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Ockie Strydom will take a narrow one-stroke lead into the final round of the season-ending Tour Championship after he carded a second-round two-under 70 on moving day to get his total to 14-under-par for the week at Serengeti Golf and Lifestyle Estate.

He admits to struggling with his ball-striking, in particular, and as such, failing to back up his round two score of 63 with another solid round on day three.

“Today was a bit tough for me,” says Strydom, “ball-striking wasn’t there but luckily, with the round being suspended due to the weather, I found something on the back nine there. Then, I started hitting the ball well again, but it was a bit too late. I am happy I managed to go around the golf course on two-under-par with the ball-striking that went haywire.”

With dangerous weather conditions proving to be the enemy of skill once again in the latter stages of the round – and which called for play to be suspended just as had happened in round two – Strydom had it all to do as he tried to hold on to his lead.

He made birdies on the first hole, the fourth and the seventh, but the bogeys he made on the fifth and the eighth holes took from those gains. His back nine was quiet too and he made eight pars there which were accompanied by the one birdie he made on the 16^th.

Chasing closely and just a shot off Strydom’s lead is the trio of Thriston Lawrence who wants to tin this after he finished second last year, the resurgent Haydn Porteous and rookie of the year, Garrick Higgo who signed for a 66 in round three to throw his name in the mix ahead of the final round. They are all 13-under par while Brandon Stone and Luke Jerling aren’t far off the lead either.

The share the fifth spot on 12-under for the week. Veteran Keith Horne, who shot the lowest round of the day – eight-under 64 – and Order of Merit-chasing Daniel van Tonder lie three shots behind Strydom on 11-under while Jacques Blaauw, Darren Fichardt and member of the Gary Player Class, Keenan Davidse share ninth on 10-under-par.

The final round will be streamed live on the Sunshine Tour Facebook and YouTube platforms from 10h30 on Sunday.

Ockie Strydom moved to Serengeti Golf and Lifestyle Estate a little over a year ago and admits the little course-knowledge he has amassed during that time helped him a lot on his way to a nine-under 63 second-round of the Tour Championship which is hosted there.

That score catapulted him to the summit of the leaderboard on a total of 12-under for the week, and with a two-shot lead over Brandon Stone heading into the weekend. While the weather was kind when he and most of the field were out on the course, the round had to be suspended due to dangerous weather conditions which began to develop around noon.

“It’s always nice playing on your home course,” said Strydom “If I’d made all my putts on the front nine, I probably would have shot a 28 there. I know the course and I know the greens here, so if I hit it on the right spots, I’ll generally knock it in.”

Strydom looked comfortable from the start on day two, refusing to let any bogey come onto his card, and instead, walking away with a birdie and an eagle on the front nine. But it was on the homeward stretch where he turned things up a little bit.

He made back-to-back birdies on the 11^th and 12^th holes and after the par he made on 13, another birdie found its way onto his card. He made par on 15 before bagging three more birdies on the trot to finish bogey-free and take the lead for the first time in this tournament.

“You have to stay patient, however,” he said, “because things were a little bit slow on the front nine but I was patient enough and sometimes things will work better on the back nine there.” Things definitely worked better for him coming home.

Stone was equally impressive en route to his seven-under 65 round which took his total to 10-under for the week. Teeing off the 10^th, his front start was a lot different to Strydom’s. He made five birdies there to turn in 31 and without a bogey too. Coming home on the other side of the course, Stone made bogey on his 11^th hole, the second of the course.

That was quickly forgotten as he made up for that with a birdie on the next hole. He kept things steady for the next four holes, making important pars to keep the round alive. Then, on his second-last hole, a much-welcomed eagle got onto his card to take his total to 10-under and leaving him just two shots off Strydom’s lead.

“I probably had more one-putts in this round of golf than the entire season combined,” said Stone after his round. “But any time you shoot a 65 you can’t really complain or moan about anything. I played solid golf, read the lines nicely and rolled the ball a little better. They found the hole today because it seemed they had been afraid of the dark for the last couple of months, so it was nice to see those putts disappear.”

The defending champion, Jean-Paul Strydom and Thriston Lawrence are tied for third at nine-under-par.

