Ken Borland

Robin Williams was able to cash in on the par-fives and his own ever-growing confidence as he soared to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the co-sanctioned Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek on Thursday.

Williams birdied three of the four par-fives on the scenic course on the border of the Kruger National Park, on his way to shooting a phenomenal seven-under-par 65, enough to give the England-based golfer a one-stroke lead.

Starting his round on the back nine also helped Williams because three of the par-fives are on that stretch, and he went to the turn on a very promising four-under. Back-to-back birdies on the par-five 15^th and par-three 16^th built on earlier gains on the par-four 11^th and the famous par-five 13^th hole overlooking the Crocodile River.

Williams birdied the first and par-five second holes as well, before his one and only dropped shot, on the par-four third hole with its strategically-placed bunkers and sloping green. But the 22-year-old finished in style with birdies on the sixth and eighth holes, continuing the impressive form he has shown in his first full season on the Sunshine Tour, after his maiden victory in October’s Fortress Invitational at Glendower.

“It was pretty fun out there today and I played well,” Williams smiled on an overcast and cool day in Malelane. “I didn’t really hit the ball in the rough although I was in a few furry spots. The greens were a lot firmer and quicker than I think everyone expected after all the rain, but I took advantage of the par-fives.

“Since that first win, I’ve gained masses of confidence over my last half-dozen tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. The courses are tougher and more penalising in these co-sanctioned events, but it’s been about adapting and learning. I probably put more pressure on myself than anything external, so I still need to handle that and my emotions, it’s not just your game you have to think about out there.

“But today is another massive confidence boost, I can now say I shot 65 around Leopard Creek, no-one can take that away from me and I can sleep happy tonight,” Williams said.

Williams grew up in Peterborough and came through the English amateur system, but he was born in South Africa and plays under that flag.

There were other outstanding South African performers in the top-10 of the leaderboard on Thursday, showing that we have some exceptional talent coming through.

Jayden Schaper, who acquitted himself so well in the final group of the South African Open last weekend at Blair Atholl, bounced back from that disappointment with a superb 66 to share second place with Spain’s Manuel Elvira.

Casey Jarvis was also quickly back on the horse after fading at Blair Atholl as he fired a 67, a score matched by two of the most exciting amateurs in the system, Christiaan Maas and Christo Lamprecht. They share fourth place on five-under with a more experienced South African in Jaco Prinsloo, New Zealander Samuel Jones and Scott Jamieson, the Scotsman who loves Leopard Creek and shared the lead going into last year’s final round, before finishing in a tie for 12^th, having fired a course-record 63 on the second day.

“I know this course very well and where to leave it,” Schaper said after collecting seven birdies and making just one bogey. “So I kept it on the right side of the fairways and greens, I just kept it simple and tried to have the best angles coming in.

“I’m just sticking to my game-plan, my game has been good and I just want to keep it the same. It’s a clever course, you can’t go directly at the flags, you have to be careful of the run-offs and look at your angles,” the 22-year-old Schaper said.

Danie van Tonder was happy to divulge he felt his fair share of frustration on the final day of the Vodacom Championship Unlocked, but the 29-year-old showed his ever-growing maturity as he nevertheless sealed a second victory in the Rise Up Series with a five-under-par 67 at ERPM Golf Club on Friday.

Van Tonder finished on 13-under-par overall, his brilliant final round lifting him one stroke clear of MJ Viljoen, who led after the first two rounds but battled gamely to a 73 on Friday.

The Boksburg-born Van Tonder began the final day five shots behind Viljoen, but that quickly changed to just a one-stroke gap as Van Tonder started birdie-birdie and Viljoen double-bogeyed the par-five second after struggling in a greenside bunker.

But Van Tonder went on to bogey both par-threes on the front nine, a shifting, inconsistent wind making life hard for the golfers. But birdies on the crucial eighth, 10^th and 11^th holes got last year’s Sunshine Tour order of merit runner-up back on track.

