Ken Borland

Ken Payet’s face creased into a frown as the tournament director of the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Sun City’s Operations Manager for Sport and Recreation considered the impact cancelling this year’s event would have on the local community around the resort.

The 2020 Nedbank Golf Challenge, which was meant to be the 40^th anniversary of the event that began life as the Million Dollar, was cancelled at the end of last month due to all the uncertainty over the Covid-19 pandemic, and while Payet said the decision was made in time to avoid any serious financial losses for the tournament, his heart went out to the local economy which relies on one of the most lucrative events in world golf for much-needed income.

“Action was taken in time because deadlines were set for certain decisions to be made and only small costs were incurred, but really next to no money was lost. But if we had given the green light then and started with the infrastructure build for the event, millions of rand would have been wasted if the tournament did not then go ahead. The ability to travel was unknown and we still don’t know for sure about quarantine times both here and in Dubai where the Race to Dubai World Tour Championship Final is played the following week.

“But the impact will really be felt by the local community and you’ve got to feel for them because the tournament employs about 5000 people. So in future the Nedbank Golf Challenge will be looking to contribute to them through charities that raise funds, like Golf for Good on the European Tour. We will see what we can do to give back to them, make a difference in people’s lives, and we are already in talks about that,” Payet said at Sun City at the weekend.

While the uncertainty over travel restrictions – international travel will only resume on October 1 – obviously played a big role in the decision to cancel the event this year, it also just made business sense because crowds would not have been allowed to attend.

“Playing behind closed doors was not really an option because this is the biggest social event and is all about networking. For the sponsors to get a return on their investment, they want to entertain existing clients and network with possible clients. For them it’s not just about branding and our sponsors are an integral part of the Sun City family.

“Our sponsors have also had a lot of retrenchments, so spending a whole lot of money sponsoring a golf tournament would not have sent a good message. There’s such uncertainty, even now we could still go back to Lockdown Level III and there is still a reluctance to travel. The infection rate just has to rise and all that money spent is thrown down the drain. We just would not have been able to put on the event we know and love,” Payet said.

A South African may not have won a Major title since Ernie Els triumphed at the Open in 2012, but any suggestion our golf is going to the dogs has been refuted by the superb displays of our golfers around the world over the weekend.

Between them, South Africa’s four top performing golfers over the weekend – Louis Oosthuizen, Garrick Higgo, Ashleigh Buhai and Els himself – took home nearly R23 million in prizemoney. And that excludes the cash raked in by the top-five finishes of both George Coetzee and Retief Goosen.

The Major event of the weekend was the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club outside New York and the powerful Bryson de Chambeau unleashed his dogs of war in the final round, in which he was the only golfer to shoot under-par, to win by a massive six strokes.

Oosthuizen, who was four off the pace at the start of the round, was soon out of real contention for the title as De Chambeau began dismembering the course on his way to a 67, and his challenge ran out of steam with a three-over 73 on the final day. Nevertheless it was good enough for the 2010 Open champion to finish alone in third, two behind second-placed Matthew Wolff.

Oosthuizen took home more than R14.2 million for his efforts and he now has six top-three finishes in the Majors, including being runner-up at least once in all of them.

The PGA Tour Champions is a lucrative way for professional golfers who have turned 50 and qualified for the seniors tour to bulk up their medical aid and Els took home more than R2.6 million at the weekend when he finished third in the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

Unfortunately Els, who was the leader going into the final round, suffered another of his putting breakdowns as he missed a two-foot putt for par on the last that would have secured him a place in the playoff with eventual winner Jim Furyk and Jerry Kelly.

Goosen finished in fourth place, two shots adrift of Els.

Buhai (nee’ Simon) did get into a playoff in her event on the LPGA Tour, shooting a brilliant seven-under-par 65 in the final round to join Major winner Georgia Hall in the showdown for the Cambria Portland Classic title at Columbia Edgewater.

Unfortunately, Buhai’s putter, which had come to her aid numerous times earlier in the day, let her down on the second extra hole as she missed a par putt to deny her her maiden LPGA title.

The good news though for the three-time SA Open winner is that she has earned herself a place in the U.S. Open in December and she won nearly R2.7 million.

There was at least one South African winner at the weekend though and that was young rising star Garrick Higgo, who claimed his maiden European Tour title by winning the Portugal Open at Royal Obidos. In just his seventh start on the tour, a marvellous seven-under-par 65 drove the 21-year-old left-hander to the victory, Higgo beating Spaniard Pep Angles by one stroke.

Higgo was superb with the Driver all weekend, and he did not make a bogey in his last 26 holes, dropping just three shots all tournament.

While Higgo took home a little more than R3 million for his life-changing win, Coetzee continued to capitalise on his fine form by finishing in a tie for third, four shots back.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a really fickle broker for Branden Grace’s Major hopes in 2020, first forcing him out of the PGA Championship and now getting him a late spot in the U.S. Open which tees off at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York on Thursday.

Grace had found some great form the week before the PGA Championship and was tied for second midway through the Barracuda Championship on August 1 when he started showing symptoms of Covid-19, had a test done and it came back positive. The 10-day quarantine period meant he missed the first Major of this weird year and it also cost him the chance of qualifying for the U.S. Open.

