Ken Borland

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.

KITWE (Zambia) – MJ Viljoen may have wondered why his fortunes turned sour on the back nine, but the 29-year-old held his round together to take a one-stroke lead after the third and penultimate round of the Mopani Zambia Open at Nkana Golf Club on Saturday.

Viljoen was three-under-par for his round through eight holes on Saturday, but suffered four bogeys coming home. But he showed his mettle by birdieing the 16^th and 17^th holes to finish with a one-under-par 71 for nine-under-par overall.

Jacques P. de Villiers shot an excellent 68 on Saturday to move to eight-under-par, tied for second with Dayne Moore, who slipped back in the third round with a 74.

Conditions were more difficult on Saturday with the wind picking up around the woodlands course.

“The wind was up today and it kept me busy, especially on the back nine,” Viljoen said. “I almost turned three-under but I was unfortunate on nine. I hot two gorgeous shots but I unfortunately went three metres too far and the ball rolled down the back and from there it’s bogey all day.

“And then on 10 I just nicked a tree, which threw me into trouble. So I had two bad lies in a row and then I had a bad bounce long-right on 13. I just struggled to get momentum on the back nine. But otherwise I was going well and played some flawless golf.”

The Serengeti Estates golfer said positive things is what he will be focusing on going into the final round as he chases his third Sunshine Tour title and his first since September 2022 at the SunBet Challenge Wild Coast.

“I’m trying to look at all the good bounces I got rather than the bad ones and I won’t be changing anything in my game-plan. My mental coach, Shaun Landsberg, has been working with me on uysing bad thoughts to my advantage. Last week I had a breakthrough, I must just let go and let it happen. My focus is going to be on where my confidence is,” Viljoen said.

SUN CITY – Werner Deyzel holds a one-stroke lead after the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City on Thursday and the Sunshine Tour rookie said he really likes the Gary Player Country Club course – but only when he hits the ball well off the tee.

Deyzel shot a one-under-par 71 on Thursday to go to five-under-par overall, which was enough to claim the lead going into Friday’s final round as the wind picked up around the Pilanesberg.

The 24-year-old graduated from the Blue Label Development Tour this year and on both of the first two days he has had to feel his way into his round. On the first day, he was three-over after his first two holes, making bogey on the first and then a double on the par-five second. Deyzel then played some remarkable golf to post a 68, which left him one stroke behind leader Martin Rohwer.

On Thursday, he began his round on the 10^th and dropped shots on the par-four 11^th and on the par-three 12^th hole. He then birdied the 13^th but bogeyed the 15^th, before consecutive birdies at 16 and 17 were followed by another drop on the 18^th.

Deyzel seemingly had had his fill of this rollercoaster golf as he started the front nine, birdieing the first, second and sixth holes, with just one bogey coming home, on the par-four third.

“If I hit a good tee-shot then I like the course,” Deyzel joked. “But if you don’t hit a good drive, then this course will really punish you. But the Gary Player Country Club is stunning and I definitely enjoy playing here. I don’t know why I’ve started badly both days, but then it’s just been about keeping my head down and coming out the other end.

“I hit the ball very well and my putter was very hot. Most of my bogeys came from poor tee-shots that weren’t in play, and some of those holes I actually scrambled well to make bogey. But if I can be more consistent off the tee, then the way my irons are, and with my putting, I just need to hit the greens and I can make a really low score in the final round,” Deyzel said.

Playing in just his third Sunshine Tour event, Deyzel has the lead going into the final round, albeit a small one. But he doesn’t believe he needs to approach things any differently than he did when excelling on the Blue Label Development Tour.

“I’m extremely happy with how things went last week at Irene [he finished tied-25^th in the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am] and this tournament has been good too. Hopefully tomorrow I can produce another good round, but I will approach it the same as every round. I just have to stick to my game-plan and not get ahead of myself. And I will try to enjoy it,” Deyzel said.

Jonathan Broomhead produced inspired golf on the front nine, with an eagle on the par-five second and two birdies leading him to a 69, which left him tied for second on four-under-par with Lyle Rowe (72).

Rohwer was among six golfers tied for fourth on three-under-par, as he came home in 40 to post a 74.

Tristin Galant also eagled the second and produced some special golf in his 67 to go to three-under, while Yurav Premlall and Jaco Ahlers both fired 68s. Neil Schietekat (69) and Luke Brown (70) are the other golfers tied for fourth.