The triumphant Team Wouter with their prizes: (from second left) Zak Oosthuizen, Paul Lombard, Piet Taljard and Wouter du Toit, with Kruger Park Lodge Golf Club board member Hendrik Badenhorst (far left). Photo – Hilton Kotze of Africa Photographic Services.
Wouter du Toit of Hazyview continued his lascivious collection of Hornbill Classic titles when he won the 2026 edition with Team Wouter at the Kruger Park Lodge Golf Course on Saturday.
Team Wouter garnered an incredible 101 points in the four-ball alliance on Saturday, giving their captain his fourth victory in one of the most popular events on the Lowveld golfing calendar.
Du Toit, who plays off a 16 handicap, was joined by Piet Taljard (15), Paul Lombard (4), and Zak Oosthuizen (18) as they won by three points from Fairbridges and Kranspoort, who began the final round in second and first place respectively.
A mammoth haul of points on the par-five 17th, at which Taljard birdied and Lombard made eagle, was decisive in their victory.
“I’ve played every year in the Hornbill Classic for the last 16 years and it’s all about the friends that you meet here that keeps you coming back,” Du Toit said after his triumph. “The course is in excellent condition as well and nothing beats playing in this tournament.”
Fairbridges, the team of attorneys (Bok and Max Groeneveld, Conrad Fraser and Sharjah Jonsson) from Cape Town tallied 89 points on Saturday to overtake Kranspoort and claim runners-up honours.
Kranspoort (Theo van Niekerk, Kevin and Kirstin Kemp and Michelle Higgo) scored 87 points on Saturday and finished third.
It was a case of the early birds getting the worms on the first day of the Hornbill Classic Golf Tournament at Kruger Park Lodge Golf Club on Friday, as the Kranspoort four-ball claimed opening-round honours in the two-day event in the Lowveld.
The Kranspoort team, who travelled from the Mpumalanga highveld to participate, teed off early when the wind was not up yet and really hit their straps, especially their lady golfers, as they tallied 89 points in the four-ball alliance format that is being used for the highly popular tournament.
Kirstin Kemp, who plays off a 35 handicap, failed to score on only one hole, while Michelle Higgo, playing off a 29, also played very well. Seventeen-handicapper Theo van Niekerk led the side, using his 15 years of experience on the Gary Player designed course which he describes as his favourite, while Kevin Kemp (23 handicap) also enjoyed a successful day.
Kemp admitted starting early had been a benefit because the wind definitely picked up through the day as there was a foreboding change in weather from the Lowveld’s usual clear blue skies at this time of year to overcast and cooler conditions.
He related how, early in the shotgun start round, he had hit a seven-iron on the 124-metre par-three seventh hole, and when he returned later in the day to attack the same green from the 144-metre 16th tee he had hit driver in a successful attempt to find the putting surface, such was the impact of the blustering wind.
There was a tie on points for third and second place, with the Fairbridges team counting out Sabie River Sun for second after they both finished on 87 points.
Fairbridges are a team of attorneys who travelled all the way from Cape Town to participate, such is the allure of this tournament. Bok and Max Groeneveld were joined by Conrad Fraser and Sharjah Jonsson, and they readily admitted that one of their pars was recorded when an errant approach was deflected on to the green by a passing Pajero!
Sabie River Sun was the team they counted out into third place and it was clearly a good day for the four-ball of Darren Lane, Brendon Steele, Luke Baumer and Wayne Smith as they said the tremendous hospitality of the Kruger Park Lodge was the highlight of their round.
The Hornbill Classic concludes on Saturday on a Kruger Park Lodge Golf Course that has been universally praised for its superb quality.
HAZYVIEW, Mpumalanga (3 September, 2026) – The 29th edition of the Hornbill Classic will be held at the Kruger Park Lodge on Friday and Saturday, with the leading golf tournament in the Lowveld once again attracting numerous golfers from all over South Africa.
The two-day tournament is a four-ball alliance, played on the marvellous Kruger Park Lodge Golf Course, which is a Legacy Hotels and Resorts property. The field of 128 golfers will be tackling the 6100m, par-72 course with an array of prizes on offer thanks to the generosity of the tournament’s many sponsors.
The highlight in terms of the prize list has to be the ingenious Omoda C5 crossover vehicle on offer as the hole-in-one prize for the 194m par-three fifth hole, sponsored by Jaecoo Mbombela.
With spring well underway in the Lowveld, Kruger Park Lodge Golf Club representative Pierre van Nieuwenhuizen says the course, which was designed by golfing legend Gary Player back in 1992, is in superb condition for a weekend of quality, competitive golf.
“The course is playing magnificently well at the moment and the one thing that has really come on in leaps and bounds are the greens. Historically they have been quite slow, but now they are quick because we have removed a lot of the thatching build-up on the greens.
“We had a bit of rain not so long ago, so the course is soft and with the greens playing so well, I think this weekend’s layout will be the best the Hornbill Classic golfers will have played on, they’re going to be blown out of the water,” Van Nieuwenhuizen said this week.
Apart from the wonderful hole-in-one prize from Jaecoo Mbombela, successful golfers will get way more than just a pat on the back, with wonderful prizes on offer from suppliers like Srixon, Cleveland, Global Golf, most of the Legacy properties around the country and safari companies in the Lowveld, including elephant interactions.
