Ken Borland

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – The second round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast event saw much movement on the leaderboard but no change at the top as defending champion Pieter Moolman, drawing on all his happy memories of the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, backed up his 63 on the first day with a 66 on Saturday to extend his lead.

Moolman will go into the final round with a three-stroke lead over Ruan Korb, having weathered a testing back nine into the wind, after collecting four birdies on the front nine.

The 33-year-old Moolman shot a 62 in his last tournament at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, his fantastic final-round effort lifting him to tied-fifth in the SunBet Challenge event here in July. And last year Moolman shot a 64 in the final round to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf event here in a playoff, while he was also the runner-up in the 2022 SunBet Challenge tournament on the Wild Coast.

The Benoni Lake golfer backed up his tremendous front nine as he was able to make eagle on the 441m par-five 12^th.

“I had a lucky break on 12 because I didn’t hit a great tee-shot but I got a good bounce out of the car park. I then hit a lob-wedge to three feet,” a restrained Moolman said. “We always play golf to win and to pull it through tomorrow would make me really happy. But I will have to stick to the same game-plan tomorrow, just me playing the golf course the best I can.

“Obviously I’m happy with the position I’m in, especially since the wind was tougher today and it was more different. But Jacques Blaauw also shot 66 in our three-ball today and it helped to be able to feed off his momentum. I just tried to keep giving myself chances,” Moolman said.

Moolman did slip up after his eagle on the 12^th with bogeys at the next two holes, when he misjudged the switching wind, but the hour’s golf that followed was practically faultless, apart from a couple of missed birdie opportunities.

Silver Lakes Country Club golfer Korb also struggled on the back nine, copying Moolman with an eagle on 12 but also dropping two shots. Korb also had a wonderful front nine though, going out in 31, as he also posted a 66 to finish on eight-under-par, three behind Moolman.

Five golfers were tied for third on seven-under-par – Craig Ross (68), Ruan de Smidt (67), Keelan van Wyk (67), Fredrik From (67) and Luke Brown (67).

Ricky Hendler, who was second just one stroke behind Moolman after the first round, could only shoot level-par 70 on Saturday and slipped into the tie for eighth place on six-under-par, five strokes behind Moolman, with Jaco van Zyl (67), Samuel Simpson (65), Jean-Paul Strydom (67) and Ruan Conradie (67).

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – Defending champion Pieter Moolman continued his phenomenal hot streak at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club on Friday, shooting an excellent seven-under-par 63 to claim the lead after the first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast event.

Moolman leads by one stroke over Ricky Hendler, with the Benoni golfer overcoming a slow start after beginning his round on the 10^th, being one-over after six holes. But Moolman then birdied 16, 17 and 18, before a remarkable front nine in which he collected five birdies – at the second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth holes.

The 33-year-old Moolman shot a 62 in his last tournament at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, his fantastic final-round effort lifting him to tied-fifth in the SunBet Challenge event here in July. And last year Moolman shot a 64 in the final round to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf event in a playoff, while he was also the runner-up in the 2022 SunBet Challenge tournament held here.

“I can’t exactly explain it, but I’m just happy here,” Moolman said. “It feels like home. I really enjoy the layout and I just seem to know what to hit on whatever hole and whatever the wind. I just think I’m comfortable here no matter which way the wind blows, and you always play a little better when you like being somewhere.

“I hit some good shots coming in on my front nine after I started a bit slow. Starting on the 10^th was a bit tough because we were into the wind and it was blowing hard. I didn’t play badly, but I just missed a couple of up-and-downs on 11 [bogey 4] and 12 [par 5].

“I just tried to keep giving myself opportunities and this course is really about whoever makes the putts, and that was a bonus today. I was then really steady on my back nine, my tee-shots weren’t bad and I hit some good irons. It’s all about giving yourself the best chance when you are out of position, it’s more about where you miss than hitting perfect golf shots. On the weekend, I will just keep doing what I always do around here,” Moolman said.

A trio of golfers who also live far away from the coast also excelled on Friday, as did an overseas golfer.

Hendler, from Dainfern in Johannesburg, posted a 64, his lowest ever score on the Sunshine Tour. He also started on the 10^th but was out of the blocks straight away with birdies on his first two holes. In a wonderful round of bogey-free golf, Hendler collected further birdies on the 16^th, 18^th, first and ninth holes.

Veteran Trevor Fisher Jnr from Modderfontein had bogeys on the par-four second and par-five 12^th holes, but gathered five birdies and an eagle on the 492m par-five 16^th, to post a 65 and finish in the tie for third.

Gerhard Pepler of Mogol Golf Club in Limpopo dropped just one shot, on the 168m par-three 13^th, but also eagled 16 and made four other birdies to also shoot 65.

The other golfer to shoot 65 was Scotsman Craig Ross, who was also bogey-free.

Brittney-Fay Berger was the leading women’s golfer with a 71.

