HARTBEESPOORT, North West – Daniel van Tonder is in the kind of free-flowing mood that makes him feel like he can win every time he tees it up, and he showed this again on Thursday with a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 to lead the first round of the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood.
Van Tonder picked up right where he left off after winning last week’s SDC Open and immediately claimed a two-stroke lead in this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
His nearest challengers on eight under par are Luke Brown, Nikhil Rama, Jason Roets and Peter Karmis who all added to a day of low scoring. Karmis in particular holed out with his second on the par-four ninth to join the chasing group.
But as Van Tonder overtook them all in the afternoon, there was a sense that this has happened before.
He won twice on the Sunshine Tour in 2014, then four times in 2020, and twice again in 2024. It’s the kind of pattern that suggests when he starts winning, there is usually more to come.
“I’ve been playing well the last year or so, so it’s nice catching this good form and riding it. It’s nice to reap the rewards of my hard work over the past few months. But I’ll just keep working hard, keep my head down and do my thing,” Van Tonder said.
He recently moved back into first position on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and also took the lead on the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca.
And whereas last week he came from seven shots back in the final round to win in a playoff, this week he’s the early frontrunner.
“It’s a bit different this week. I’ll just keep my foot on the gas and keep going. But it’s quite nice to start the week with a round of 10 under par. It makes my job a bit easier over the next three days. The course is playing well and I feel like I left a few more birdies out there. There are low scores out there. This is a good golf course. It places a premium on the tee shot so if you’re hitting it well you’ve got a chance.”
Behind him, Rama has made another good start for the second week in succession. He finished tied 12th in last week’s SDC Open.
“My game’s been feeling good for a long time now. It’s just nice to see the putts dropping. Everybody is going to score well around here if the putts drop,” he said.
And Roets also continued with his good form after finishing tied fifth last week.
“I was three under through the first three holes and I’ve put myself in a good position. If your short game is good here then the scores are out there. I’m definitely building on the confidence of last week,” he said. – Michael Vlismas