Jean-Paul Strydom fired in a solid six-under-par 66 opening round of the Tour Championship to get his title-defense underway at Serengeti Golf and Lifestyle Estate.

Strydom claimed victory here last year, defeating Jean Hugo, Jake Roos, Ockie Strydom and Thriston Lawrence by a single stroke at 14-under-par to claim his only title on Tour.

He started this year’s edition solidly, making back-to-back birdies on the 10^th and 11^th hole, having teed off from the 10^th tee. He would not make another birdie for the next four holes but didn’t drop a single shot there, either. He turned things up a bit and birdied the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th holes to turn in 31.

“I played nicely and solidly,” he said after his round, “and I think we missed only about two or three fairways today. I played solidly off the tee, kept it in play and putted nicely. I think I missed two fairways today. I made three (birdies) in a row – 16, 17 and 18 – which is a bonus. This nine is always the trickier one with the wind coming in so it makes those holes even trickier. But I come for the wind (Cape Town) so, that kind of benefitted me today.”

His back nine – the front nine of the golf course – was a little indifferent because despite picking up two birdies there, Strydom also dropped a shot on his 13^th hole.

A shot behind Strydom lies one of last year’s runners-up, Thriston Lawrence, Haydn Porteous, Daniel Greene, Rhys Enoch of Wales and leading rookie, Garrick Higgo.

“I played nicely today, starting with a 20-foot birdie-putt,” said Higgo who effectively has the rookie race won. “I hit the ball average though and I think my putter saved me today. My tee shots were great and because the fairways can be quite wide here so you can miss a few fairways here and the rough isn’t that long. Today, I guess, it just came down to wedge-play and putting.”

Occupying the fourth spot today at four-under 68 is James Hart du Preez, Luke Jerling who has seen his stock rise this season thanks to a couple of solid results, Christiaan Basson and another rookie who has really impressed this season, Deon Germishuys.

Jacques Kruyswijk, Jacques Blaauw, JC Ritchie, Brandon Stone and Ockie Strydom share 11^th at three-under. With this being the final event of the regular season, Ritchie and Daniel van Tonder have it all to play for because they are both trying to win the Order of Merit and with Jaco Ahlers not in the field this week, that race is between the two of them.

It’s down to the wire for JC Ritchie and Daniel van Tonder in the Tour Championship which tees off at Serengeti Estates tomorrow.

The pair has emerged as the two most likely winners in the race for the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit and they will be keeping a wary eye on the other as they jostle to get their hands on the Sid Brews trophy – as well as the attendant extras which the winner receives.

Ritchie leads by just short of R135,000 in the winnings column on the 2019-20 Order of Merit. That means that a second-place finish for Van Tonder should allow him to overhaul Ritchie – provided Ritchie finishes 10^th or worse.

Of course, should Van Tonder win at Serengeti, then Ritchie would have to finish third to hold him off and finish the season at the summit of the listings.

Last year, Ritchie finished the season-ending tournament in a share of ninth, and Van Tonder closed out his efforts for the season in a share of 15^th.

The current holder of third position on the Order of Merit, Jaco Ahlers, is in Asia playing the final stage of the Asian Tour’s qualifying school, together with Hennie Otto, Neil Schietekat and Trevor Fisher Jnr from inside the top 50 on the South African listings. So Ahlers will have no further say in the battle for top spot.

Also absent from the list of players who could have had a material influence on the way the top 10 of the Order of Merit could look like after the Tour Championship are Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who is playing the World Golf Championship-Mexico Championship, and Wilco Nienaber, who is gearing up to play in the Oman Open on the European Tour which gets underway on February 27.

The other two players from inside the Sunshine Tour’s 2019-20 top 50 who won’t be teeing it up at Serengeti this week are Englishmen Toby Tree and Jack Harrison.

That leaves a field of 41 who will be looking to win the trophy in the Tour Championship.

But the focus will be firmly on Ritchie and Van Tonder as they try to pull off the win in the race for the Order of Merit title.

The latest Official World Golf Ranking list issued today says it’s so. Christiaan Bezuidenhout is the second-best golfer from South Africa after his victory in the Dimension Data Pro-Am last week.

