Ken Borland

DULLSTROOM (Mpumalanga) – There are many conflicting attractions for youngsters today, and when one comes from a struggling little town like Pilgrim’s Rest, then too often those distractions are of the disagreeable variety.

Which is why the work of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB), supported by Vodacom, is so important in introducing kids in disadvantaged areas to the great game of golf.

Vodacom’s Origins of Golf Series kicked off its new season this week at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate and, as a regular part of the pro-ams they stage at every event, they also hold a development clinic for beneficiaries of the SAGDB.

Twenty-two youngsters between the ages of eight and 17, smartly attired in their red Vodacom shirts, took to the driving range at Highland Gate on Thursday to receive some coaching from Sunshine Tour professionals, kindly giving of their time the day before their tournament starts.

Many of the children come from Pilgrim’s Rest Primary School and are fortunate enough that their teacher in charge, Joyce Mabuye, is passionate about sport.

“I love sport, having played netball, volleyball and soccer, and I love seeing these children do it as well. To take them out of their location and allow them to see nature as beautiful as this – for some of them it is the first time – is wonderful. This is like a dream come true for them, because they have never been to a place like this before, they mostly don’t see things like this.

“This motivates them to do something good. I am constantly fighting for children to do something in sports because it keeps them away from drugs, the taverns or the ZamaZamas [illegal miners]. We have a lot of them in our mining town and sometimes the kids quit school to join them. So their parents are very supportive of them playing golf,” Mabuye says.

The Mashego brothers, Jastice and Austin, are both busy trying to further their own professional golf careers, but nevertheless they sacrifice practice time to give back to youngsters growing up where they did.

Jastice, who plays on the Sunshine Tour and is in the field for the main Vodacom Origins of Golf event teeing off on Friday, and Austin, who has fallen just a couple of shots short of getting a card in the last two Vusi Ngubeni Tournaments, coach the boys a couple of times every week.

“Our father, Obed, was a keen golfer and a member at Pilgrim’s Rest Golf Club, so we took up the game. I’ll be caddying for Jastice this week, which helps me find out how the pros do it and why they do certain things,” Austin, who won the Middleburg Open in 2015 when he was just 15 years old, says.

“I love assisting Jastice with the coaching. Being out here hitting balls helps to clear the minds of these youngsters.”

For Jastice, it is about providing an opportunity to dream.

“Coming from a small town like Pilgrim’s Rest, there is not much opportunity for these kids and they don’t have role-models. So now we can let them see what golf is all about. I hope to inspire them, to give them hope. Just travelling here will open their minds a bit,” Jastice says.

Monde Ngcukana, the managing executive for Vodacom Business’s Mpumalanga region, was an appreciative onlooker at the coaching clinic, before enthusiastically hitting a few balls himself.

“It’s very important that these children are stimulated and given the chance to be active. This exclusive venue gives them something to aspire to, but making golf instruction more accessible for them is also a big plus. Vodacom wants to support the youth however we can, with a focus on education, which is why our data is zero-rated for those in Grade R to Grade 12.

“These clinics are part of an holistic approach to the growth of children in South Africa. With our Mum-and-Baby programme, we really do support children from the cradle. And it’s good to see so much red here,” Ngcukana beamed.

HARARE – The prices you pay for inaccuracy at the Royal Harare Golf Club are steep, but Michael Hollick continues to largely avoid that problem with his precise game taking him to the top of the leaderboard after the third and penultimate round of the FBC Zim Open on Saturday.

Hollick followed up his first two rounds of 66 and 67 with an impressive 68 in the third round, leaving him on 15-under-par and enjoying a one-stroke lead going into Sunday’s final round.

The one-time Sunshine Tour winner made a slow start on Saturday, with a bogey on the par-three second meaning he was one-over after four holes. But he then birdied the fifth and sixth holes, and began the back nine birdie-birdie. Hollick followed up a bogey on the par-three 15^th with an eagle on the 16^th, and then birdied 17 before dropping a shot on the last hole to halve his lead.

“This golf course is very demanding, there’s not a lot of room for error. You have to be accurate, it’s like a game of chess out there,” Hollick said. “The greens are super-quick, probably the fastest we play on all year and they are very firm now after three days.

