018 Tshwane Opens.

“It’s nice to be back here on a golf course I’m very comfortable on. I played with Ulrich van den Berg today and he said to me, ‘You just know where to go here’, and after the round I thought, ‘Ja, I kind of do know where to go on this golf course’,” he said.

Perhaps nothing showed Coetzee’s comfort levels here more than the fact that this was also his first bogey-free round since the start of the Rise-Up Series two weeks ago.

“It’s nice to finally get my first bogey-free round in tournament golf post lockdown. The first tournament I played on the Series after lockdown was not ideal. It was very cold and the course was firm. I wasn’t expecting much, and I didn’t deliver much. Last week at Glendower the greens were quite pure and that helped. But it’s nice to finally post a decent number.”

But Coetzee is hardly taking anything for granted, with two rounds still to come in this 54-hole event.

“If you play well and you’re in a good space, it helps. But there’s no such thing as a gimme in golf. If that was the case I would’ve won every tournament played at Pretoria Country Club, and I obviously haven’t.”

Yet he does seem to have the inside track to the secret for success on this collection of fairways in the Jacaranda suburbs of Pretoria.

And for now, he’s keeping that secret to himself.

“What’s the secret to this course? It’s 20 years of golf at Pretoria Country Club. That’s the secret.” – Michael Vlismas.

George Coetzee heads back to a Pretoria Country Club course this week where he won his first junior golf tournament and two of his four European Tour titles, and tees it up as one of the favourites in the Titleist Championship on the Sunshine Tour’s Rise-Up Series.

The R600 000 Titleist Championship is the third 54-hole tournament on the five-event Rise-Up Series, and tees off at this parkland course on Wednesday with a field including several players with an impressive record at Pretoria Country Club.

But few have enjoyed more success here than Coetzee.

Coetzee played his first competitive round of golf at Pretoria Country Club at the age of 10 in a festival known as the Gary Player Week, and which he won on his birthday with a nine-hole score of 49.

As a professional, he made history by becoming the first player to win the Tshwane Open twice at Pretoria Country Club in 2015 and 2018.

And this is also the golf course where as a junior, after being caught playing without a golf shirt on a sweltering day by a club official, Coetzee was made to spend the weekend ball spotting for members in the rough alongside the first fairway.

There are several other players in the field who also share a love for this golf course.

Darren Fichardt, the winner of the opening tournament on the Rise-Up Series – the Betway Championship – has been playing this course since a teenager and won several amateur titles here.

Jacques Blaauw had multiple top finishes in the years that the Tshwane Open was played at Pretoria Country Club, including shooting a final-round 61 to finish second behind Coetzee in 2015, as well as tied sixth in 2017 and tied 13^th in 2018.

Daniel van Tonder, the winner of last week’s African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship, finished fourth in the 2018 Tshwane Open at Pretoria Country Club, while Jaco Ahlers and Jaco van Zyl have also enjoyed top-10 finishes here.

And the big-hitting James Hart du Preez is a member at Pretoria Country Club and will be hopeful of clinching his first Sunshine Tour title on his home course following a 2019 season where he came close with three top-10 finishes.

Titleist has confirmed its sponsorship of the Titleist Championship, the third tournament on the Sunshine Tour’s new Rise-Up Series.

The R600 000 Titleist Championship will be played over 54 holes at Pretoria Country Club from 2-4 September and forms part of the five-tournament Rise-Up Series that signals the restart of the Sunshine Tour’s schedule following the COVID-19-enforced lockdown.

“We’re delighted to welcome Titleist to the Rise-Up Series and are grateful for their support of our effort to give our professionals playing opportunities. Titleist are a longstanding partner to the Sunshine Tour and it’s wonderful to now welcome them as a title tournament sponsor as well,” said Selwyn Nathan, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.

Titleist is an official partner to the Sunshine Tour and also a strong supporter of the Tour’s development efforts through its annual donation of all the range balls used on Tour to the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB).

“We are very proud of our long history with the Sunshine Tour and are pleased that we can further grow this with our sponsorship of the Titleist Championship and reinforce our status as golf’s leading brand supporting the game and its stars,” said Leonard Loxton, Manager of Leadership Promotion for Acushnet.