Bezuidenhout climbed to 48^th from 60^th on the list, leap-frogging Erik van Rooyen and Shaun Norris in the process as he eagled the last hole in a thrilling climax to a tournament that saw him duelling with George Coetzee for the entire final round. He is now the closest South African to Louis Oosthuizen, who slipped a single spot to 17^th this week.

Bezuidenhout is now set fair for a tilt at a spot in the Masters in April if he can keep himself inside the top 50 in the world until the week before the first major championship of the year gets underway at Augusta National on April 9.

He heads off to Mexico this week for the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, together with fellow-South Africans Branden Grace, Justin Harding, Zander Lombard, Norris, Louis Oosthuizen and Van Rooyen. The seven South Africans make up fractionally short of 10 percent of the 72-man field in a no-cut event that will be stacked with world ranking points.

With Van Rooyen, Harding, Oosthuizen and Trevor Immelman already in the field for this year’s Masters, Grace and Norris in particular will be keen to pick up enough points to get them into the reckoning for a trip down Magnolia Lane.

Van Rooyen is 52^nd, Norris 61^st and Grace 71^st. With the likes of world number one Rory McIlroy leading all of the world’s top 10 – except Tiger Woods – into action this week, a solid finish could catapult those close enough to 50^th on the rankings above the benchmark and set them up for one of the most coveted invitations in golf.

Bezuidenhout, who started the year ranked 87^th, exhibited the kind of form which made him a debut European Tour winner last year in June when he took the Andalucia Masters. He had been in good form in 2020 so far too, with a play-off defeat to Australia’s Lucas Herbert in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in January.

The manner of his victory in the Dimension Data Pro-Am will give him the confidence he needs to take this opportunity to cement his place inside the world’s elite for the foreseeable future.

Given that the Mexico tournament will be his first taste of play in the WGC series, he is certain to pick up world ranking points for even an average performance. The other South Africans in the field, however, will be looking for more than that.

South Africa’s Top 10

1. Louis Oosthuizen (17)
2. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (48)
3. Erik van Rooyen (52)
4. Shaun Norris (61)
5. Branden Grace (71)
6. Justin Harding (91)
7. Dylan Frittelli (118)
8. JC Ritchie (120)
9. Dean Burmester (160)
10. George Coetzee (169)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout made an eagle on the last hole on Montagu to claim a one-stroke victory over George Coetzee in the Dimension Data Pro-Am on a tournament total of 25-under-par 264 on Sunday.

Bezuidenhout was in scintillating form the whole week at Fancourt, having led the tournament from the first day through to the last. On the final day, however, he had some serious competition from the 2016 winner of the event, George Coetzee, who looked liked he’d sealed victory when he finished at 24-under par and was a shot clear of Bezuidenhout when the latter was playing the 17^th.

“I got off to a perfect start and made birdies on the first two holes,” he said, “but I hit a wayward tee shot on the third but it was tough out there. Today the wind was swirling a lot and on the first nine, it was blowing quite a bit. But I just stuck to it and it was great to finish off with an eagle.”

Tough it was because for about 50 minutes the round was suspended due to a threat of a storm which was passing through the area. As can be imagined, the brief stop affected momentum for all players but Bezuidenhout showed some serious big-match temperament to keep going even when Coetzee was leading.

“It affected the momentum a little bit, especially on the restart,” he admits, “and I hit a poor tee shot on the 12^th, three-putted and kind of thought my chances were gone because George was playing great with no bogeys, hitting fairways and greens every time. I knew I needed something special and luckily, I did it.”

He admits that he was watching the leaderboard on every hole so that he knew what the other playing were doing, especially Coetzee who was looking to becoming only the third player to win this title two times, with others being Nick Price and Darren Fichardt.

“I was watching it a lot, ever hole,” he says, “that way I knew what I needed to do. So, I knew I had to make birdie on the last to take it to a playoff but luckily, I hit a great driver and then an eagle to win. It’s a special tournament, this, and I have always wanted to win it. So, to do it now is really awesome.”

