Ken Borland

HARARE – Jaco Ahlers has admitted to some frustration over how his 2024 has gone so far, but the 41-year-old put all that aside on Thursday as he roared around the Royal Harare Golf Club in seven-under-par to seize the lead after the first round of the FBC Zim Open.

Ahlers began the year with three missed cuts in his first four events spread between the Sunshine and Asian tours, but a runners-up finish in March in the Stella Artois Championship, finishing just a stroke behind winner Heinrich Bruiners at Dainfern, marked a change in fortunes. Since then he finished tied-10^th at the Saudi Open and was tied-13^th in the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq last weekend at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s East Course.

On Thursday, Ahlers was in sublime form as he started his 2024/25 Sunshine Tour campaign in rampant fashion on the 10^th hole and reeled off three straight birdies to get his brilliant round of 65 going. He picked up another shot on the par-four 17^th and then eagled the par-five third hole. Although the world number 354 then bogeyed the fourth, he sealed a one-stroke lead with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes.

“It’s always nice to start that way, especially on the back nine here at Royal Harare, which is tougher, especially the greens, which are all raised,” Ahlers said.

“It’s difficult playing in this mid-year period because I play on the Asian Tour as well and that runs from January to December. This year has not been as good as I would have liked, but you just need to go on from there and today was a step in the right direction.

“Royal Harare suits me, it’s an old colonial course with big trees and dog-legs. The only way to play it is to be patient and not too aggressive,” Ahlers, who was tied-second in last year’s FBC Zim Open and fourth in 2022, said.

The highlight of Ahlers’ round was when he capitalised on a good drive on the 475m third hole and sent a searing six-iron to within six feet of the hole and sank the putt for eagle.

Michael Hollick is alone in second place on six-under-par after a 66 on Thursday. The Mount Edgecombe golfer reached the turn in one-under, but scorched through the back nine in just 31 strokes, with three successive birdies from the 11^th hole, and further gains on the 16^th and 18^th holes.

There is a strong chasing pack of five golfers on five-under-par, comprising seasoned winners Jacques Blaauw and Darren Fichardt, Zimbabwe’s own Scott Vincent, the experienced Anthony Michael and former University of North Texas college golfer Jason Roets.

You can’t buy the sort of composure and experience that wins big games of cricket and DP World Lions coach Russell Domingo is confident that our star players will stand up and lead the way for the #PrideOfJozi when they host Sunday’s CSA T20 Challenge final against the HollywoodBets Dolphins.

Our DP World Lions breezed through their semi-final against derby rivals the Titans with a performance of great calm and quality, and Domingo expects the same mental strength to be on show against the Dolphins.

Proteas stars Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma were at the crease at the end steering our Pride to victory with the bat, with another international, Ryan Rickelton, setting the tone up front with his innings. Throw in the strong contributions through the tournament made by Wiaan Mulder, Bjorn Fortuin and Reeza Hendricks, and it is easy to see that the DP World Lions environment is a brilliant one, making it easy for youngsters like Nqaba Peter, Lutho Sipamla and Codi Yusuf to shine as well.

“It was a really good performance against the Titans,” Domingo agrees. “Semi-finals are often nerve-wracking, they can be harder to handle than the final itself. But we kept calm and composed.

“There is always a lot of expectation on us because we topped the log and we have a very good side, and in T20 cricket anything is possible. It was a really solid performance in the semi-final, but we cannot rest on our laurels.

“Rassie is scoring runs where it counts, he showed really good intensity against the Titans, and Temba is also playing well, I can see a big score just around the corner for him. You want your big names to perform in the big games and we will have to be close to our best to beat the Dolphins.

“But the big names are the guys who know under pressure that you don’t have to play 100% perfect cricket, you just need to play solid, do the basics really well, and stay calm and disciplined,” Domingo said.

The KwaZulu-Natal Coastal visitors will be bringing a team with experienced and canny campaigners of their own, and a powerful bowling attack, even without T20 ace Ottneil Baartman, who has joined Delhi Capitals in the IPL.

“They have a formidable pace attack with Okuhle Cele, Daryn Dupavillon and Andile Phehlukwayo, and a quality spinner in Prenelan Subrayen. They are also a very street-smart side, they know what it takes to win. Jason Smith, Khaya Zondo and Jon-Jon Smuts are also a key trio of very experienced players,” Domingo said.

But our Pride are playing at home at the DP World Wanderers Stadium and have only lost two of their eight matches there this campaign. And they beat the Dolphins there at the start of the month in their round-robin match, Yusuf and Rickelton leading them to victory by seven wickets with four balls to spare in a rain-shortened match.

Rickelton, Van der Dussen and Hendricks all feature in the top-12 of the tournament averages and have consistently given the DP World Lions solid starts. Delano Potgieter and Evan Jones are the six-hitters at the end of the innings and it is all brought together by Mulder, who is also in the top-20 of the averages and strikes at 126.97.

Leg-spinner Peter has been the outstanding bowler of the competition with 19 wickets in only nine matches, and has bowled with such potency that he averages just 7.78 and has twice taken four wickets in an innings, and also with such control that he has only conceded 5.19 runs-per-over.