“The wind made it hard, but I like it when the weather is tough. I made a few bogeys [3] but quite a few birdies [8] so it didn’t matter, I’m always aggressive and it pays off most of the time. Sometimes I got frustrated, especially when I short-sided myself on the two par-threes on the front nine, those were silly bogeys, and I three-putted the par-five fourth, but in this weather most of the field have bogeys on their card,” Van Tonder said.

“Overall I’m very happy, I’ve been playing well, putting the hard work in and getting some results. I’m trusting myself and my caddy – my wife Abigail –  and I know that if I don’t hit the right shot then I will be punished, especially in this wind. It would be nice to win the order of merit, but I won’t think about that, just playing well and then the order of merit automatically takes care of itself.

Van Tonder goes into the final event of the Rise Up Series, at Huddle Park next week, leading the order of merit by more than R37 000 from Darren Fichardt, who finished tied-fourth at ERPM GC after finishing with a level-par 72.

Viljoen suggested after the penultimate round that firm, bouncy greens were his pet hate and the ERPM greenskeepers did no watering overnight, making conditions extremely tricky, especially with the fickle wind. Viljoen went out in three-over 39 with further bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes, and then bogeyed the 11^th, but kept his composure well and came storming back with a birdie on the par-three 12^th and an eagle on the 13^th. A birdie on the par-five 17^th meant he remained in contention and needed a birdie on the last to force a playoff. The par-four 18^th was a tricky hole to birdie though, with a tough approach, and just three threes were recorded there on Friday. But Viljoen patted his 25-foot putt short.

Pieter Moolman will also feel he let slip a golden chance for his maiden Sunshine Tour win as he bogeyed the last to finish third on 11-under-par. Understandably going for birdie, he went over the green, chipped back to four feet but then missed the par putt.

Louis de Jager, fresh off an eagle on 17, needed a birdie as well for a share of what was then the lead, but also overshot the 18^th green, settling for par, and a 67 to finish in a tie for fourth on 10-under-par with Ulrich van den Berg (68) and Fichardt (72).

Danie van Tonder felt becalmed through the first four holes of the final round of the African Bank Championship at Glendower Golf Club on Friday, but he showed his ever-growing maturity as he held his round together and posted a bogey-free 68 to win the Sunshine Tour’s second Rise Up Series event by three strokes.

Van Tonder started the final day tied for the lead with in-form Martin Rohwer and rising star Jayden Schaper, but they fell away and his greatest challenge came from the experienced Neil Schietekat, who birdied three holes in succession from the second to briefly move into a one-shot lead on eight-under-par.

The 29-year-old Van Tonder, from The Els Club Copperleaf, even had to contend with hitting into the water on the par-five second hole. He managed to scramble his way up-and-down for a par and his patience started paying off once he birdied the par-four fifth.

He gained another shot on the seventh and birdies on the two par-fives on the back nine saw him saunter to victory as Schietekat (69) finished on eight-under, tied for second along with Adilson da Silva (67) and George Coetzee (68).

“I had to be patient because I made a slow start and hit it in the water on the second but managed to get up-and-down for par. But sometimes it’s just your week, to be honest I felt I played good golf the whole week, I was consistent and I was confident in my game. I kept the same aggression as the first two rounds but just made sure I missed in the right place.

“If you hit the ball well and putt well then this is the sort of course you will do well on, if you hit it straight then the course will give you a few birdies because the greens are so quick and true. And it feels special because of putting in all the hard work during Lockdown, getting those callouses back on my hands, gyming and training hard,” Van Tonder said after his fourth Sunshine Tour triumph.

Veteran Da Silva produced some marvellous golf to climb into a share of second, birdieing the 16^th and 18^th holes, both par-fours, to post a 67, joint best round of the day with Tristen Strydom, who lifted himself into a tie for 13^th.

The 19-year-old Schaper endured a chastening day as he went after his first professional title, slumping to a three-over-par 75 to finish in a share of sixth along with Rohwer. Schaper started bogey-bogey and this marvellous prospect will have learnt much from being in the final group. Deon Germishuys (68), Luke Brown (69), Louis Albertse (72), Darren Fichardt (73) and Jaco Ahlers (74) were the other golfers to finish tied for sixth on four-under, while Dylan Mostert was alone in fifth after an excellent 68 lifted him to six-under.