It seems a new diet of intermittent fasting only made Daniel van Tonder even more hungry to win as he claimed his fourth victory on the Sunshine Tour in the African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship at Glendower Golf Club on Friday.

Van Tonder started the final round in a three-way tie for the lead and signed for a bogey-free 68 to win by three shots on 11 under par 205 on the Tour’s new Rise-Up Series.

Adilson da Silva, George Coetzee and Neil Schietekat shared second place on eight under par, while Dylan Mostert produced another solid performance as he followed up a share of 15^th in last week’s Betway Championship with a fifth place at Glendower on six under par.

Van Tonder put his success down to intense work on his game during lockdown, and a new approach to his nutrition.

“I decided to use lockdown to my advantage. I used the time to practice hard and make changes in my swing, and also within myself,” he said.

“I’ve changed the way I eat and I’ve lost about 20 kilogrammes. I follow a plan of intermittent fasting and it’s made a huge difference. I feel a lot better and have actually gained distance because I’m a bit more supple. So everything feels a bit more consistent now.”

Van Tonder was tied for the lead with Martin Rohwer and Jayden Schaper at the start of the final round. But as both Rohwer and Schaper closed with rounds of 75 to slip into a finish of tied sixth on four under, Van Tonder produced a measured round of four birdies to take the title.

“I’ve been playing well leading up to this. I just felt very calm and focused out there and am enjoying myself more. It’s a new time, and a new me,” he said.

Jaco Ahlers leads the Betway Birdie Challenge through two tournaments on the Rise-Up Series with 29 birdies. The Betway Birdie Challenge will run for the full five tournaments on the series, with the leading birdie maker walking away with R25 000 at the end of the series, followed by R15 000 for second place and R10 000 for third.

The 18-year-old sensation Jayden Schaper is on the brink of a maiden Sunshine Tour victory as he heads into Friday’s final round of the African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship in a three-way tie for the lead.

The newest star of South African professional golf shares a one-stroke lead over the field on seven under par 137 alongside Martin Rohwer and Daniel van Tonder, and following his round of two-under-par 70 at Glendower Golf Club on Thursday.

Schaper had an adventurous start to his round with two bogeys and an eagle in his first four holes, and it was not until the 12^th hole where he started to find his rhythm as he made three birdies in four holes from there.

“The course played a lot tougher today because of a bit more wind. I struggled to pick out where the wind was coming from and I just didn’t get off to a good start. I only hit three fairways in my first 12 holes, and I had a few three putts as well so I put myself under a lot of pressure. But the last few holes it came together. I knew the back nine is a lot easier and more accessible with the two par fives and not much trouble on the par fours, and I finished stronger just like I needed to,” he said.

Schaper impressed all when as an amateur he finished tied sixth in January’s South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg. He turned professional shortly thereafter and secured his Sunshine Tour card with a finish of 10^th at the Qualifying School and before the national lockdown came into effect.

But since the restart of the Tour’s Rise-Up Series, he’s wasted no time putting himself in contention. He finished tied 15^th in last week’s Betway Championship, and now has a clear shot at a maiden title.

“I left quite a few out there, but I’m glad I could still post a decent score today. I’m still up there. You’ve got to keep grinding out on this golf course. I’m excited for the final round, and we’ll see what happens.”

Rohwer will be pleased to have kept his place at the top of the leaderboard with a level-par 72 after leading on day one, while Van Tonder moved into contention with a round of two-under-par 70.

Jaco Ahlers is one shot back of the leaders following his second round of 68. Darren Fichardt is on track for back-to-back victories on the Rise-Up Series as he heads into Friday’s final round just two shots off the lead, and fellow multiple European Tour champion George Coetzee is only three shots back.

Martin Rohwer’s form on the Sunshine Tour’s new Rise-Up Series is indeed on the rise as the KwaZulu-Natal professional took the first-round lead in the African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship at Glendower Golf Club on Wednesday.

Rohwer hit the top of the leaderboard only a few days after finishing seventh in last week’s Betway Championship, and he did so with a bogey-free round of seven-under-par 65 that started with a birdie on the 10^th – his first hole – and ended with three consecutive birdies.

