Ken Borland

JOHANNESBURG – England-based James Mack shot a six-under-par 66 on Wednesday to lead the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge after the first round at Kyalami Country Club, but there is a hunk of prime South African Sunshine Tour talent chasing him down just one stroke behind.

Simon du Plooy, Jacques P. de Villiers, Ruan de Smidt, Christiaan Burke, Martin Rohwer and Jonathan Broomhead all posted five-under-par 67s on Wednesday to ensure Mack has plenty of challengers in his rearview mirror.

De Villiers, whose only bogey came on the par-five 13^th when he three-putted, said the key to doing well at Kyalami Country Club on Wednesday was shaping the ball on the 6631m course with tight fairways.

“The fairways are very hard and they’re tight, so it’s tough to hit them with the ball bouncing so much. You’ve got to be able to shape the ball off the tee and I did that well today,” De Villiers said.

“I also putted really well and even though I made four birdies and an eagle, I still had a few horseshoes, including one that came right back at me. But it was a really solid round, I played well today in conditions that were very nice. It wasn’t too cold this morning and the wind didn’t blow too much either.”

The highlight of De Villiers’ season thus far has been finishing third in the FBC Zambia Open, which was then followed by a long break. His finishes since the Sunshine Tour returned to action have been 20^th, 43^rd, 35^th and 37^th, but the Schoeman Park golfer still feels his game is well-toned as he looks towards the co-sanctioned events in the summer.

“I’ve been working hard on my swing with Doug Wood and the changes are there or thereabouts. But the game has been trending in the right direction for sure over the last couple of weeks. It’s all preparation now for the big events on the summer swing,” the 34-year-old said.

Mack started his round on the par-four 10^th hole and immediately picked up a birdie. Two more birdies in a faultless back nine saw him go out in three-under, and he collected four more birdies on the front nine, although a bogey on the par-three fourth hole was a hiccup.

Ten other golfers are two shots behind on four-under-par.

PRETORIA – Thriston Lawrence and Jacques Blaauw both fired outstanding 10-under-par 62s to share the lead in a meeting of two of South African golf’s most in-form stars in the first round of the SunBet Challenge Times Square Casino at Wingate Park Country Club on Wednesday.

Lawrence, who is currently sixth on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, is back in South Africa to complete his rehabilitation from a back injury he suffered after the Open Championship a month ago. His first competitive round since then could barely have gone better as he plundered eight birdies and an eagle on the 6740m course in south-eastern Pretoria.

The winner of eight professional events, including four on the DP World Tour, was part of the morning field, while Blaauw, who is leading the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and is eager to return full-time to the European tour, was off at 11.50am.

The 38-year-old Blaauw made a blazing start to his round as he set out to catch Lawrence, reaching the turn in six-under-par, which included an eagle on the 381m par-four sixth hole. Although he bogeyed the par-four 11^th, Blaauw finished strong with five birdies in the last seven holes.

“I’ve had four weeks off since hurting my back a bit at the Open and I’m not a big fan of hitting lots of balls on the range, so I felt playing this tournament would help my rehab more. And I love to compete,” Lawrence said.

“But I was still quite surprised how well it went because I’ve only played two practice rounds in the last few weeks, I didn’t expect 10-under. But the back is good and game is solid.

“I started on 10 and the eagle came on 18 after I hit a nice drive and had a good number for a nine-iron in; I hit it to three feet for a simple eagle. That got my momentum going, I had four birdies in a row to start the front nine, I was on fire,” Lawrence said.

Blaauw, who is enjoying his best season in nearly a decade with five successive top-10 finishes on the Sunshine Tour, including victory in the SunBet Challenge Sun City event, admitted the presence of Lawrence, and the fact he had shot 62, motivated him.

“What Thriston shot told me there was obviously a low score out there. I started quickly so I knew something was up. I’ve been playing good golf of late and it all came together today,” Blaauw said.

“When our DP World Tour stars play here you always want to beat them and Thriston has been playing some unbelievable golf lately. But I’ve showed I can play great golf at home, hopefully I can do the same elsewhere. Getting full status in Europe has been my plan from January and now it’s just about keeping things going.

“It’s about sticking to the processes, just letting it happen and not trying to force things. Just keep giving myself opportunities because the putter is working,” Blaauw said.