Mulder has also been tight and effective with the ball, and that has allowed tremendous flexibility in terms of bowling options. Sipamla, Jones, Yusuf and Fortuin have served as a wonderful bowling unit, taking 55 wickets between them. Seamers Sipamla, Jones and Yusuf are all conceding little more than 7.5 runs-per-over, while Fortuin is the second-most economical bowler in the competition, at 5.84.

Our DP World Lions have quality through their line-up and their strengths cover whatever conditions or match situations are thrown at them. They are primed to peak under the pressure of Sunday’s final.

EDENVALE, Gauteng – Maiken Bing Paulsen may come from the hip river city of Drammen in Norway, but she showed on Wednesday why she calls Glendower Golf Club her “home away from home” when she fired a six-under-par 66 to claim a share of the lead after the first round of the Jabra Ladies Classic.

Russia’s Nina Pegova also shot a 66, but there was little doubt Paulsen was the club favourite. That’s because whenever the 27-year-old is in South Africa playing on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, she bases herself in Johannesburg and uses the scenic Glendower course for training purposes.

“This is my home away from home, I have spent a lot of time here at Glendower,” Paulsen said after her round of six birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. “They have been really nice to me over the years, letting me practise here on this beautiful and tough course.

“So I know the members well and the staff have been very good to me. And it was a really enjoyable round today, I was really steady off the tee and I didn’t miss any fairways. And my putting was exceptional, I can’t remember when last I holed so many, but that’s something you can’t always count on,” Paulsen said.

In her fifth year on the Ladies European Tour, Paulsen began her round at Glendower on Wednesday on the 10^th and produced a scintillating front nine with five birdies and no dropped shots.

The front nine was more testing for her as she started with three pars and then went bogey-birdie-bogey. The turning point, and the shot that ultimately put her top of the leaderboard, came on the seventh tee.

“They moved us up this morning and the flag was 215 metres away. I wasn’t sure whether to use a three-wood because I thought that may have been too long, so I just hit a high fade instead and it landed a metre-and-a-half from the flag, then I made the eagle putt,” a delighted Paulsen said.

She only had a lease on the sole lead, however, because about 20 minutes later, Pegova joined her on six-under after making a birdie on the par-three 17^th. It was the 30-year-old’s eighth birdie of the day, and she also had two bogeys, on the fifth and 10^th holes, both par-fours.

England’s Gabriella Cowley was alone in third after shooting a 67, while South Africans Cara Gorlei and Nadia van der Westhuizen shared fourth on four-under-par. Fellow South Africans Tandi McCallum and Bronwyn Doeg were tied in sixth place after making 69s.

Johannesburg, 5 April 2024 – The DP World Lions made more inroads into the Warriors’ lead in the CSA T20 Challenge on Friday night when they won a rain-shortened match against the HollywoodBets Dolphins by seven wickets with four balls to spare in Johannesburg.

With the Warriors losing to the Titans at St George’s Park, the second-placed DP World Lions are now just five points behind on the log, although the Eastern Province team do have a game in hand.

Set 99 to win off nine overs, our #PrideOfJozi’s victory was even more comfortable than the final scoreline suggests after Ryan Rickelton had plundered another half-century, lashing 53 not out off 23 balls to control the run-chase.

He was starved of strike in the last couple of overs, as the more sedate run-a-ball approach of Rassie van der Dussen (14 off 13), Evan Jones (5 off 4) and Temba Bavuma (2* off 1 ball) steered the home side to victory at the DP World Wanderers Stadium.

Heavy rain delayed the start of play for half-an-hour, with the Lions then winning the toss and making the sensible decision to bowl first and therefore have more control over the chase in a shortened game. But then there was more rain and play eventually only started at 7.45pm, 105 minutes later than originally scheduled, with the match reduced to nine overs a side.

Both teams made blazing starts, Bryce Parsons blasting 36 off 13 balls opening the batting for the Dolphins, but Rickelton had more staying power and he batted through the innings to cap a wonderful week for our Pride in which they have notched three consecutive wins.

Paceman Codi Yusuf trapped Parsons lbw with his first ball and the 25-year-old was the best of the bowlers as he finished with three for 15 in two fantastic overs, claiming two more wickets in the final over as the Dolphins were restricted to 98 for six.

With the visitors having been 62 for one after five overs, it was a brilliant comeback by our Pride, with Nqaba Peter further showing that he is one of the best young spin-bowling talents in the country as his two overs cost just 13 runs.

Rickelton blasted 19 off the first over of the DP World Lions innings and went on to produce the best ball-striking of the match, collecting four fours and four sixes. His opening partner, Reeza Hendricks, also continued to show fine form as he scored 18 off just nine deliveries as the Pride raced to 59 in the first four overs.

Having performed so magnificently in the last week, the #PrideOfJozi will now enjoy some well-earned time off, their next match being against the North-West Dragons at the DP World Wanderers Stadium next Sunday, April 14.