By the time the cut-off was made for the United States Golf Association’s showpiece event, on August 23, Grace had slipped to 91 in the world rankings due to his two weeks of inactivity and was first alternate for the U.S. Open.

But then last weekend Scottie Scheffler, named Rookie of the Year with seven top-10 finishes and a 59 in the Northern Trust Open, withdrew from the U.S. Open after himself testing positive for Covid-19 and Grace has replaced him in the 144-man field.

“It’s really unfortunate for Scottie, for him to go through what he’s going to go through after having such a great rookie season. I just got lucky with this one and the circle has gone around a little bit. I was really disappointed with the way things initially happened, when I was playing well and then it pretty much cost me the spot to get into the U.S. Open.

“And I couldn’t compete the next week at the PGA, missing that one I was really bummed. But this is my favourite major, the U.S. Open,” Grace said earlier this week at Winged Foot, an iconic course rated one of the toughest tests in golf.

There are seven South African golfers in all teeing it up in the first U.S Open to be held in September since 1913 with debuts for Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Shaun Norris and JC Ritchie, who qualified by virtue of winning last season’s Sunshine Tour order of merit.

This week provides a second U.S. Open start for Erik van Rooyen and Justin Harding, while Louis Oosthuizen will be gunning for his second major title, a second place in the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay being one of four runners-up finishes for the 2010 Open champion.

The 120^th U.S. Open, which will be played without spectators, offers $1 188 000 dollars for the champion.

Danie van Tonder has already won five times on the Sunshine Tour so he may not fall into the category of “rising star” in the classical sense, but the 29-year-old has lately been playing with the sort of consistency and maturity that suggests he could well be the next big South African golf export.

The winner of the African Bank Championship at Glendower Golf Club at the end of last month has finished in the top-10 of his last eight consecutive events on the Sunshine Tour and is currently in third place on the order of merit for the Rise Up Series that marked the return of professional golf. The last two events, at the ERPM Golf Club from September 23 and then the finale at Huddle Park the following week, will undoubtedly see him push for the title, and his eagerness to maintain the momentum he is currently enjoying was illustrated by his participation in the Big Easy IGT Tour’s event at Copperleaf this week. Of course Van Tonder notched another top-10 finish, claiming third place, just one stroke off making the playoff for the title.

What marks Van Tonder out as being different to so many other golf pros is his willingness to try different things; the mainstream is not necessarily the way for him. From the unorthodoxies of his swing to his diet to the fact that his wife has been on his bag for most of his career, the former number one amateur is his own man.

He says the consistency he is now enjoying is mostly down to the patience he has shown in just plugging away through a career that has seen some meteoric rises and some periods in the doldrums.

“I’ve always felt consistent about my game, I’m almost 30 now though, I’m a bit older and everything takes time. Being my own coach, a self-taught golfer with my wife helping me, I guess I am my own person and I have never been scared to try something new. Even if it works, I’ve never been scared to think outside the box. I’m not the cleverest cookie, but I would say I am smart.

“But that being said, my swing [which is remarkably stiff-armed] is still the same, to me it’s just back-and-through. It feels simple and I like to keep it as simple as possible because then there’s not much space for error. I’m not so focused on the technical side, I’m more of a feel player. I’ve always been good with my irons, I stick to the same set of Titleist 716 CBs for a while, it’s something I can work with without worrying about between all the gym and travel. But in the last four years it is my putting that has shown the most improvement,” the Sunshine Tour’s order of merit runner-up in both 2014 and last season says.

Europe surely beckons for Van Tonder, who last played regularly on that tour in 2015, finishing 145^th in the Race to Dubai to miss out on regaining his card. But with two top-10 finishes in co-sanctioned events in South Africa, as well as another three in Challenge Tour tournaments here, winning his card back on home soil is a strong possibility.

In February, at the Cape Town Open at Royal Cape GC, Van Tonder went into the final round leading by two strokes after rounds of 66 67 and 69, but he then faded into a tie for seventh with a 78.

But he believes there’s no need to try and be a superhero about it, a return to Europe will come when the time is right.

“Playing in Europe has always been the goal, but it’s been very hard to get over there with Covid, there are so many new rules. Plus you have to live in a bubble and not leave your hotel room. Next year things should be a bit better and I will just try and get more chances to play over there. Winning our order of merit will get me a few invites as well.

“But I just need to play more European Tour events, it’s no good just having four days to try and win your card, that’s very hit-and-miss, you need about 10 starts and then if you are consistent you get places on the order of merit. And my eight top-10s in a row show I can be consistent. It’s just a question of time, I feel,” Van Tonder says.

What is not in question is his hunger and work ethic; the Sasolburg-born golfer says he spends most of his ‘spare’ time with clubs either in his hands or very much on his mind.

“I like to practise a lot, when I’m lying on the couch I tend to think about practice. You do need to chill sometimes to take your mind off golf, and we do go to Durban to visit family. “But my wife Abigail and I are always together, 24/7, and I love it. She’s been on my bag for the last 7-8 years and she played when she was younger so it’s nice to have her as my caddy. She’s clever when it comes to golf and if I hit a few bad shots then she will ask me to ‘do this or do that’, things I don’t think about. She understands everything about the game,” Van Tonder says.