Ken Borland

Local golf fans angry at the lack of a South African winner in the Nedbank Golf Challenge found a new hope to shout for on Saturday as Aldrich Potgieter stormed to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Sunday’s final round at Sun City.

The last South African to win the country’s most-watched tournament was Branden Grace in 2017. Potgieter is a young man on a meteoric rise though, and the 20-year-fired a blistering six-under-par 66 on Saturday to claim a three-stroke lead on seven-under-par.

As impressive as his four birdies and an eagle on the famous par-five 14^th hole – now shorn of the love-grass however – were, it was even more admirable that Potgieter went around the daunting Gary Player Country Club course bogey-free on another day of furnace-like heat.

It just continues a phenomenal last few months for Potgieter, who was born in Mossel Bay and attended the Louis Oosthuizen Academy before emigrating to Australia and enjoying amateur wins over there.

He returned to South Africa in 2022 and won The Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s, gaining him places in the Open Championship, the Masters and the U.S. Open, where he made the cut. Potgieter turned pro in June 2023 and this year he became the youngest ever winner on the Korn Ferry Tour (U.S. PGA Tour second tier) when he won the Bahamas Classic. He also shot a 59 at the Astara Golf Championship in Bogota, making him the youngest player to shoot that in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

Potgieter finished high enough in the Korn Ferry Tour order of merit to get his PGA Tour card for this season.

Little wonder then that Gary Player and Sun International felt he was worth an invite to the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The sizeable crowd following him and roaring their support further validated the decision.

“I was loving the crowd, it was pretty awesome to have them following me,” Potgieter said. “I’ve never played in front of a crowd like this before and it would be a dream come true to win tomorrow. A lot of friends and family are on their way to watch me and it was great to get the invite and then be able to play good golf.

“I made a putter switch from the mallet to the blade on the second day because I was leaving a lot of putts short. But I capitalised on my opportunities today, there was a lot of pressure, but it was good pressure.

“The Nedbank Golf Challenge has always been such a big thing for my Dad, for the last 20 years he’s been talking about it. So I’m excited to put on a show in the final round and it’s going to be great to have all that support. There’s one day left and hopefully then I’ll be standing on 18 holding up the trophy,” Potgieter said.

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – Jonathan Broomhead was able to daub his scorecard with red numbers for birdie as he charged up the leaderboard in the final round to secure himself a place in the playoff, which he subsequently won to claim the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast title at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club on Sunday.

Broomhead shot a tremendous seven-under-par 63 on Sunday, which included nine birdies, as he posted the clubhouse lead at 11-under-par. Two hours later, it was only Luke Brown, who fired a brilliant 66, who managed to match that score.

Brown and Broomhead then both parred the 348m, par-four 18^th twice before Broomhead nailed a 20-foot putt for birdie on the third playoff hole, to secure his second Sunshine Tour title.

The Durban Country Club golfer began the final round seven strokes behind leader Pieter Moolman, and did not start well, making a bogey on the par-four first hole. But thereafter he played with tremendous freedom going out in 32 strokes. Another dropped shot, at the par-three 11^th, sandwiched birdies at the start of the back nine, and Broomhead finished in fabulous fashion with birdies at the last three holes to get to top spot.

“I definitely didn’t think about winning at the beginning of the day, but conditions were all in our favour and I just tried to make as many birdies as I could. I teed off two hours before the leaders and there was no pressure on me. I played really well and just attacked everything,” Broomhead, whose previous victory came in the prestigious Tour Championship at the end of last season, said.

“I definitely thought the leaders would make a few birdies on the back nine because the wind was down, and I thought my score was okay, but not where it ended up. I wasn’t under pressure to make pars, I was always in play and just played very solidly, plus I made some good putts.

“Winning once is nice, but you can start doubting if you can do it again. I’ve played nicely since Tour Champs and had quite a few chances to win. So I thought another chance would come and today was my day. I just always felt in control and my swing was really good,” Broomhead said.

Brown played with unfailing determination and focus as he also reached 11-under-par, but he just failed to pip Broomhead because he could only par the last three holes, including the 18^th, which he then parred three times in the playoff.

Keenan Davidse also piled on the pressure as he shot a marvellous 65 to finish on 10-under-par, just one stroke off the playoff.

Otto van Buynder (65), Simon du Plooy (65) and Ruan de Smidt (68) shared fourth place on nine-under-par.

Overnight leader Moolman slipped to a 74 on Sunday, finishing tied-12^th on seven-under-par.