He holds a one-stroke lead over the field. Lyle Rowe is his nearest challenger following a 66, while young star Jayden Schaper is in a group of players who opened with rounds of 67. Darren Fichardt is three off the lead and looking for back-to-back wins on the series.

Rohwer is certainly looking to make the most of this new series of five tournaments. He had a busy schedule of international tournaments planned, including an exemption into the Second Stage of the European Tour’s Qualifying School, before COVID-19 changed all of that.

“I was going to go to Europe for a few Challenge Tour events and then the European Tour’s Qualifying School. I was also exempt into the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship over there until that all changed. But fortunately my exemptions will carry through to next year. So I’m just going to play as many tournaments as I can here and do as well as I can,” he said.

Rohwer’s current form is in line with his start to 2020 when he finished tied sixth in the South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg in January.

“I played well in January and February, so it’s good to see that I’ve maintained that form after lockdown. I’m extremely happy with my 65 today. I hit the ball well from tee to green and I gave myself chances throughout the round. I drove the ball really well and hit most of the fairways, so I had a lot of birdie chances out there.”

For Hennie Otto, the Sunshine Tour’s new Rise-Up Series is deeply personal.

When the three-time European Tour champion tees it up at Glendower Golf Club on Wednesday for the start of this week’s African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship, he will do so as a golfer rising up and looking for the next win in his career, as a husband rising up from the recent passing of his wife, and as a father rising up for his two young boys.

“It’s been tough. It’s hard losing your wife. But you know, you can’t sit still. You have to move on,” says Otto.

He took his sons, Hennie Jnr. and JJ, on a 4 500-kilometre road trip around South Africa for the three of them to deal with the loss. “We visited all our friends on farms. We needed that, just to get away. It was nice for us to bond like that, and the boys are in a good space now.”

And at the end of that epic journey, they have arrived at a new adventure. A new beginning. “We’re moving to Paarl because I have a great support system there with my family. The boys are in good schools there, and I can focus on my golf.”

The focus this week will be on a Glendower Golf Club course that has always been one of Otto’s favourites. He finished second in the South African Open played here in 2013, and also second in the BMG Classic that same year.

“It’s an old-style golf course and I always just get a great feeling playing there. You have to actually play that golf course and think your way around it, you can’t just bomb it off the tee. If you can get it going there, you can score really well.”

There will be an added incentive for Otto this week. His eldest son Hennie Jnr. will be on his bag caddying for the old man.

“He is a diabetic and our doctor advised me not to send him back to school because of the Coronavirus. So he’s doing online schooling but also traveling with me and caddying for me on this Rise-Up Series.”

And every evening, they will braai together. “You know me. Every night is braai night for me. It’s like I always have a fire on, I just add more wood every night and keep it going.”

It was akin to the kind of move made from Lockdown Level 5 to Level 2 in one sweep as Darren Fichardt surged through the field with a final round of 64 to win the Sunshine Tour’s Betway Championship by a single stroke at Killarney Country Club on Friday.

With the lowest round of this 54-hole tournament and not a single bogey on his card, Fichardt overcame a six-shot deficit as he stormed up the leaderboard on the final day to win by one on three-under-par 207.

“It looks like I need to take five months off and then play tournaments,” said Fichardt, who wins the first tournament on the new Rise-Up Series that has ushered in the return to action of the Sunshine Tour.

“I’m very happy to win. It was so good to have those butterflies in your stomach going again. Sitting on the couch for five months was tough and I’m really happy to be back.”

Ulrich van den Berg came inches close to holing his long birdie putt at the last that would have forced a playoff. Van Den Berg took second place on two-under 208 with a closing 69 that in itself marked a welcome return to form for him.

But apart from the 65 of Jaco van Zyl to finish tied seventh, Fichardt was in a class of his own as he relied on every bit of the experience he’s gained from his five European Tour victories on his way to claiming his 18^th victory on the Sunshine Tour. It’s also his second victory this year after winning the Eye of Africa PGA Championship in January.

