Ken Borland

There were so many birdies, a couple of eagles and very nearly an albatross for the red-hot Danie van Tonder on Wednesday that one half-expected the Rise Up Series order of merit leader to shoot something new and extraordinary like a gosling in the first round of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded at Huddle Park Golf Club.

Van Tonder instead settled for a wonderful nine-under-par 63 in a superb round of golf that meant the baby Egyptian Geese in danger were the ones way down the fairway and certainly not those around the water hazards. The 29-year-old collected six birdies and two eagles as he basically overwhelmed the course from the tees. He very nearly scored an albatross two at the 438-metre par-five 14^th hole, when his approach lipped out of the hole.

“I’m very happy, the Driver gave me lots of chances with wedges to get really close to the pins. On 14, I hit a five-wood off the tee and then had 110 to the pin, I took my lob-wedge and said to my caddy that I must go for some spin, and I spun it back almost into the hole for a two. But almost all the holes are birdie holes, you can attack the pins and there are lots of chances on every hole.

“I’m quite happy about everything in my game, it’s great to see my hard work paying off and I’m just going to keep on practising and trying to get better. It’s a new day tomorrow and I will try and make a 10-under 62, you never know. I’ll go home now and wait for the rain to come – the greens are already very receptive and rolling nicely,” Van Tonder said after starting his hunt for a third Rise Up Series title in perfect fashion.

Four-time Sunshine Tour winner Christiaan Basson has had a disappointing Rise Up Series, only making the cut at the African Bank Championship at Glendower, but on Wednesday he played like he had a personal grudge against Huddle Park as he fired an eight-under-par 64.

He was joined on that score soon afterwards when Louis de Jager, playing in the same three-ball as Van Tonder, finished with three 3s to also sign for a brilliant 64.

It was also a good day for the experienced and consistent Jacques Blaauw, who also had two eagles on his way to a 65, and Musiwalo Nethunzwi, who also finished on seven-under alongside rookie Malcolm Mitchell.

Young Jayden Schaper produced one of the more exciting rounds of the day as he eagled the first three par-fives on his way to a 66 that gave him seventh place all by himself.

On a day when one golfer was heard to enquire “where is the rest of the par-five?”, it was a very disappointing first round for Darren Fichardt, Van Tonder’s only rival for the Rise Up Series order of merit title, as he let himself down by coming home in 38 shots (the back nine was tougher on Wednesday) to finish with a 72. With 64 golfers shooting under-par on the first day, Fichardt’s battle is now to make the cut.

Saturday’s Springbok Showdown will feature several young prospects who are just old enough to avoid needing legal guardians, but the respective coaches of the Green and Gold teams – Mzwandile Stick and Deon Davids – have ensured that those rookies are surrounded by experience as they come under the spotlight at Newlands.

Stick’s Green XV features raw but exciting backline players in fullback Gianni Lombard, wings Yaw Penje and Malcolm Jaer, and outside centre Wandisile Simelane. Scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba has already proven himself at senior level, but it is worth remembering he is still only 21 years old.

But steering the Green XV backline are two players of immense experience and matchwinning pedigree in inside centre Francois Steyn and flyhalf Elton Jantjies.

Similarly, the Gold XV is captained by the seasoned World Cup winner Lukhanyo Am and also boasts Courtnall Skosan, who has played 77 Super Rugby games and 12 Tests for South Africa, on the wing.

“We wanted to make sure that some promising youngsters are given a fair opportunity, guys who have come all through our junior structures. But then we have also put guys around them from the World Cup squad, so that will be a real boost for them. The guys coming through our junior system – that’s our future – but the main thing is to select youngsters with experience alongside them.

“They are our future and you don’t want to throw them into the deep end, so Simelane has Steyn next to him, Nohamba and Elton Jantjies are our halfbacks. The other team has Lukhanyo Am playing in midfield with Rikus Pretorius. We tried to select a good balance, make sure we also select experienced guys like Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen, so we give those youngsters the best possible opportunity for them to impress,” Stick said on Wednesday at the team announcement for the Springbok Showdown.

“All over, spread from numbers one to 15, there are special talents. Each player brings his own special x-factor and there should be some really good battles. At eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe against Duane Vermeulen, who is a very experienced campaigner, is going to be a great match-up and the battle between the nines and 10s should be very interesting. Plus Simelane is up against one of the best outside centres in the world in Am, so I’m looking forward to that battle,” Davids added.

Davids was also delighted to have the services of two of the brightest young talents at flyhalf, naming Stormers prospect Damian Willemse as his starting 10 and Sharks star Curwin Bosch on the Gold bench.

“Curwin has come back from injury really well and he was certainly in contention to start. We are privileged to have such talent in our flyhalves and I’m happy to have both, we can use them differently for different situations. Both have a huge future and I’m excited to see how they respond on Saturday.

“We look at the Green team and our strengths, but also their weaknesses, and try and build on that, that will be significant in terms of our approach. But I just want the players to express themselves, apply good fundamentals and, against very tough opposition, just play to the best of their ability. We are in a very special environment, with coaches who are very good at what they do,” Davids said.

Teams

Springbok Green: Gianni Lombard, Yaw Penxe, Wandisile Simelane, Francois Steyn, Malcolm Jaer, Elton Jantjies,  Sanele Nohamba, Duane Vermeulen, Arno Botha, Siya Kolisi (captain), Hyron Andrews, JD Schickerling, Luan de Bruin, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Schalk Erasmus, Kwenzo Blose, Thomas du Toit, JJ van der Mescht, Juarno Augustus, Junior Pokomela, Embrose Papier, Manie Libbok, Jeremy Ward, Kade Wolhuter.

