Ken Borland

A new Omoda C5 will set you back around half a million rand given the futuristic brilliance of this crossover vehicle, so it is a measure of the esteem in which the Hornbill Classic is held that this super-hybrid car was provided by the Mbombela branch of this Chinese automobile manufacturer as a hole-in-one prize.

Omoda Jaecoo Mbombela were the main sponsors of the two-day tournament at Kruger Park Lodge by Legacy Hotels and Resorts that was played for the 29^th time. The Omoda C5, full of new technological developments, was the prize for a hole-in-one on the long and challenging 194m par-three fifth hole, that has a threatening water hazard lurking on the left of the green.

While Team Wouter (Wouter du Toit, Piet Taljard, Paul Lombard & Zak Oosthuizen) claimed overall honours in the Hornbill Classic four-ball alliance, the hole-in-one prize was unfortunately not won. Oosthuizen came close to a hole-in-one, but on the par-three 16^th hole with its 150m carry over water on to a wide but shallow green.

Nico Grobler, the Omoda Jaecoo Nelspruit sales manager who also took part in the tournament, took the disappointment of not being able to give away the modern and sporty looking vehicle with good civillity.

“It would have been awesome if the car had been won, but it was nice to see all the people smiling at the hole and also chatting with us on the first, where we had a station too. Everyone heard about the prize and we’ve felt the support back already.

“There were so many brands involved in the Hornbill Classic, not just us. The tournament is about people, it’s about the community and we are part of that. It was about different communities working together and feeling at home.

“I was introduced to the Hornbill Classic by my dealer principal and it is one of the most up-and-coming events in the Lowveld. It is very nice to be part of something like this and the Omoda is a very good value-for-money vehicle, one of Chery’s upper range crossovers,” Grobler said.

Reeza Hendricks will not be based at his beloved DP World Wanderers Stadium for the SA20 tournament that starts on January 9, but that’s not to say the Lions star is not looking forward to the event.

Hendricks has been an ever-present in the Joburg Super Kings line-up in the first two seasons of the SA20, but was released this year. That was not the setback it seemed, however, as the 35-year-old fetched the highest bid at the auction for the 2025 edition, netting R4.3 million from MI Cape Town.

He will be joining fellow DP World Lions stars Kagiso Rabada, Connor Esterhuizen, Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen and Delano Potgieter at MI Cape Town. And Hashim Amla, the vastly-respected batting coach for the Central Gautengers, is also with the Newlands-based T20 franchise.

It’s not for nothing that there is such a concentration of #ThePrideOfJozi that has been signed by head coach Robin Peterson. The DP World Lions are the back-to-back domestic T20 champions and Hendricks has starred in both winning campaigns.

In 2023/24, he was the third-highest run-scorer with 440 at 36.66 and a strike-rate of 140.12, with four half-centuries. In this season’s triumph, he was again in the top-10 run-scorers with 194 at 38.80 and a strike-rate of 135.66, with two fifties.

Given that he has been starring on the domestic T20 stage since 2010/11, it is not a surprise that Hendricks this season broke former Knights team-mate Morne van Wyk’s record for the most domestic T20 career runs.

Van Wyk held the record with 3183 runs in 113 innings, averaging 31.83 at a strike-rate of 124. Hendricks went past that tally in the final against the Titans and has scored 3184 runs at an average of 36.18 and a strike-rate of 125.35.

And it’s not just the DP World Lions that Hendricks has been shining for: He has been one of the premier T20  batsmen in international T20 cricket, scoring 1222 runs for the Proteas in the last three years, at an average of 33.94 and a strike-rate of 141.92.

“I’ve had a good run, although I had a bit of a slump in the World Cup. But I made a few runs since then and hopefully I’m close to my best again and the runs keep coming. A little slump like that is not uncommon in your career, but hopefully I’m out of it now,” Hendricks said.

“It’s a part of the game and you just need to accept it and move on. Conditions were quite challenging at the World Cup and it wasn’t anything to do with technique. It was just a time I had to go through, although it continued longer than I would have liked.

“It’s nice to win trophies and be the highest run-scorer ever in the competition. Milestones are a part of it, it’s quite an achievement to have most runs ever, but a winning team and culture is more important.

“The record tells you that I’ve been around for a while and I just try to keep my batting as simple as possible, I formulate plans that work for me. Hopefully they continue to work going forward.”

Even a move away from the DP World Wanderers Stadium for the SA20 is okay with the typically phlegmatic Hendricks.

“I still feel good and I will keep playing for as long as I can, as long as I still have the desire, the passion is still there and I’m still scoring runs. I just try and keep my standards and keep building on my game. I like to think my game is still evolving and now I have a new coach to work with [Peterson] in January,” he said.

