Ken Borland

DULLSTROOM (Mpumalanga) – Vodacom Bulls legend Akona Ndungane is clearly comfortable with change and, having mastered the gales around Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate, he turned his attention to rugby and said it was no surprise Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has not just massaged his starting line-up for their second Rugby Championship Test against Australia but made a massive 10 changes to the run-on XV.

Ndungane is an avid golfer who plays off a five handicap, but playing in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am Series is a first for the 43-year-old. It was also the first time he has played at Highland Gate, the 6717m course perched 2000m above sea level in the valleys and mountains of the Steenkampsberge. And then to make the challenge even more daunting, the wind blew at 30km/h on the first day of the pro-am.

“This is the first Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am I’ve played in and it’s wonderful,” Ndungane said. “I love golf, both watching it and playing, and to be around the pros is really special. Just to be here at this beautiful course is amazing, especially for me, being my first time playing here.

“What an experience, especially with the wind blowing so hard it felt like the Western Cape or a coastal course. But our pros, Cara Gorlei and Keenan Davdise, were great company and I got to play with my mate OG Molefe. So it was a great outing, and we managed to lead after the first round.

“When conditions are tough, the quality comes through because you have to be more focused. If you hit it in the rough, then it was very tough, even to just try and find your ball. But the greens are firm and nice,” the former Springbok wing said.

Quality is also something the 2007 Rugby World Cup winner sees in the Springbok set-up at the moment. Ndungane believes the squad has advanced well in the development of their more attacking game, allowing Erasmus more flexibility in selection ahead of Saturday’s match against the Wallabies in Perth.

“In a way I expected that sort of start last week because we have seen the game-plan they are trying to implement. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is in amazing form and starting at flyhalf allows him to free himself, to express himself. They all seem to be really enjoying their rugby at the moment.

“They beat Australia 33-7, but the Wallabies were fortunate not to concede fifty points the way the Springboks dominated first phase, defence and attack. Those yellow cards at the end helped them.

“But it’s no surprise Dr Rassie has made so many changes. He’s trying to build depth and give players quality opportunities to see if they can cope. When you’re in a good place then you’re able to make changes. And I don’t think this team is really any weaker than last weekend’s.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing Lukhanyo Am playing at 12. We saw how good he was in his comeback against Portugal, even though injury has unfortunately slowed him down a bit. It’s an exciting combination in the backline with Sacha, Lukhanyo and Jesse Kriel playing together,” Ndungane said.

DULLSTROOM (Mpumalanga) – A gentle breeze blew across the valleys and mountains of the Steenkampsberge on Thursday, the day before the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series kicks off for 2024 with the opening event at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate, a far cry from the gales that lashed the course on the first day of the pro-am.

The Vodacom Origins of Golf Series is held every year at some of South Africa’s finest golf clubs, grouping amateurs, leading business figures and customers with some of the top players on the Sunshine Tour. Once the pro-am finishes on Thursday, the professional tournament will be held over three rounds from Friday, and the leading contenders are united in their belief that Highland Gate will pose a stern challenge, especially if the wind gets up.

“It’s a great course and hopefully the weather stays good because it is really tough here in the wind,” Neil Schietekat said on Thursday. “The greens are slopey and quick, and if you add strong winds to them then it becomes really tricky.

“There are no giveaway birdies here, which is what I like on a course. You have to map your way around here, you can’t just hit-and-hope and then make an easy birdie. But I feel good about my game, I’ve found a bit of form and you know what they say, ‘be careful of the sleeping dog’,” Schietekat, who is coming off top-10 finishes in his last two Sunshine Tour events, said.

The Vodacom Origins of Golf Series also marks the return to action of one of the great gentlemen of the Sunshine Tour in George Coetzee, who last played competitively in May 2023 at the Italian Open on the DP World Tour.