PORT EDWARD (KwaZulu-Natal) – The second round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast event saw much movement on the leaderboard but no change at the top as defending champion Pieter Moolman, drawing on all his happy memories of the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, backed up his 63 on the first day with a 66 on Saturday to extend his lead.

Moolman will go into the final round with a three-stroke lead over Ruan Korb, having weathered a testing back nine into the wind, after collecting four birdies on the front nine.

The 33-year-old Moolman shot a 62 in his last tournament at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, his fantastic final-round effort lifting him to tied-fifth in the SunBet Challenge event here in July. And last year Moolman shot a 64 in the final round to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf event here in a playoff, while he was also the runner-up in the 2022 SunBet Challenge tournament on the Wild Coast.

The Benoni Lake golfer backed up his tremendous front nine as he was able to make eagle on the 441m par-five 12^th.

“I had a lucky break on 12 because I didn’t hit a great tee-shot but I got a good bounce out of the car park. I then hit a lob-wedge to three feet,” a restrained Moolman said. “We always play golf to win and to pull it through tomorrow would make me really happy. But I will have to stick to the same game-plan tomorrow, just me playing the golf course the best I can.

“Obviously I’m happy with the position I’m in, especially since the wind was tougher today and it was more different. But Jacques Blaauw also shot 66 in our three-ball today and it helped to be able to feed off his momentum. I just tried to keep giving myself chances,” Moolman said.

Moolman did slip up after his eagle on the 12^th with bogeys at the next two holes, when he misjudged the switching wind, but the hour’s golf that followed was practically faultless, apart from a couple of missed birdie opportunities.

Silver Lakes Country Club golfer Korb also struggled on the back nine, copying Moolman with an eagle on 12 but also dropping two shots. Korb also had a wonderful front nine though, going out in 31, as he also posted a 66 to finish on eight-under-par, three behind Moolman.

Five golfers were tied for third on seven-under-par – Craig Ross (68), Ruan de Smidt (67), Keelan van Wyk (67), Fredrik From (67) and Luke Brown (67).

Ricky Hendler, who was second just one stroke behind Moolman after the first round, could only shoot level-par 70 on Saturday and slipped into the tie for eighth place on six-under-par, five strokes behind Moolman, with Jaco van Zyl (67), Samuel Simpson (65), Jean-Paul Strydom (67) and Ruan Conradie (67).

PORT EDWARD – Jaco Ahlers backed up his opening-day 64 with another six-under-par score on Thursday in the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Wild Coast Sun, once again conquering the blustery conditions with barely a hiccup as he stretched his advantage at the top of the leaderboard.

Ahlers only dropped a single shot on Thursday, at the par-three 17^th, but he collected five birdies and an eagle on the par-five 16^th in his second-round 64 that took him to 12-under-par, four ahead of Keegan McLachlan going into the final round on Friday.

Ahlers started his round on the 10^th on Thursday and was cruising from the outset with two birdies in the first three holes. He again did the bulk of his scoring on the back nine, going out in 31, and his bogey-free front nine featured birdies on the two par-fives – the third and the seventh holes.

“I’m pretty chuffed because it was a bit windy today. The greens on the back nine are a bit better, less bumpy, so I was able to roll the ball better and make more putts there,” Ahlers said.

“I missed a few putts coming in, I was a bit cautious on the greens and left a few short. But overall I didn’t miss many greens today and that’s the key at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club, to give yourself opportunities. I will just keep doing what I’m doing: hit the greens and hopefully make a few putts. I play the course as it is because I’m not the longest hitter and I can’t overpower it,” Ahlers said.

The 11-time winner on the Sunshine Tour enjoyed a bit of fortune for his eagle on the 16^th. Having tugged his tee-shot a bit on the 492m par-five, it rode the wind and lay in the semi-rough.

“I got a bit lucky,” Ahlers admitted. “That hole was downwind today and I only had 110 to the flag, I hit it to 10 feet and made the putt. Which I was very pleased about because everyone is going to score on that hole today.”

Trevor Mahoney, who shot 65 in the first round to be second, one stroke behind Ahlers, saw his hopes die an ugly death on the par-five 12^th as he posted a 10, on his way to a 78 and missing the cut by just one stroke.

McLachlan is now second after shooting a 66, also with just one bogey, on Thursday. Gerhard Pepler is one stroke further back after a never-say-die 66, in which he bounced back from a double-bogey on the 12^th by collecting birdies on the 14^th, 15^th and 18^th holes.

Brandon Stone is in fourth place, seven strokes behind Ahlers after a second-round 67, but the leader will be anxious about Stone’s ability to go really low in the final round of events.