Ken Borland

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – Ockie Strydom woke up on Friday morning and thought it was going to be wet and miserable at the St Francis Links, but it ended up being a happy day for the 37-year-old as he was sitting high, and dry, at the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series event there.

Strydom shot a five-under-par 67 on Friday to go to 11-under for the tournament, leading Dylan Naidoo, who also shot a 67, by one stroke.

“When I woke up this morning, I thought it was going to be a very wet day and driving to the course, I kept wondering if I should turn back and get my rain shoes,” Strydom said.

“In the end I didn’t drive back and it was as wet as it can be when we started the round. But it actually turned into a lovely day in the end. It was overcast, but the wind largely stayed away, until it came up a bit again with five holes to go on the back nine.”

Strydom, who began the day one stroke off the lead, made a quiet start to his round with just a single birdie on the front nine, coming at the par-five third hole.

It was actually a bogey – his only one of the day – at the par-four 11th that gave birth to an astonishing run of five successive birdies from the 12th that gave the Serengeti Golf Estate golfer the lead.

“I made sure I played good golf into the wind, but on the first nine I kept hitting all my putts short. Then on 11 I had a 15-foot birdie putt and I told my caddie there’s no way I’m leaving it short. So I hit it eight foot past and then missed the putt coming back,” Strydom explained.

“So I had a harsh little chat with myself walking to the next tee, I thought I must get something going now, take advantage of being downwind and give myself a cushion for the last hole when you’re back into the wind.”

Apart from Naidoo, the other golfers chasing Strydom on the final day will be Doug McGuigan (67) on eight-under-par and Hennie O’Kennedy (68) and Keenan Davidse (67) on seven-under.

Strydom has been leading many times before and he knows what he has to do.

“I’m just going to do the same as I’m doing at the moment. Try keep the ball in play and hit the greens. If I can make five putts, be five-under tomorrow then I’ll be in with a good shout. I must just be patient,” Strydom said.

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – Golf can be a terribly cruel game at times and while leader Ockie Strydom was busy racking up a quadruple-bogey eight at the par-four 11^th hole, Ruan Korb was putting the finishing touches to his brilliant round of 63 by sinking yet another birdie putt on the final hole of the Vodacom Origins of Golf St Francis Links tournament on Saturday.

Korb’s third successive birdie, to go with two-in-a-row on the 12^th and 13^th holes, saw him go an astonishing nine-under-par in the final round, leaving him on 13-under-par for the tournament.

Strydom had been on 15-under before the awful shock of his snowman on the 11^th, and although he did well to not totally disintegrate, he could only par his way through to the close, settling for a level-par 72 after being four-under at the turn.

That left the 37-year-old in second place on 11-under, two behind Korb. Scottish veteran Doug McGuigan also challenged for the title, but bogeyed the last two holes when pushing for birdies to tie Korb, the 52-year-old closing with a 71 that left him on nine-under and in third place for the tournament.

The 28-year-old Korb admitted that it was just one of those idyllic days when every putt he looked at, he seemed to sink.

“I really enjoyed myself out there today, the weather was better and my putting was definitely the main reason for my win, every putt just seemed to find the bottom of the cup,” Korb said.

“My putting was certainly much better than when I finished second in the SunBet Challenge Time Square in August.”

The Silver Lakes golfer, who had begun the final round seven shots off the pace, had picked up decent momentum on the front nine with three birdies and a bogey in his first four holes, but he really began pushing for the title with a brilliant run that saw him eagle the par-five sixth and then pick up shots at the next two holes.

He was now 10-under for the tournament and in striking distance, but his charge was reversed as he had a 15-minute delay at the ninth tee while the group in front searched for balls. Korb lost concentration and bogeyed both nine and 10.

“I said before the round that if I could get to 14-under then I would have a chance, but waiting on the ninth was a bit of a momentum-breaker,” Korb said.

“But after those two bogeys I just tried to get calm and said to my caddie that we have to do something now otherwise the win is going to get away from us.”

Knowing he had to be positive, Korb birdied both the par-four 12^th and the par-five 13^th into the westerly wind, and then, with holes 16 and 17 heading in the opposite direction, he took advantage with two more birdies.

The three on the par-four 18^th was the icing on the cake for his second Sunshine Tour victory, his first coming at the Time Square Casino Challenge at Wingate Park Country Club in 2020.