Coetzee underwent wrist surgery and, on a happier note, became a first-time father in the interim. He was his usual smiling self on the putting green on Thursday, although he acknowledged some daunting golf was ahead of him.

“It’s good to be back and the wrist is rustig [calm]. I’m just going to go out and try and enjoy myself, but if the wind is up again like Wednesday then I could be in for some torture,” Coetzee said.

It is not just the men that will be tackling the Ernie Els designed course that is 6717 metres long and perched 2000m above sea level. Nine Sunshine Ladies Tour golfers are competing for the same prizemoney as part of Vodacom’s push to ensure the country’s leading women golfers enjoy more exposure and opportunity.

Cara Gorlei, the winner of the Jabra Ladies Classic at Glendower in April, and Gabrielle Venter, who claimed the Standard Bank Ladies Open title at Royal Cape Golf Club in March, will lead the women’s charge.

Vodacom have also introduced more incentives for those women who opt to play in the Origins Series, the winner of their own mini-leaderboard qualifying for the Joburg Open and three Access Tour events on the Ladies European Tour.

Danie van Tonder, the winner of the previous event on the Sunshine Tour, the FNB Eswatini Challenge at Nkonyeni Golf Estate, says the Highland Gate layout suits him as well.

“It’s a great course in excellent condition, the greens are very quick and tricky. But I haven’t yet found a course where if I take driver and hit it long, far and straight, I will not do well,” Van Tonder said.

GEORGE, Western Cape – After a day of very bad weather at Fancourt, with strong gales and torrential downpours, Ana Dawson was the only golfer to finish under-par after the first round of the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am and she had good reason to feel delighted.

Dawson, who hails from the Isle of Man, played the Outeniqua course in one-under-par 71 and so ended the opening day one stroke ahead of another three international golfers who finished on level-par: Germany’s Carolin Kauffmann, Scotland’s Kylie Henry and Englishwoman Lauren Taylor.

If the vile weather did not dampen Dawson’s mood then even a three-putt for bogey at the par-four last hole was not going to do it either.

“It was really hard weather and with all the delays, keeping your round going was probably the trickiest bit. It’s always a shame to three-putt the last, it leaves a bit of a sour taste, but I’m still very happy,” the 22-year-old Dawson said.

“If someone had offered me one-under today at the start of the round I would definitely have taken it. I had a nice draw because Outeniqua is a bit shorter and a bit more forgiving, but you still have to play well. I honestly hit just one bad shot today, but I struggled on the greens.”

Dawson enjoyed a fast start with a birdie on the par-four first hole, but she had to stay very patient thereafter as three pars were followed by a bogey on the par-four fifth. She birdied the sixth and eighth holes, but then dropped a shot at the ninth to turn in one-under.

The back nine was more grind with birdies on the 10^th and 14^th holes, but another bogey on the par-three 12^th.

Dawson said the tough conditions actually suited her because it allowed her to take her time.

“It was quite slow out there, but in a way that was nice because it meant I didn’t have to try and rush, which has happened to me in the past. I felt I didn’t need to hurry at all today and that helped me. I really took my time and made sure everything was ready and right before I played,” Dawson said.

Henry and Taylor both took on the Montague course that is rated as being more difficult.

Henry was excellent on the front nine, going out in two-under, but the back nine bit back as she bogeyed three of the first four holes. A birdie on the par-five 18^th was a great way to end though, restoring her to level-par.

Taylor recovered brilliantly from a disastrous front nine. After three pars, a double-bogey seven at the fourth would have knocked the wind out of her sails. She also dropped shots on the sixth and ninth holes, partially offset by a birdie on the par-three eighth, but the 29-year-old was three-over at the turn.

But Taylor stormed to three birdies in the first five holes of the back nine, not dropping any more shots on her way back to the clubhouse.

Kiera Floyd and Lejan Lewthwaite are the leading South Africans, tied in fifth place on one-over-par with Alexandra Swayne of the U.S. Virgin Islands.