Springbok Gold: Warrick Gelant, Rosko Specman, Lukhanyo Am (captain), Rikus Pretorius, Courtnall Skosan,  Damian Willemse, Herschel Jantjies, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Nizaam Carr, Marco van Staden, Marvin Orie, Salmaan Moerat, Ruan Dreyer, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements – 16 – Dylan Richardson,  Dylan Smith, Carlü Sadie, Jason Jenkins,  James Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Ivan van Zyl, Curwin Bosch, Werner Kok, Manuel Rass.

Danie van Tonder has shown his willingness to dare to be different and his commitment to an aggressive approach, and he is not going to change any of that when he tees it up early on Wednesday morning at Huddle Park Golf Club in the first round of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded, the final event of the Rise Up Series he is currently leading.

Van Tonder, given the incredible consistency he has shown in finishing in the top-10 in his last 13 events, dating back a year, will be the favourite in a two-horse race to win the order of merit for the Sunshine Tour’s return-to-play series, with Darren Fichardt trailing the 29-year-old from Copperleaf by more than R37 000.

George Coetzee is third, but is away in Europe, and Ulrich van den Berg is fourth, but nearly R112 000 behind Van Tonder, with the winner of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded taking home R95 100.

“Nothing will change, I’m just carrying on with practising and working hard. I’ve played practice rounds at Huddle Park both yesterday [Monday] and today [Tuesday] and the greens are nice and soft and rolling nicely, so that will suit my aggressive style. I’m going to go flag-hunting, I can hit the ball right at the pin and not worry about it bouncing off the green.

“I don’t mind what anyone else is doing, it’s the same for everyone and I will still just go out there and go for fairways and greens and make as many birdies as I can. There are four par-fives and nine par-fours, so if I can shoot six or seven-under then that will be a good round. It’s quite a nice course because I can hit Driver everywhere,” Van Tonder told The Citizen on Tuesday.

There are many in the local game who see similarities between Van Tonder and Bryson de Chambeau, the U.S. Open champion who is threatening to change the entire sport in ferociously single-minded fashion. The South African, who jokingly points out that he is a couple of years older than De Chambeau so he must have copied him, shares the same stiff-armed swing and unflinchingly aggressive approach with the American.

“I’ve always been happy to do my own thing. My swing is not textbook, so I had a lot of people advising me against pro golf when I started out. As I got better the critics started saying things like, ‘How do you plan on making a living out of golf with a swing like that?’ But luckily I didn’t listen too much. Fortunately I have a little bit of the water-off-a-duck’s-back attitude.”

Given how savagely dominant he has been in the Rise Up Series, there is no need for Van Tonder to change anything. It may be cruel the way he is depriving all the other struggling pros a share of the big prizemoney at the moment, but they can hopefully lift their own games to provide fierce competition in this final event.

After sensationally bursting on the scene last year, 2020 has undoubtedly been a year of great frustration for Herschel Jantjies, but the 24-year-old scrumhalf has decided whatever time he has in the Springbok camp over the next couple of months will be a time of investment in making him an even better player.

Jantjies began 2019 not even sure of his spot as the Stormers No.1 scrumhalf, but his Super Rugby campaign was so outstanding that he was chosen for the Springbok squad, practically out of nowhere. His rapid ascension continued when he scored two tries on his Test debut in the 35-17 win against Australia at Ellis Park, and he ended the year as a Rugby Championship and World Cup winner, back-up to Faf de Klerk and with a nomination for World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.

But then came 2020 and Jantjies’ woes started well before the Lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His own form was as inconsistent as the Stormers’, and then he fractured his leg in their last game before Lockdown, against the Sharks in Durban. But the timing has been perfect for the Kylemore product and now that rugby has resumed, he is raring to go, as evidenced by his dynamic display last weekend against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld.

“It was actually a blessing in disguise having a fractured leg going into Lockdown. It meant I had the time to recover, it took six to seven weeks for the fracture to heal and then there was all the rehab and getting match fit. And now I’m really excited to be back and really looking forward to this week with the Springboks. In this week with the Gold squad, I’m just going to take in as much as I can because there’s a lot I can still improve on.

“It took quite a bit of time, but I was ready exactly when we planned – when we started full-on contact – and I just can’t wait to play some full-on rugby. In the meantime you’re never too old or too young to learn and I am still in the phase of my career when I am learning a lot. Then I just have to apply it to my game so I become a better player,” Jantjies said on Tuesday from Cape Town, where the Green and Gold squads are preparing for the Springbok Showdown at Newlands on Saturday.

Youngsters Damian Willemse and Curwin Bosch are the two flyhalves in the Gold squad and Herschel’s namesake but no relation, Elton Jantjies, is now the senior No.10 in the Springbok squad after Handre Pollard’s serious knee injury, and is intent on helping the less experienced wannabes along.

“It’s a big week for us because we want to get the alignment right between the old and new faces. It’s about being warriors, aligning with the group and having discipline. It’s really tough to lose Handre because he was starting to play really good, consistent rugby, and we helped each other. But if it’s my opportunity to fill that role then I’m definitely ready.

“In the meantime I just want to help the younger guys in the team to feel comfortable in the environment so that they can come out on Saturday and execute their skills. Until the Rugby Championship is confirmed, our main focus is on the Currie Cup/Super Rugby. But I’m sure we will be physically prepared and mentally as well,” Elton Jantjies said.