“I worked really hard in the gym during lockdown and on getting my strength up. You know, 26 years on tour, lockdown was good in that it gave me time with my family and time to do some focused work in the gym which you can’t always do when you’re touring every week. And I feel I’ve needed this to give my career a bit more longevity.”

Jaco van Zyl leads the Betway Birdie Challenge after this first tournament on the Rise-Up Series with 13 birdies. The Betway Birdie Challenge will run for the full five tournaments on the series, with the leading birdie maker walking away with R25 000 at the end of the series, followed by R15 000 for second place and R10 000 for third.

The hours spent working on about the only thing a golfer can do during lockdown – putting – paid off for Alex Haindl as he signed for a 67 to take a one-stroke lead going into Friday’s final round of the Betway Championship on the Sunshine Tour’s new Rise-Up Series.

Haindl made some big birdie putts and equally important par saves at Killarney Country Club on Thursday to top the leaderboard on three under par 137 overall.

His nearest challenger is a resurgent Anton Haig, who signed for a second consecutive 69 and whose recent history with Killarney Country Club is a perfect match for this week’s sponsor – Betway. “I recently joined a group of golfers who play quite a few money games at Killarney. It’s helped me so much playing here a lot more in recent weeks. I’ve had probably about 10 practice rounds here in the last couple of weeks,” he said.

And just two shots off the lead is the vastly experienced duo of Ulrich van den Berg and Adilson da Silva.

But after a first round of 70 and then a second round of 67, Haindl definitely feels like he’s moving in the right direction as this tournament progresses. And his putting – particularly in the stretch of three birdies in five holes after the turn – has been a large part of that process.

“I turned level par and then made a 20-footer for birdie on the first. I had a good chance on two and didn’t make that, but then on the third I made a 10-footer for birdie. The fifth is a par five and I made birdie there as well. I was also good out of the bunkers today and had a few good up-and-downs. Your short game is key on this course because you do miss a lot of greens. The course has been playing very firm and fast and it’s been difficult to get close to any of the pins. It’s been tricky,” said Haindl, a three-time winner on the Sunshine Tour whose last victory came in 2018.

“I’ve been working hard during the lockdown. But you don’t know what to expect until you test it in competition. You can only do so much hitting into a net in your garage. But it’s nice to see the game is decent. It’s just a case of sharpening it up now.”

Friday’s final round will be streamed live on DStv Now Channel 241 and on the Sunshine Tour’s platforms on YouTube and Facebook from 12-3pm.

Dylan Mostert opened with a three-under-par 67 for a one-stroke lead in Wednesday’s first round of the Betway Championship at Killarney Country Club, and in what was a generally cautious start by most of the field in the first Sunshine Tour tournament since February.

Mostert is one clear of Dylan Naidoo, Ruan Korb and Albert Venter who all signed for rounds of 68.

Mostert was one of only eight players in the field who broke par on day one of this Rise-Up Series 54-hole tournament, thanks to a mix of bitterly cold conditions and shaking off a bit of lockdown swing rust.

“I think most of the players are just going out there and getting a feel for it again, and just trying to get back into tournament mode,” said Mostert.

For Mostert, the work he did on his putting during lockdown made all the difference.

“I put in a lot of work during lockdown and I’m glad to see it paying off. I worked a lot on my putting – on my set-up and pace. And it feels great to lead. I think this is the first time I’m leading a tournament on the Sunshine Tour. I had no expectations coming into this week and was so excited just to play.

“But I stayed really patient out there, which was also key. I made back-to-back bogeys at holes seven and eight, and then I made a great par save at the ninth and a good par putt on the 10^th to keep my round on track.”

That kind of patience will be important as Mostert faces an early tee-off time in Thursday’s second round.

“I’m expecting it to be tougher because I’m off early on day two. So it’s going to be freezing and the greens will be rock hard. But it’s just about staying focused and grinding where I need to while staying focused on every shot out there.”

The tournament signals the return of the Sunshine Tour for the first time since February and following the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And it was Benoni professional Pieter Moolman who had the honour of leading the field in its return as he teed off first at just after 7am.

“It felt great to feel that excitement for the new season and to actually be playing a tournament again. I think we’re all craving that adrenaline and excitement on the golf course, and making birdies,” he said.