“It’s a big confidence-booster to win at this time of year, with the big summer events coming up,” Korb said.

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – Heinrich Bruiners grew up in George, a little more than three hours along the N2 in a westerly direction from Cape St Francis, so a little bit of blustery wind is never going to give him grey hairs.

So although the wind almost reached 30km/h on the opening day of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series at the St Francis Links on Thursday, it was no bother for Bruiners as he cruised to a marvellous, bogey-free, seven-under-par 65 to claim a one-stroke lead after the first round.

Things became a little gory for the rest of the field though, with only 31 of the 83 golfers ending the first day under par. Bruiners’ nearest challengers are Serengeti’s Ockie Strydom (66), and American Brooklin Bailey and a pair of South Africans in Dylan Naidoo and Jaco Prinsloo on 67.

“It was a bit windy today, but not too bad, just one or two clubs. Growing up on the coast, I’ve played a lot of tournaments in these conditions. I tend to focus a bit better because you have to be a bit more specific, otherwise it’s so easy to make a mistake in the wind.

“But playing in the wind feels like a bit of an advantage for me, to be honest, and I have a lower ball-flight than most,” Bruiners said.

Apart from playing what he described as his “worst two rounds for the year” in the preceding pro-am event, Bruiners has felt that he has been playing good golf, but has committed the sin of not capitalising when it comes to his final score.

On Thursday he put that right with three birdies on his front nine as he went off on the 10^th and then four more on his back nine, including three-in-a-row from the fourth.

“I’m very happy because in the last while, I’ve been playing really well but I just didn’t end off rounds the way I would like. I made a good birdie on 11 today, which is quite a tough hole, so it was nice to get off to a good start.

“The next few holes were also downwind and I was glad I capitalised because I was thinking the wind was going to pick up. I hit two very good shots for birdies on the first and fourth holes.

“Then there were more holes into the wind coming in, but I tried to be aggressive. Last week I was in contention in the SunBet Challenge Wild Coast, but I became a bit defensive down the stretch. So I tried to be a bit more positive today.

“It ended up being a really solid round, no drops because I made a really nice putt for par on the seventh. It’s the first time in a while I’ve sunk a putt like that, so it meant a lot.

“In fact this must be one of my most memorable rounds. I’ve played a few good rounds, but this one I’ll remember,” a delighted Bruiners said.

Strydom also started on the 10^th and had a much slower start to his ascent up the leaderboard, being just one-under at the turn. The first three holes at St Francis Links are deceptive, but the 37-year-old birdied all three for a great start to his back nine. Strydom also picked up shots on the fifth, sixth and eighth holes for a top-class round of golf.

Bailey also made a leap up the leaderboard on the front nine, also collecting five birdies.

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – Dylan Naidoo is one golfer who certainly won’t be ill-prepared for the vagaries of the St Francis Links when the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sunshine Tour event gets underway there on Thursday, the 24-year-old winning the pro-am on Wednesday with partner Malcolm Subramony.

After a blustery, totally overcast first day which really tested the golfers, Wednesday was much calmer and the sun made a welcome appearance. So Naidoo feels he is well-prepared for whatever weather the professionals get over the next three days.

“Today was a lot more like the weather we’re expecting for the tournament proper, so playing well works in my favour a bit. We’re expecting the same wind direction and amount of wind,” Naidoo said.

“But the first round was really different and difficult. I didn’t play great, but thankfully my amateur Malcolm came through with a bunch of points.

“This course is a really good test of every part of your game. You have to be good off the tee, your game-management needs to be really on-point and my chipping and putting was really good.

“I’m looking forward to a good week and I’ve been playing well for a little while, since I got through the first stage of European Tour School Qualifying three weeks ago. In fact, in the last six months my game has been heading in a good direction and I’m quite happy with it,” Naidoo said.

The globetrotting golfer now has his very own piece of Vodacom Origins silverware to cherish and he says the series has been a great help for him and many others in his fledgling professional career.

“It’s been a great series for many years now. To have the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series through the winter is a real bonus because otherwise there are not a lot of tournaments for us to play in.

“And if you’re a young pro who hasn’t played a lot, then the series gives your game really good preparation for the tour. It’s an opportunity to learn how to be a better golfer. It’s always a great start to the year for us,” Naidoo said.