The DP World Lions are well-represented throughout the SA20 with 13 players in all taking part in the six-team franchise competition. The other Western Cape side, the Paarl Royals, also have a clutch of #ThePrideOfJozi with Nqaba Peter, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Bjorn Fortuin and Kwena Maphaka chosen for Trevor Penney’s side.

All-rounders Wiaan Mulder and Evan Jones will turn out for the Durban Super Giants and Joburg Super Kings respectively.

Given the troubled economic situation, nine-hole golf courses are becoming more popular in South Africa and Kruger Park Lodge has one of the best in the country.

Regularly named in the top-10 of Golf Digest’s rankings for the best nine-hole courses and that of satop100courses.com, the par-72 Kruger Park GC was designed in 1992 by Phil Jacobs of Gary Player Design and has 18 different tees and a length of 6100 metres.

The cleverness of the course is complemented by the beautiful scenery, the rolling hills of the Hazyview area providing a lovely backdrop.

Although the course is of only average length, the designers did a great job of asking tricky questions off just about every tee. The undulating terrain, with plenty of mounds coming into play, adds further difficulty as does many water hazards and creative if sparse bunkering.

The innovative design is immediately apparent on the par-four first/10th holes, where there is a big tree in front of the tees. It is more of a factor playing from the 10^th tee, with golfers forced to either aim to the left side of the fairway or hit a low drive in order to avoid the overhanging branches.

The fairway has plenty of mounds and approaches are hit to a green that slopes uphill.

The second/11th holes are also a par-four. The 11^th is shorter (328m v 381m) but it requires a longer hit from the tee-box to make the fairway and there are also a couple of trees to negotiate. Do not go right off the tee because there is a big dam which is strictly out-of-bounds due to the presence of hippos and crocodiles. The amphibious mammals did make their presence known by suddenly surfacing with an explosive expulsion of CO₂ and a dramatic new breath being taken, but the crocs were typically clandestine, sneakily remaining out of view from the lovely hide erected to look over the dam.

The third/12th hole is the first par-five and as cunning as a crocodile. A drive of over 200 metres is needed to get over the hill in front of the tee, but 150 metres from the green there is a stream across the fairway, which will ensnare the longer hitters. The approach is downhill to the green, with a dam in front, but a bank behind the green does help in allowing golfers to hit their second or third shots a bit long. Bear in mind though that a chip back towards the water then follows … 

A shortish par-four (342/359m) follows to help settle the nerves, but the drive is into an uphill fairway, which then takes a dogleg left and the approach is to an elevated green.

Water hazards quickly return though on the par-three fifth/14th hole with a dam left of the green. At 194 metres long, the tee-shot from the fifth tee-box will be a challenge for the average golfer.

The par-four sixth hole, measuring 369 metres, is Stroke 1 and will be testing. Playing from the 15^th tee, it is a bit shorter at 359 metres and considered easier as a Stroke 10. With trees down the left of the fairway, you don’t want to drive there, with the hole then doglegging left. The entrance to the green is guarded by a bunker and a rockpool on either side.

Befitting an area reputed to be the best in the world for growing bananas, more aquatic banana peels await on the par-three seventh/16th holes. A carry of 150 metres is required to hit across a big dam when playing from the seventh tee, aiming for a perpendicular green that is wide but very shallow.

Be prepared to take a moment to enjoy the view from the elevated eighth/17th tees, which is a spectacularly scenic par-five. The drive is downhill with a wonderful view of the foothills of the escarpment, on to a fairway that turns gently to the left. The green is surrounded by the beautiful riverine woodland trees of the Lowveld, including a big Natal Mahogany that guards the front left of the putting surface. Measuring 498 metres for the eighth and 477 for the 17th, this is probably the feature hole of Kruger Park Lodge Golf Club.

The ninth and 18^th tees provide intimidating drives between trees growing along the stream on either side of the fairway. Playing on to an up-slope, the fairway then swings right down to the green. There are lots of mounds on the approach and a narrow green, with bunkers on both sides, as well as a rockpool on the left, so when we have safely negotiated the closing hole, we deserve our liquid refreshment seated in the lapa which is right next to the Sabie River and all its riches of biodiversity.

Pierre van Nieuwenhuizen, who joined Kruger Park GC as the pro last year, having previously been the golf director at Euphoria Estate and the academy director at Silver Lakes Country Club, says the Lowveld course that has now hosted 29 editions of the Hornbill Classic is a gem.

“I just love this course because every hole is unique and sort of has its own personality. It’s a thinker’s course that you cannot overpower, the longer hitters must really think their way around and I love that. The modern game is dominated by bombers that just wedge and putt all day.

“Then the incredible views, amazing vistas all around the course. Holes four and five are gorgeous and from the eighth tee it’s spectacular. It’s really a course that has everything a golfer wants to enjoy himself,” Van Nieuwenhuizen says.

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.