Bezuidenhout has now won on the Sunshine Tour, European Tour and the Challenge Tour as this event was one of three that were co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour for the first time.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout says while he hasn’t taken time to look at the past champions of the Dimension Data Pro-Am to draw some inspiration from, his only aim to ensure his name is the next to be etched onto that trophy.

He was speaking after his third-round of three-under 69 which took his overall tournament total to 20-under-par at Fancourt.

“I haven’t really looked at the past winners here,” he admits, “but I’m sure there are a couple of good names on it and I would like to put my name in there too. I will go for it tomorrow and hopefully, I can pull it off.”

Unlike the first two days when he opened his round with birdies from the onset, Bezuidenhout was a little slow off the mark on Montagu on Saturday, making three straight pars before making his first birdie. That joy was short-lived because immediately after making that birdie, a bogey followed. A par on the sixth was followed by another bogey which was followed by a birdie which ensured he was level-par at the turn.

“I hit some great shots on the first few holes,” says the man who has been leading in this tournament from day one, “I just couldn’t convert the putts. I felt like I was playing well but the putts were not going in as they did in the first two rounds. Tee to green, I played well and it was tough with the swirling wind but, overall, it was a solid round.”

That birdie on nine was the beginning of the turnaround for Bezuidenhout on moving day. From there on, he picked up two more to make it three birdies on the trot. He made further gains on the 15^th hole, taking his total to 20-under and ensuring he takes a two-stroke victory into the final round which will be played on Montagu.

Trailing him by two shots is compatriot, George Coetzee and Spain’s Santiago Tarrio Ben. Tarrio Ben carded a one-under 72 round on the Links while Coetzee was unrelenting in his pursuit for the top spot, signing for an impressive seven-under 65 on Montagu.

He shrugged off a painful bogey on the opening hole and made three birdies on the front nine to turn in 33. Then, he made an important eagle on the 10^th and followed that up with a birdie on the next hole. He dropped another shot on the 14^th but swiftly recovered with back-to-back birdies on the 15^th and 16^th holes to seal the second spot ahead of what promises to be a spectacular final round if this 25^th edition of the Dimension Data Pro-Am.

“Today I made a lot more birdies,” he said, “but I also made a couple of dodgy swings which I will go and sort out now. Hopefully, my knowledge of this course helps me tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and I hope the course treats me well again because I’ll be sure to treat it very well.”

Christiaan Bezuidenhout backed up his sublime opening round of 61 at this year’s Dimension Data Pro-Am with an even more impressive score, a six-under-par 67 on The Links, to total 17-under after 36 holes and keep his spot at the top of the leaderboard on day two at Fancourt Golf Estate.

He is joined by Spaniard, Santiago Tarrio Ben at the top after round two.  Bezuidenhout’s start on day two was similar to how he began the first round. He made two birdies in his first three holes to get started on the daunting Links layout before making further gains on the fifth. Bogeys on the seventh and ninth holes followed, threatening to derail his progress in the tournament.

His recovery from those, however, was swift and assured, with back-to-back birdies on the 10^th and 11^th holes. An important par-save on the 12^th was followed by a trio of birdies one after the other to get his round back on track and to tie the lead with Tarrio Ben who was already in the clubhouse.

“If anyone said I’d shoot six-under-par the Links today, I would’ve taken it,” said Bezuidenhout after yet another solid performance. “I made 11 birdies yesterday and I knew it was always going to be difficult to follow that up with a good score, so I’m happy with how things went out there today. The Links is a tough test and you have to drive it well here, and then it comes down to the putting. The putting wasn’t as good as yesterday’s but, as I said, it was always going to be difficult to do it here.”

Tarrio Ben was just as solid on Friday on the Outeniqua course, making seven birdies, an eagle and a bogey en route to a share of the lead with Bezuidenhout.

Richard Sterne lies third after a spectacular seven-under 66 on The Links which took his total for the week to 13-under and leaves him four shots off the pace as we head into the weekend. Stephen Ferreira who played on Outeniqua as well, also gave a good account of himself on Friday, firing in a 68 which catapulted him to fourth on the leaderboard on 12-under-par.