Other sponsors involved in the tournament are MET, STN, CSG and Hi-Tec.
Defending champions Pieter Burger, the Kruger Park Lodge GC club captain, and the Srixon and Cleveland team will be back to defend their title. Renowned entertainer Piet Pompies, who is the MC and chief entertainment at the two prizegiving dinners, has also entered a four-ball.
The challenge from the rest of the field will be anything but lame however, as winning the Hornbill Classic, which was started in 1997 by Frikkie Levendal and has only not been held in 2020 when Covid struck, is high up on the bucket list of many Lowveld golfers and others from as far afield as Cape Town.
Kruger Park Lodge will also be unveiling a new fleet of golf carts on the opening day of the Hornbill Classic.
kenborland.com spoke exclusively with captain Temba Bavuma, courtesy of Skechers, who have just announced him as their global cricket ambassador, to talk about a huge 18 months ahead for the Proteas.Photo: M-Sports.
The Proteas Test side has a massive summer ahead of them and the conversation about carrying themselves as champions has already been had, according to captain Temba Bavuma.
South Africa are the holders of the World Test Championship after their stirring victory over favourites Australia in the final at Lord’s in June 2025, and the defence of that momentous title – their first in a major ICC event – is looming. The final for the fourth edition of the red-ball showpiece will also be in London, but at The Oval from June 9-13 next year.
Which is why the Proteas are unashamedly, and wonderfully, focused on Test cricket this summer with eight Tests scheduled between October 9 and January 7.
But the 2027 WTC final is not the only huge event on the Proteas’ calendar. South Africa is hosting the ODI World Cup from October 4 next year. That trophy, that has so cruelly eluded us through any manner of ridiculous ways, is arguably the one that is most-desired, given the history and prestige of the tournament.
Sitting down with Bavuma in the Skechers store at Fourways Mall in Johannesburg, I asked how he and the team were feeling on the brink of such a momentous time.
“I feel good, mentally fresh and physically in a good space having only played four games in the EUT20 Belgium since the end of our domestic season. After the CSA Awards [July 16], we saw all the guys and spoke about the season ahead and what an exciting run we have,” Bavuma told me with the sort of relaxed steel in his eyes that has become his trademark.
“Every season is a big one for us, but there’s way more to it this time. We’re playing the World Test Championship for the first time as champions and we host Australia first up in three Tests, so there are going to be fireworks.
“There’s a lot to look forward to, coming up against some of the best teams with England here for three Tests around Christmas, and Bangladesh, who have been playing good cricket and have a strong attack, coming too.
“For the Test side, one of the biggest things we’ve spoken about is playing like champions after winning the WTC. We must speak to each other like champions and not allow there to be any inferiority, because I think we carried a lot of that in the past. We understand there’s going to be a target on our backs, but we did good work in India last year [winning 2-0].
“Australia are going to provide a proper test, and we need to make sure we keep putting our best foot forward. We don’t want to look after two years to see the impact of our win at Lord’s, but after four years, and we keep reminding each other of our mission, which is to win the title again,” Bavuma said.
The focus on Test cricket, the longest, most gruelling format, means the Proteas will blood new players in white-ball cricket this summer, which makes sense with the ODI World Cup just over a year away. Coach Shukri Conrad has said he only needs to start playing his “shadow side” for that tournament in January when England are the opponents for three ODIs in Paarl and Bloemfontein. The next T20 World Cup is more than two years away, in October 2028 in Australia and New Zealand.
Which is why the likes of Bavuma, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram are not with the Proteas right now in Namibia. Instead, Bjorn Fortuin is leading a squad armed with fringe players like the Hermann brothers, Prenelan Subrayen, Nqobani Mokoena and Connor Esterhuizen.
“I’ve spent a whole lot of time at home and on the couch, but I’m always working on my ailments as well, to keep my body as strong and fresh as possible. But from a mental point of view, I’m missing actual cricket now,” the 36-year-old Bavuma said.
“The ODI World Cup is still over a year away, which is why the squad now looks very different. In terms of style of play, we want to start getting our heads around that and who are the key individuals? We want to keep the confidence and belief of the Test team.”
Of course, South Africa have a yukky record of making a mess of World Cups, but the tenacious skipper is adamant the team will face their history head-on and try to turn the pressure of expectation playing at home into fuel to drive performance.
“We will carry belief from having played in the final and then the semifinals of the last two T20 World Cups and winning the World Test Championship. And in the last ODI World Cup we performed well too to reach the semifinals.
“Whatever demons there are, we will have those conversations, that will definitely happen, even though we are focused more on Tests this year. Pressure is always there and the more you do well, the more expectation there is. All eyes will be on us and I’m sure our fans expect us to do good things at home.
“We are creating an environment that makes us able to perform at ICC events and if we keep giving ourselves a chance, keep getting into position to win one, then at some point things will change in our favour,” Bavuma said.
In the meantime, what a pleasure it is going to be to be able to sit back and watch the Proteas take on two of their greatest rivals in a full summer programme that will hopefully reignite the gees [contagious energy] that used to surround our national cricket team.
PS: Bavuma captained the Ghent Gladiators team to victory in the EUT20 Belgium, scoring 28 off 17 balls in the final. He played alongside Jon-Jon Smuts and Dwaine Pretorius in a tournament which also featured Martin Guptill, Jason Roy, Tristan Luus and David Wiese.