“They’re also all elevated with run-offs and narrow entrances to the greens, so if you don’t hit your target then you’re unlikely to get up-and-down. But I’m definitely feeling good, the last few months have been good for me and success breeds confidence. My swing and my short game are good and I’m just sticking to my guns,” Hollick said.

While other golfers have found the back nine at Royal Harare Golf Club especially testing, Hollick’s cool and calm approach saw him prosper there on Saturday as he came home in 33 shots, one or two strokes less than anyone else in the top four.

“Of late, I’ve been making a bogey at the start of my round, but I’ve always been able to recover. I’m quite relaxed, so I just carry on, knowing a birdie is probably around the corner.

“On the back nine today, I hit all the fairways, except for 18, and hit some nice irons, which makes it much easier to get those birdies,” Hollick said.

The evergreen Darren Fichardt is the chief challenger to Hollick, his 69 on Saturday lifting him to 14-under-par. The 48-year-old had four birdies and three bogeys, but an eagle at the par-five sixth made all the difference.

Kieran Vincent is the chief home hope on 11-under-par after a 67, leaving him tied for third with Anthony Michael (71). But two more Zimbabweans, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Kieran’s older brother Scott are one shot further back, alongside MJ Viljoen (66).

Follett-Smith fired the low round of the day, a seven-under-par 65, and was five-under at the turn.

Lesser franchises sometimes find themselves caught between the imperatives of winning trophies or producing players for the national team, but for the DP World Lions men’s team, the 2023/24 season was a superb example of doing both.

Our #PrideOfJozi claimed both the four-day series and CSA T20 Challenge titles in a marvellous first season under the coaching of Russell Domingo, and they will provide four members of the Proteas T20 World Cup squad and another four for the South African team that will play the West Indies in a warm-up series.

“It’s part of the job to be a winning franchise and to also produce players for the country,” former Proteas coach Domingo said. “So I’m glad we have some players in the national squad, and I’m particularly pleased for Bjorn Fortuin and Ryan Rickelton, who have been recalled.

“We are blessed at the DP World Lions to have myself who has coached internationally, and Hashim Amla and Allan Donald, who are greats of the game. So we have seen the standard at the top and so we get the players to play a brand of cricket that we know will succeed at international level, and not just what works at domestic level and will be enough to win trophies.

“So we are constantly asking ourselves ‘are the players’ disciplines good enough for international cricket?’ A few of them have needed to upskill in terms of training, preparation and technique,” Domingo said.

With all the talent at his disposal, Domingo admitted that selection was often not an easy task and he gave special praise to the fringe players who never had a firm place in the side but were always willing to enthusiastically contribute to the spirit of the Pride.

“What pleased me most about the season was the way the guys stuck at it. There were some really difficult selections because we have so many good players. There are guys who really did not play a lot of cricket, but still brought plenty of energy and commitment. There was a great vibe in the camp and the players deserve a lot of credit for that.

“Guys like Zubayr Hamza in the T20, Connor Esterhuizen and Junaid Dawood will be disappointed they did not get more game-time. Mitchell van Buuren had some brutal selection calls, not only was he a consistent run-scorer but the ultimate team player and it was really heartbreaking to leave him out of two finals. Selection was not easy but the players all embraced and understood our calls and gave 100%,” Domingo said.

Like a reliable, tough bakkie that just keeps on going whatever the conditions, Bjorn Fortuin just kept on churning out performances for the DP World Lions, being the leading wicket-taker for the team in the first-class and 50-over competitions, and second only to new sensation Nqaba Peter in the T20.

Ryan Rickelton consistently displayed his capabilities with the bat across all three formats, and his combination with stalwarts Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen at the top of the order was a major factor in the T20 triumph.

Wiaan Mulder was the ultimate all-rounder, bringing high skill levels and ability in all conditions, while Hamza’s offerings with the bat were always useful and very pleasing to the eye.

But while these players were the core of the fabulous #PrideOfJozi, the players pushing up from below are equally important.