Tying fifth on a score of 11-under-par is the trio of Dean Burmester who shot a 68 on The Links, George Coetzee who shot a 69 on the same layout and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier who carded a 68 on the Outeniqua track.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout got off to a flying start in this year’s edition of the Dimension Data Pro-Am, firing in a flawless 11-under-par 61 opening round on the Outeniqua golf course at Fancourt.

He made back-to-back birdies on the first two holes, then a par and then another birdie. Two more birdies – one after the other – made it onto his card as he turned in 31 and blemish-free. He didn’t relent on the back nine, making two more birdies on the trot on the 10^th and 11^th holes. Those were followed by a par on the 12^th before another birdie arrived. A hole later, Bezuidenhout was at it again, birdieing the 15^th, 17^th and 18^th holes to sign for a bogey-free 61.

“Outeniqua has proven to be a scorable course over the years,” said Bezuidenhout, “and it was important to get a great start and, luckily, I did it and I just kept going. There’s a little bit of pressure there because it’s almost expected that you should score well there.

“If you walk off a scorable course with a two-under or level-par, you know you’ve got work to do on the tougher courses. It’s always at the back of your mind that you should do well on the easier course. Once you do that, you take a bit of the pressure off your shoulder going into the next three days.”

Close up on Bezuidenhout’s heels, is Spain’s Santiago Tarrio Ben who signed for a nine-under 63 on the Montagu layout.

Ernie Els who is making his debut appearance in this 25-year old tournament, along with Zimbabwe’s Stephen Ferreira shot eight-under 64. Like Bezuidenhout, ‘The Big Easy’ was just as impressive on the Outeniqua track. He, too, opened his round back-to-back birdies and after five straight pars, two more birdies went onto his card to turn in 32.

He made further gains at the turn, making it three birdies in a row. After six straight pars, Els made an eagle and closed off with a birdie to sign for an untainted 64.

“It was really nice today,” said Els who boasts 71 professional victories in a glittering career. “I’ve played this course many times and I’ve been coming to Fancourt for 30 years. It’s the kind of course that, at my age, I can play. It’s almost like a (PGA) Champions Tour layout. Good drives and a lot of irons to the flags. I played nicely and those last two putts, obviously, made my day.

“The experience here so far has been great. I’ve never played this event and when I looked at my schedule a couple of weeks ago, I said to Jeremy (Ord) ‘I will be in South Africa, can you give me a spot?’ and he said ‘sure’. So, it’s my first time playing this tournament in 25 years of history.”

Ferreira, who played on the Montagu layout, made nine birdies and a single bogey during his opening round at Fancourt.

Tying fifth on the score of seven-under 65 is Haydn Porteous, Germany’s Marcel Siem, 2016 winner of this tournament George Coetzee, Jean Hugo, the in-form JC Ritchie, Daniel Hillier of New Zealand and rookie, Deon Germishuys.

We return to the magnificent Fancourt this week for the penultima event on the schedule, the Dimension Data Pro-Am. This year’s event marks the 25^th year of play on the Sunshine Tour (and was co-sanctioned with the European Tour for the first two years) and is, for the first time, co-sanctioned with the European Challenge Tour. As has become the norm, the tournament will be played on all three course – Montagu, Outeniqua and The Links at Fancourt – from February 13 to 16.

The format:

72 HOLE STROKEPLAY – 180 Professionals will make up the field. The cut will be to 60 players and ties, after round three. Each contestant will play one round on Montagu, Outeniqua & The Links Golf Courses. The final round will be played on the Montagu Golf Course. In the event of a tie for first place, there will be a sudden-death playoff on holes to be determined by the Tournament Director.

72 HOLE BETTERBALL MEDAL – 180 Professionals and 180 Amateurs make up the Pro-Am field. Players drawn together in one team stay together for the duration of the tournament. The format is Betterball Medal, the best net score on each hole to count. Each team will play one round on the Montagu, Outeniqua & The Links Golf Courses. On conclusion of the third round, there will be a cut to the leading 26 team scores. All teams making the 54-hole cut will contest the final round to be played on the Montagu GC.

Defending champion:

Sweden’s Philip Eriksson is the defending champion after he Justin Walters by three shots on 21-under-par 268.

