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Ken Borland


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Viljoen wonders why back nine went sour, but it’s him who leads 0

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Ken

KITWE (Zambia) – MJ Viljoen may have wondered why his fortunes turned sour on the back nine, but the 29-year-old held his round together to take a one-stroke lead after the third and penultimate round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Saturday.

Viljoen was three-under-par for his round through eight holes on Saturday, but suffered four bogeys coming home. But he showed his mettle by birdieing the 16th and 17th holes to finish with a one-under-par 71 for nine-under-par overall.

Jacques P. de Villiers shot an excellent 68 on Saturday to move to eight-under-par, tied for second with Dayne Moore, who slipped back in the third round with a 74.

Conditions were more difficult on Saturday with the wind picking up around the woodlands course.

“The wind was up today and it kept me busy, especially on the back nine,” Viljoen said. “I almost turned three-under but I was unfortunate on nine. I hot two gorgeous shots but I unfortunately went three metres too far and the ball rolled down the back and from there it’s bogey all day.

“And then on 10 I just nicked a tree, which threw me into trouble. So I had two bad lies in a row and then I had a bad bounce long-right on 13. I just struggled to get momentum on the back nine. But otherwise I was going well and played some flawless golf.”

The Serengeti Estates golfer said positive things is what he will be focusing on going into the final round as he chases his third Sunshine Tour title and his first since September 2022 at the SunBet Challenge Wild Coast.

“I’m trying to look at all the good bounces I got rather than the bad ones and I won’t be changing anything in my game-plan. My mental coach, Shaun Landsberg, has been working with me on uysing bad thoughts to my advantage. Last week I had a breakthrough, I must just let go and let it happen. My focus is going to be on where my confidence is,” Viljoen said.

Hole-in-one Moore too great an adversary as he snatches lead from Viljoen 0

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Ken

KITWE – First-round leader MJ Viljoen played another solid round of golf but home favourite Dayne Moore was too great an adversary in the second round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Friday as he shot a spectacular 64, that included a hole-in-one, to snatch top spot on the leaderboard.

Viljoen followed up his excellent 66 in the first round with a two-under 70 on Friday, but still surrendered a two-stroke lead to Moore, whose 64 was his best ever round on the Sunshine Tour.

The Zambian’s hole-in-one came on the par-three third hole, but Moore produced plenty of superb golf as he went bogey-free and collected six birdies as well.

“Three is such a tough hole and I was just trying to get on to the top level, to be honest,” Moore said. “It was 221 metres to the flag and down off the right, and I hit a high six-iron which just came off exactly how I wanted.

“But the scorer at the back of the green wasn’t looking, so there was no reaction. When I walked up to the green, I actually started looking over the green at first. It’s my third hole-in-one and I got one on the Big Easy Tour at Wingate two years ago.

“But apart from being lucky at the third, my putter worked really well, especially on quite a few clutch par putts. And I hit 15 greens in regulation. I’ve been seeing coach Neil Cheetham and he has completely changed my long game, he has helped me a lot. That’s where I was lacking, because my short game has always been something I could lean on,” Moore said.

Moore leapt up to 10-under-par going into the weekend, and Viljoen was also on that mark after 12 bogey-free holes on Friday that included an eagle on the par-five second. But the par-fours coming in proved his stumbling block as he dropped shots on the 13th, 14th and 16th holes, before birdieing the par-five 17th to finish on eight-under-par.

Kyle Barker also had an excellent second round, shooting a 68 to claim third spot on six-under-par.

Jacques P. de Villiers and Fredrik From both shot 70s to share fourth place on four-under-par, while Lyle Rowe completed the top six, notching a level-par 70 on Friday for three-under-par.

Jason Roets was sharing second place after the first round with Keegan Thomas, but tumbled down the leaderboard on Friday, having six bogeys in his 76 that saw him finish on level-par.

Thomas suffered even more, struggling to an 80 in the second round, which left him on four-over-par.

What a wonderful albatross as Viljoen leads 0

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Ken

KITWE – A wonderful albatross at the par-five fourth hole lifted MJ Viljoen to a six-under-par 66 and the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Thursday.

Viljoen said his game-plan has generally been to hit three-woods off the tee, but the tee-box being moved up on the 484m fourth hole was why he decided to try his driver. And what a decision it was as he notched the first albatross of his career.

“I keep telling everyone it was just two perfect golf shots. There’s a little sluit in the way on the fourth, and I didn’t expect them to move the tee-box up. That gave me the idea to maybe try driver and I hit it over the sluit and into a perfect position. I had 187 metres to the flag and my six-iron only goes 180 and it was a touch into the wind. So I was never going to go too long and I could just swing as hard as I can.

“It came out just unreal and I saw it going straight for the hole. Jean Hugo and the guys on the next tee-box affirmed that it went in like a putt, if it had missed the hole it would have only been by two or three inches,” Viljoen said.