The depth of our DP World Lions squad is also impressive, with the likes of Codi Yusuf, leg-spinner Peter, Van Buuren, Esterhuizen, four-day series final hero Delano Potgieter and Mohammed Manack all being carefully watched and groomed.

Yusuf, in particular, is an under-rated cricketer, taking 21 wickets in the four-day competition and 16 in the T20. He is also useful with the bat and his scores of 34 and 46 in the four-day final were absolutely crucial as he shared lower-order partnerships of 55 and 118 with Potgieter.

“Codi always had to fight for his place, but he played a massive role for us this season,” Domingo said. “He took wickets regularly in the four-day competition and then his runs in the final were vital. He’s also an excellent fielder.

“I think Codi has a great deal of potential, especially as he gets stronger and understands the game more. He’s got skill and he’s a great kid too.

“Nqaba began his first season as someone who was unheard of, now he is well-known, so he is clearly a name to go forward with, especially in terms of the SA20 and maybe the next World Cup. The special thing about him is that he bowls quickly and he has great control.

“There are a whole bunch of youngsters coming through who have a lot of potential,” Domingo said.

EDENVALE, Gauteng – Your first professional win is always a momentous occasion, and even for someone who has achieved as much as Cara Gorlei has, it was a special day at Glendower Golf Club on Friday as she claimed the Jabra Ladies Classic title for her maiden triumph.

In the four years that Gorlei has been a pro, she had racked up 11 top-10 finishes and earned more than R600 000 in prizemoney and has also qualified for the Ladies European Tour, before sealing the deal and getting her hands on the trophy by a stroke at Glendower on Friday.

Gorlei was lying second, two shots behind at the start of the final round, and she kept herself in the conversation throughout, even as Stacy Bregman, Moa Folke, Gabriella Cowley and Lisa Pettersson all made a charge, while overnight leader Maiken Bing Paulsen also stayed in contention.

A bogey at the par-three sixth meant the 28-year-old Gorlei was level-par for her round. But she immediately followed that up with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes. Others faltered as Gorlei reached the turn and the pressure of the situation brought out the best in the Capetonian as she was inspired on the back nine. Three birdies in four holes from the 11^th put her in front and she reached the last hole with a two-shot lead, making her bogey on the 18^th all the more palatable.

She still posted her third successive 68 to finish on 12-under-par, one ahead of Pettersson, who shot an outstanding 67 to finish on 11-under.

“I was trying not to think about the lead, until the 11^th, when I started to get a bit nervous. My first win started to play on my mind a little bit and then on 13 I saw on a leaderboard that Lisa Pettersson was right up there with me,” Gorlei said.

“But it just made me focus harder because I realised it was not done yet. I knew I was playing well enough and I just stuck to my routines. Obviously it’s awesome to get the win done and I am really happy that I stayed level-headed.

“I’ve been in two playoffs and lost them both, so it was nice to get the monkey off my back without having to go to another playoff. I have my first pro win and now I can start going,” Gorlei beamed.

In a sign of her mental maturity, Gorlei realised that she may not have had her A-game with her on Friday, so she settled into a prudent approach.

“I struggled a bit off the tee today, which made it quite tough. My game was not in the right place for me to play aggressively; I enjoy playing that way, I like to chase and sneak in from behind, but today I was pretty conservative.

“Different parts of my game showed up at different times. At times my putting really saved me, down the stretch my irons were pretty solid, but they weren’t on the front nine. So it was a little bit of everything that came together,” Gorlei said.

While Pettersson’s 67 was bogey-free as she charged up the leaderboard from four shots off the pace, the other contenders made costly errors.

Folke reached the turn in four-under and was leading, but three bogeys in a row from the 11^th meant her challenge faded and the Swede finished fourth on nine-under-par after a 69.

Bregman also went through the front nine in 32, but bogeys on the par-four 11^th and par-three 14^th saw her fall four strokes short in a tie for fifth on eight-under.

Paulsen, who led after the first and second rounds, was level-par on Friday through eight holes, but she then dropped four strokes to also finish on eight-under, alongside Bregman and Nina Pegova (69).

Cowley was five-under through 13 holes, but then a bogey at the par-five 15^th saw her end in third place on 10-under-par.