KATHU, Northern Cape (22 September 2024) – Yurav Premlall was never certain he would win on the Sunshine Tour, but said he was “over the moon” following his maiden triumph at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen event on Sunday.

Premlall has been in tremendous form this season, finishing second twice, racking up two third-place finishes and three other top-15 placings, but the Glendower golfer said he did not feel like a breakthrough win was definitely just around the corner.

When Premlall stood on the first tee in the final round on Sunday, he was four strokes behind leader Deon Germishuys. And that rapidly became five behind as he bogeyed the par-four first hole.

But then his precision golf kicked in and Premlall did not drop another shot, while collecting birdies on the second, fifth, eighth, ninth, 11^th, 14^th and 15^th holes. His six-under-par 66 saw him finish on 11-under-par, good enough for a one-stroke victory over Martin Vorster (70 for 10-under-par).

“I’m over the moon,” Premlall said afterwards. “The win felt like a long time coming, but you can never be certain that you are going to win in this game. So to get over the line for the first time is very special. It’s taken lots of hard work to get this far. My frame of mind today was no different to how it’s been before this season. But sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t.

“The start wasn’t ideal, but I just stayed very patient. I hit a couple of shots close to the hole, I holed a few good putts but I missed a few as well; I guess 26 putts and the result speak differently though. But my iron play was phenomenal, every time I was in-position, even when I had to get up-and-down, the ball was in the right spots. I was very tidy around the green,” Premlall said.

Premlall has now overtaken Danie van Tonder at the top of the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and he says staying at the top of the local circuit will be his main focus for the rest of the year.

“At the start of the year I set myself the goal of really contending in the order of merit and trying to get into the top three by the end of the lucrative Tour Championship. I don’t want to have too many eggs in different baskets and you’ll see me a lot more on our tour for the remainder of the year, that’s my focus,” Premlall said.

Vorster started well, with birdies at the second and third holes putting him in the lead. But one could sense bogeys at the par-four seventh and especially the par-five 11^th holes would prove costly. Even though Vorster birdied the 14^th and 15^th holes, so did Premlall and two bogeys to the winner’s one would prove the difference.

Rookie Simon du Plooy enjoyed his best ever Sunshine Tour performance as he shot a 68 to finish third on nine-under-par. The Krugersdorp golfer put himself right in contention with an eagle on the par-five 15^th, but he then double-bogeyed the par-four 16^th to slip back. He was joined in third place by Lyle Rowe, whose 68 was bogey-free.

Germishuys struggled to a 73 on Sunday that left him on eight-under-par, alongside Matthew Spacey and Heinrich Bruiners, who both posted 69s. Malcolm Mitchell stayed on seven-under-par to finish eighth, while rookie Kyle de Beer shot a 71 to finish tied for ninth on six-under-par with the seasoned trio of Van Tonder (67), MJ Viljoen (68) and Neil Schietekat (71).

Kathu (Northern Cape) – Englishman Jacob Oakley enjoyed a welcome respite from the tough maiden Sunshine Tour campaign he is enduring as he fired a wonderful seven-under-par 65 on Friday to lead after the first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen event.

The 26-year-old from Cheshire has missed the cut in six of the seven Sunshine Tour events he has played in this season, but he did finish tied-53^rd in the SunBet Challenge Times Square Casino tournament at the end of last month.

Oakley started on the 10^th hole at Sishen Golf Club with three straight pars, but then caught fire with a birdie on the par-three 13^th and an eagle on the par-five 15^th to go out in three-under. The product of Styal Golf Club, where he was mentored by four-time DP World Tour winner David Horsey, was superb on the front nine, picking up further birdies on the second, fourth, fifth and eighth holes to claim a one-stroke lead over Malcolm Mitchell after the first day out in the Kalahari.

Mitchell continued his good recent form as he shot a 66 which included just one bogey, on the par-four 12^th. The 29-year-old, coming off top-10 finishes in his last two Sunshine Tour events, was faultless on a front nine in which he claimed three birdies. Remarkably, he made fours at all four of the par-fives on the highly-rated 6554m course.

“I drove the ball well today and I was able to take advantage of the par-fives, hitting all of them in two. And I also didn’t make any basic errors, like three-putting,” Mitchell said when asked how his success came about.

“The wind was all over the show, it had a mind of its own, so it was quite difficult out there. Luckily I’m a Durban boy though and I was able to figure it out. It’s just great that the hard work is starting to show and I’m just focusing on myself more than anything else. The mind controls everything, so I’m just trying to keep positive and stay in the present,” Mitchell said.

Kyle de Beer, who has already won nearly R600 000 in his rookie season, is tied for third on five-under-par with Simon du Plooy and Albert Venter.

Pietermaritzburg’s Neil Schietekat is among the group tied for sixth place on four-under-par.

Martin Vorster also finished with a 68, having been six-under-par with four holes left to play. But the closing holes of the front nine proved to be a bit of a mountain to climb for the 22-year-old making his way back from injury and he dropped two shots coming home.