The six-time Sunshine Tour winner’s eagle came when he followed a 300m drive on the sixth with a 90m lob-wedge into the hole.

Another multiple winner on the DP World Tour, George Coetzee, is also making his way back from long-term injury, and he will certainly have a say in where the title goes this week as he shot an eight-under-par 64 on Wednesday.

Young Yurav Premlall also made his presence known with a 66, a score matched by Quintin Wilsnach.

DULLSTROOM (Mpumalanga) – The experienced Louis de Jager has fired rounds of 65 and 67 for 12-under-par in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Highland Gate Mpumalanga event, but he has no more than a one-shot lead after the second round on Saturday.

That’s because fellow veteran Jean Hugo, who has played in more than 450 Sunshine Tour events, has gone 66-67 for a score of 11-under-par heading into the final round.

Kyle de Beer, the leading rookie on tour this season, is one stroke further back on 10-under after shooting a 70 on Saturday, contending strongly in just his 25^th Sunshine Tour event.

De Jager started his round on the 10^th and took a while to really find his range, but birdies on the par-four 16^th and par-five 18^th gave him a boost. His front nine was even better, even though he bogeyed the par-four first hole.

The 37-year-old birdied the par-three third hole and also picked up birdie threes on the sixth and ninth holes, but perhaps his best hole was the par-five fifth, which is more than 600 yards long and plays into the wind, but De Jager eagled it on Saturday.

It will not be an easy night’s sleep though for De Jager going into the final round of the R2 million event because there is a surfeit of quality within four shots of the lead.

Apart from Hugo and De Beer, Luke Brown is enjoying a very solid tournament and is on nine-under-par after rounds of 67 and 68. Jacques Blaauw is enjoying a top-class season, leading the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and is tied for fifth on eight-under after notching a two-under-par 70 on Saturday.

Martin Rohwer, a three-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, and Nikhil Rama, a GolfRSA product who is a rising star in the senior ranks, are also on eight-under.

A trio of Sunshine Ladies Tour golfers made the cut, with Danielle du Toit (69) and Gabrielle Venter (72) tied for 35^th on one-under-par, and Lora Assad tied for 47^th on level-par.

KHOLWANE (Eswatini) – Combrinck Smit focused on keeping the ball in play and also not making mistakes, so it was little surprise that he dropped just one stroke on the opening day of the FNB Eswatini Challenge at Nkonyeni Lodge & Golf Estate on Thursday, shooting a 67 to join a three-way tie for the lead.

Jason Roets also dropped just one shot and had an eagle on the par-five eighth, to also post five-under-par, while Stephen Ferreira was outstanding in not having a single bogey in the first round, the only golfer to achieve this on Thursday, to also finish with 67.

Smit’s only blemish came on the par-three 11^th, his second hole, but he had birdies on the 10^th, 12^th, 13^th and 15^th holes going out, picking up further strokes on the third and eighth holes.

“I’m very pleased, I kept the ball in play all the time, hit a lot of good shots and tried not to make mistakes. So it was a stress-free round really,” Smit said afterwards. “This course is an awesome mix of a links on the one side and then a typical bushveld course on the other, and I really enjoy it, it suits me well.

“My game has steadily been getting a little better over the last four or five weeks. I’m experimenting with a couple of things, but it pretty much comes down to getting the basics right. I’d fallen a bit behind on some things and you pick up bad habits. The main thing is just to enjoy it out there, rather than thinking about posting anything in particular,” Smit said.

The Eshowe Hills golfer has no fear when it comes to mixing things up on the course, having the creative shot-making ability required to adapt to the Nkonyeni terrain, especially on the links side. Smit finished tied-sixth here two years ago.

“I think I’ve done well here in the past because I have a lot of options off the tee. I can hit long-irons and get them running, or I can play a high draw or play low shots. I don’t always have to use driver if I’m not confident with the Big Dog,” Smit said.

The 40-year-old Neil Schietekat was in the tie for second place on four-under-par with Daniel van Tonder and Ethan Smith, with the two pivotal moments in his round of 68 coming around the turn. He eagled the short 274m par-four ninth, but then made double-bogey on the par-four 10^th.