The Courses:

The Links:

This is regarded as the hallmark of this estate, with undulating, windswept terrain and dune-style landscape. 6,755 metres in length, this championship course will test and bring joy to golfers of all levels. The fairways on this beautiful par-73 design are made up of four different season kinds of grass; the Kentucky Blue, Rye, Fescue and Bent, with the greens a dominant Bent.

Outeniqua:

This course provides for an easier game than its counterpart, the Montagu while offering its fair share of challenges and water hazards on as many as 11 of its holes, including four of the last five. Outeniqua rolls over 6,312 metres of greenery and regarded as the easier course to play in this world-class estate, but will punish any complacent golfer.

Designed by Gary Player and named after the mountain range that forms its backdrop, the course is designed to accommodate a large volume of players. Grassed with Kikuyu on the fairways and Bentgrass on the greens, Outeniqua has been ranked the number one golf course in the country on a few occasions.

Montagu:

This 6,714-metre design is a tree-lined parklands layout, with a few slopes to climb, that is well-conditioned to provide the best-golfing experience.  Montagu and Outeniqua are closely related as they are both parkland layouts that wind across the undulating terrain. Montague, though, is the longer and arguably the tougher of the two with a host of wonderfully designed holes.

Several tight fairways here will demand accuracy and as well as length from the tee, and those treacherous water hazards will dangerously punish any golfer who will stray towards them on certain holes. Boasting fast undulating greens, stylish bunkering and the ever-present backdrop of the Outeniqua mountains, Montagu is a world-class golf course by any standard.

 

Form player:

There is no doubting Daniel van Tonder’s form headed into this week. He led for three straight rounds last week in Cape Town but faded away in the final round. He placed seventh thereafter a final-round 78, the only round he carded a score in the 70s for the entire tournament.

Before then, in Limpopo, where he came ninth, Van Tonder looked a threat, especially after the opening round there where he blitzed to a nine-under-par 63 round. There too, he could not seal the win. In his five starts this year – including the Gauteng Team Championship – Van Tonder has missed the cut twice, first at SA Open and then in Dainfern.

Worth noting, however, is that in the three events where he has not missed the cut, Van Tonder has been in contention. He came 12^th year here last year and shared 32^nd the year before. He will feel he can pose a threat in George this week, especially because of the form he’s recently shown.

Plus, there’s the Order of Merit to fight for. He currently sits behind JC Ritchie on those standings, trailing by just a little over R100 000. He is the man to look put for this week and if his recent form is anything to go by, then Van Tonder is very capable of walking away with a victory here this week.

Sentimental pick:

Jacques Kruyswijk will feel that with his performances in the last three to four weeks, he deserves a win. He walked away with two third-place finishes back-to-back – Eye of Africa PGA Championship and Limpopo Championship – and got a top 20 finish in Cape Town.

His aggressive style has had some questioning whether or not it can deliver him victory but Kruyswijk is no stranger to the big stage and his 2016 victory in the Cape Town Open is testimony to this. He struggled in Europe last year but has started this year rejuvenated and by his own admission, in a better space mentally.

While he has shown that he can produce the goods when it’s that time, Kruyswijk has struggled in the final round and as such, especially in the last few events, he lost narrowly lost out when many thought he’d run away with the victory. Be that as it may, however, Kruyswijk, on his day, can get the job done and an early victory on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca, will surely give him confidence moving forward.

The bolter:

Wilco Nienaber has left a lot of pundits and fans talking since making his Sunshine Tour debut. His length of the tee and his general demeanour has had many punting him as the next big star and his performances on the golf course have given a glimpse of what may yet come from the lanky 19-year old.

He was on contention ahead of the final round in Cape Town and that result was preceded by a second-place finish in Limpopo. The former GolfRSA Elite Squad member was on course to finish in the top 10 at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship but forgot to sign his scorecard, an error which got him disqualified.

Currently the longest-hitter on Tour and second to Garrick Higgo on the rookie of the year race, Nienaber looks like he is intent on winning something quite early in his career and as Higgo did in only his fifth start as a pro when he clinched the Sun City Challenge, Nienaber has shown all the qualities of a veteran winner and it would be a pleasant surprise to a lot of people if he won here this week.