Ken Borland

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng (22 October) – “This is a very demanding golf course and you have to know where to miss,” comeback golfer Anton Haig said on Friday after he seized a share of the lead midway through the Blair Atholl Championship delivered by The Courier Guy.

This knowledge came in very handy for the 35-year-old golfer who is enjoying his second career on the Sunshine Tour, as he fired a three-under-par 69 to catch joint first-round leader Rupert Kaminski on seven-under-par.

Haig burst on to the scene in the mid-2000s and even won the lucrative Johnnie Walker Classic on the European Tour in 2007. But by 2011 he was taking a break from the game due to persistent back problems. But he returned to the Sunshine Tour in 2018 and the Johannesburg-based golfer has played the lengthy Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate course many times and he said this experience has proven invaluable.

“It’s a very demanding course, the fairways look quite wide but they’re not and the course is so long. You need to miss in the right spots and fortunately I’ve played a lot here so I know which side not to miss on. I know the back ledges and slopes better than most, which definitely helped,” Haig said after his impressive round.

Haig said his play from tee-to-green on Friday was excellent, but his putter, which was hot in the first round, went cold in the second round. He will try to get both aspects of his game working well on the weekend as he chases his first win on the Sunshine Tour since his comeback.

“The greens were really receptive after the rain came in in the morning – fortunately for just three or four holes – and I was hitting the ball really well. But I had 32 putts today after just 26 yesterday. So my ball-striking was really good today but my putting was a bit off.

“I’m definitely looking to score on the par-fives, but you have to really knuckle two shots to get on to some of them, four of the par-fives are more than 600 yards. So my length is a good advantage,” Haig said.

Kaminski, off in the afternoon in a fresh wind, shot a one-under-par 71 on Friday to go to seven-under for the tournament, while Riekus Nortje, who shared the lead with him after the first round, dropped two shots coming in to finish with a level-par 72.

That left Nortje tied for third with three other golfers – Heinrich Bruiners (71), Neil Schietekat, whose 68 included a double-bogey at the tough par-four 15^th, and Luke Brown (69).

Jayden Schaper produced the round of the day, a tremendous 65 which included an eagle three on the 606-yard fifth hole, to climb to five-under-par, sharing seventh with Kyle Barker (71).

GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape – For Scott Keevy, who describes himself as “an avid golfer” the final round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Humewood Pro-Am was all about building towards the Stroke 1 eighth hole on the famous old links course.

The six-handicapper from down the road, relatively speaking, at the St Francis Links, managed to birdie the daunting 455-yard hole and the four points he and Merrick Bremner gained was their best score of the second day. It proved critical because their winning margin at the end of the Pro-Am was just one point over Lyle Rowe and Adrian Kemp.

“We started on the third hole and we battled early on but Merrick kept us going. And then on the eighth, the Stroke 1, I hit a big drive, a nine-iron and then I managed to sink a 15-footer for birdie and four points!

“And then when the rain hit, we were busy playing into an Easterly and I managed to get a par on the 15^th when my pro finally required my help again. But Merrick and I dovetailed very well and he was my number one choice as a partner. I remember meeting him when I caddied for Titch Moore once and I know Merrick won here and I love the way he plays and his interaction with his partners,” Keevy said.

Keevy is one of those sporting all-rounders, having played second division football for Callies and Masters squash, but his passion for golf goes back several years.

“Ours is a sporting family, I am one of three brothers and we basically played anything from table tennis to golf and all with the same competitiveness. Ryan Reid is a first cousin and the real star golfer in the family, he played on the European Tour and is now director of sport at Fancourt. I’m a self-taught golfer so I have a big hook, but I make it work for me.

“This Vodacom Origins of Golf Series is just an unbelievable experience for us, I have played in them for many years but it’s the first time I’ve won a tournament, having been to the finals on the odd occasion. The way Vodacom spoils us and the way they make us feel – it’s unsurpassed,” Keevy said.

GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape – The wind that has gusted through Humewood Golf Cub this week was joined by soaking rain on Wednesday to make for pretty miserable conditions in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Pro-Am, but at least one golfer – Jacquin Hess – was able to apply the old Monty Python maxim and always look on the bright side.

While the locker-room was full of mutters about the unrelenting wind and the rain just making everything wet and uncomfortable, Hess may have been nodding sympathetically, but inside he is quite happy for the weather to turn foul for when the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series fourth leg tees off at Humewood on Thursday.

“The weather forecast is not looking good and everyone is complaining about it, but I’m actually smiling inside,” Hess said. “I prefer the conditions to be tough, it opens the field up, and most of my best finishes have been on the tough tracks. The more the wind blows, the better for me. Coming from Robertson, there’s always a three-club wind there, and I actually went home to practise a bit.

“This course is always good, I love the place and I was in the mix the last time I was here, so I have a good vibe. You have to play different shots here, keep it low and under the wind, it’s been a two-to-three club wind so far, but I’m comfy hitting my seven-iron from 130. So I’m in a good space mentally, it’s going to be difficult for everyone and sometimes you don’t realise that,” Hess said.

The 30-year-old has missed his last two cuts, at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Mount Edgecombe leg and the Sunshine Tor Invitational, but he is optimistic about the next few weeks on tour because tough courses are hosting the events and he feels like he is slamming it straight and just waiting to capitalise score-wise.

“My game is turning in the right direction and I’ve just got to give myself opportunities, take it one shot at a time. The next five weeks should suit my game because we have tournaments here at Humewood and places like the Wild Coast and Sun City, where I normally play well. You need to hit it straight and low at these places, which I’m doing, and I putted really well in the Pro-Am, even in the difficult wind.

“I saw playing with Alex Haindli when he won at Sishen that you just need to keep the ball in play and par is good. You need to have that sort of even temperament, like cricketers Jacques Kallis or Hashim Amla. You just need to go with the conditions. You need to be the calmest guy on the course,” Hess said.

Judging by the former SA Students golfer’s strong showing in the Pro-Am, Hess has no need to get anxious about what he will face over the next three days at Humewood.

DURBAN, KwaZulu-Natal – A golfer who has missed a few cuts never sleeps easy before a tournament, but Merrick Bremner is determined to ensure he enjoys himself when he tees it up in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Mount Edgecombe event from Thursday.

Bremner, a seven-time winner on the Sunshine Tour and a stalwart of the circuit since 2006/7, is currently 83^rd on the order of merit after a fairly wretched winter has seen him miss the last three cuts. So the pressure is on, but the 35-year-old is adamant that his fortunes will only turn if he is having fun out on course and not pushing and grinding too hard.

“I’m hoping to have a lot of fun. Coming from the high pace, quick living of Gauteng, to a very laid-back place like Mount Edgecombe is what I’m looking for. I know it’s not as easy as just saying ‘I’m going to have fun’ and then you play well otherwise I would have a lot more good performances.

“But if you’re not enjoying yourself then you definitely won’t be able to perform at your best, so that’s my focus – just go out there and have some fun. I just remember that life could be worse, I could have a 9-to-5 job, so I am extremely blessed to be playing golf for a living. The key to anyone’s success is that they are enjoying what they do,” Bremner said on Wednesday.

Bremner was born in Durban and feels at home on the North Coast, even though he grew up on the Highveld.

“It’s excellent to be back down here, I’ve always liked the coastal courses and I’ve had a bit of success at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate. I like the layout, I love the people and it just feels lekker here – it’s a bit warmer, everything is greener and there’s more grass on the fairways than up in Gauteng right now. So maybe somewhere in there it does feel a bit like home,” Bremner said.

Known as one of the biggest hitters on our, the other excellent news for Bremner is that, judging by his third-place finish in the Pro-Am, the hard work he has been putting into his putting is starting to pay off.

“All aspects of your game need to fire around here, but I have been putting in some proper putting work and I seem to be making some good progress. So I am really looking forward to this tournament,” Bremner said.