The tremendous round came at a time when the Serengeti-based Viljoen feels like he is getting back to being the golfer who soared to two Sunshine Tour wins and more than R4 million in prizemoney after joining the tour in 2015. But last season was a real struggle for him as he tried to juggle his commitments at home and playing on the Asian Tour and Challenge Tour; he finished 64th on the Order of Merit Delivered by the Courier Guy, the first time he was outside the top-30 since 2018/19.

He completed the season well, though, with top-20 finishes in the Stella Artois Players Championship and the Limpopo Championship. This season he has finished in ties for sixth, 14th and 34th in the three events so far.

“Last year was a struggle, but I have played good golf in the past so obviously I know what it takes. That kept me mentally alive, even though my head was all over the place playing on the Asian Tour, having some status on the Challenge Tour and trying to keep my card in South Africa. I also struggled with my equipment and made big changes at bad times.

“I was in a downward spiral but then I went back to my old equipment and my old coach, Hendrik Buhrmann. Shaun Landsberg looks after the mental side for me, telling me how the brain works and putting that puzzle together.

“So today was the way I know I can play and even though it’s just one round, it’s nice to get a pat on the shoulder from the game. I’m very happy with my round as a whole, I played very solid golf and I can’t see how I would not have a good score playing like that. It was pretty flawless,” the 29-year-old Viljoen said.

His divine moment on the fourth also separated him from the chasing pack, with Keegan Thomas and Jason Roets both shooting four-under 68s. Thomas was bogey-free around the 94-year-old, 6571m course, the only golfer to achieve that feat on Thursday.

Home favourite Madalitso Muthiya was in a tie for fourth on three-under-par after a 69 that included a seven on the par-five 17th. The Zambian is alongside Lyle Rowe and Heinrich Bruiners.

Blaauw makes playoff par to snap 8-year winning drought 0

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Ken

SUN CITY – Jacques Blaauw made par at the first playoff hole to win the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City at the Gary Player Country Club on Friday, the 38-year-old breaking an eight-year winning drought and doing it at one of his favourite courses.

It all led to an emotional celebration by Blaauw as he admitted to being “like a madman, going crazy on the phone” with his wife and father shortly after the trophy presentation.

“It’s been a while since my last win – 2016 – but I’ve been playing very well the last two months and I was thinking the win was coming,” Blaauw said, following up his four rounds in the sixties to finish third in the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am a fortnight ago with rounds of 71-71-69 for five-under-par at Gary Player Country Club.

“And I played really well today, besides my finish in regulation play when I bogeyed the 15th and 18th holes. But the wind made conditions really tough today and those last holes were playing difficult.

“I’ve been putting very well recently and my approach play today was much closer than I’m used to, which gave me more chances for birdies. A lot of hard work has gone into this, especially with my driving, which I’ve struggled with lately. But I worked on it yesterday and changed my settings.

“This game keeps you humble, there are more ups and downs. It’s funny, but what I consider to be my first professional win came at the Gary Player Country Club, one of the best courses in the country, when I won the Klipdrift Touring Pro-Am back in 2010/11. I’ve waited so long now for this win, so I was like a madman, going crazy on the phone when I spoke to my wife and dad,” Blaauw said.

Blaauw’s two late bogeys left him tied with Tristin Galant, Yurav Premlall and Jonathan Broomhead as that trio finished their rounds.

Premlall and Broomhead both made bogeys at the last hole, but Galant made an excellent par to force the playoff.

Blaauw and Galant then made their way to the par-five ninth, with both laying up. After their approach shots to the green, it was advantage Galant as he was nine feet from the hole after a fantastic shot, with Blaauw hitting a poor shot, by his own admission, to be 35 feet from the flag.

But Blaauw still attacked the birdie putt, hitting it five feet past but showing his composure and previous winning experience by making the par putt coming back. Galant missed his birdie putt and then unfortunately missed a three-footer for par.

Blaauw had been superb for most of his final round, making birdie on the first two holes and then adding an eagle on the par-five 10th and a birdie on the par-three 12th.

Two superb hits on the 505m 10th with a Driver and a four-iron set Blaauw up with a nine-foot eagle putt, and he was even more delighted with his four-iron into the 18th. Even though he ended up making bogey, the Els Club Copperleaf golfer said “it’s one of the best shots of my career and was crucial to my win”.

Galant shot a 70 on the final day and also suffered late blows with bogeys on the par-five 14th and par-four 17th.

Premlall made his fifth birdie of the round on the par-three 12th to hit eight-under-par, but he then double-bogeyed the par-four 13th and had two more drops coming in.

Broomhead was on six-under-par overall through 10 holes, but then made two bogeys coming in to sign for a level-par 72.

Overnight leader Werner Deyzel suffered a number of body blows on the brutal course, finishing with a seven-over 79 which included a triple-bogey on the 14th.

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    2 Peter 3:18 – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

    True Christianity starts with accepting Jesus Christ as your saviour and redeemer and fully surrendering to him. You have to start living a new life; submit daily to the will of your master.

    We need to grow within grace, not into grace, and the responsibility rests with us. Your role model is Jesus Christ and he is always with you to strengthen you in your weakness, but you have to cultivate your growth. So spend more time in prayer and use the faith you already have.

     

     



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