Ken Borland

SUN CITY – Martin Rohwer is eager to start the new season well and get up the order of merit as soon as he can, and the four-time Sunshine Tour winner surged to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City on Wednesday.

Rohwer, who began his round with an eagle on the par-five 10^th, fired a five-under-par 67 at the Gary Player Country Club on Wednesday to claim a one-stroke lead after the first day of the third event so far this season.

The Kloof Country Club member hit a 270m drive on the 505m 10^th and then hit a hybrid just short of the green, from where he sank his chip for the eagle-three. He birdied the next par-five, the 14^th, and then gathered three successive birdies on the 18^th, 1^st and 2^nd holes. His final birdie came on the par-four sixth, while he only dropped two shots, making fives on the par-four 13^th and eighth holes.

“Obviously it was a great start, chipping straight up the hill into the hole for an eagle on my first, and I played some solid golf after that too,” Rohwer said. “It was a very cold morning, but then it warmed up and there was really not much wind, it was a lovely benign day.

“I drove the ball really well today, which is obviously a big advantage at Gary Player Country Club because then your second shots are not too difficult. This course does suit my game, I won the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final here in 2022 and last year I had a chance to win this event before finishing third. It’s a fader’s course and I fade the ball off the tee.

“I’m just trying to get up The Courier Guy Order of Merit early doors this season and then I will work on my swing during the break later this month,” Rohwer said.

Rohwer was one stroke ahead of Lyle Rowe and Werner Deyzel, who shot four-under-par 68s.

In stark contrast to Rohwer, Deyzel started his round with a bogey on the par-four first hole and then a double-bogey at the par-five second. But instead of responding with bile, the 24-year-old Deyzel summoned brilliance and played his next 16 holes in a remarkable seven-under-par. He also eagled the 10^th and made five birdies.

Zimbabwe’s Stuart Krog, who first came to prominence in 2014 with his tenacious performances in the World Junior Golf Series, shining alongside the most promising Brazilian, South African, Irish, Scandinavian and American talent, was on three-under-par 69 alongside Estiaan Conradie and Sweden’s Fredrik From.

HARARE – The prices you pay for inaccuracy at the Royal Harare Golf Club are steep, but Michael Hollick continues to largely avoid that problem with his precise game taking him to the top of the leaderboard after the third and penultimate round of the FBC Zim Open on Saturday.

Hollick followed up his first two rounds of 66 and 67 with an impressive 68 in the third round, leaving him on 15-under-par and enjoying a one-stroke lead going into Sunday’s final round.

The one-time Sunshine Tour winner made a slow start on Saturday, with a bogey on the par-three second meaning he was one-over after four holes. But he then birdied the fifth and sixth holes, and began the back nine birdie-birdie. Hollick followed up a bogey on the par-three 15^th with an eagle on the 16^th, and then birdied 17 before dropping a shot on the last hole to halve his lead.

“This golf course is very demanding, there’s not a lot of room for error. You have to be accurate, it’s like a game of chess out there,” Hollick said. “The greens are super-quick, probably the fastest we play on all year and they are very firm now after three days.

“They’re also all elevated with run-offs and narrow entrances to the greens, so if you don’t hit your target then you’re unlikely to get up-and-down. But I’m definitely feeling good, the last few months have been good for me and success breeds confidence. My swing and my short game are good and I’m just sticking to my guns,” Hollick said.

While other golfers have found the back nine at Royal Harare Golf Club especially testing, Hollick’s cool and calm approach saw him prosper there on Saturday as he came home in 33 shots, one or two strokes less than anyone else in the top four.

“Of late, I’ve been making a bogey at the start of my round, but I’ve always been able to recover. I’m quite relaxed, so I just carry on, knowing a birdie is probably around the corner.

“On the back nine today, I hit all the fairways, except for 18, and hit some nice irons, which makes it much easier to get those birdies,” Hollick said.

The evergreen Darren Fichardt is the chief challenger to Hollick, his 69 on Saturday lifting him to 14-under-par. The 48-year-old had four birdies and three bogeys, but an eagle at the par-five sixth made all the difference.

Kieran Vincent is the chief home hope on 11-under-par after a 67, leaving him tied for third with Anthony Michael (71). But two more Zimbabweans, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Kieran’s older brother Scott are one shot further back, alongside MJ Viljoen (66).

Follett-Smith fired the low round of the day, a seven-under-par 65, and was five-under at the turn.

HARARE – Martin Vorster was on a rock-solid two-under-par for his round after his first seven holes on Friday, but a raucous run around the turn in which he picked up four birdies and then an eagle helped catapult him to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the FBC Zim Open at Royal Harare Golf Club.

The Mossel Bay representative began his round on the 10^th hole and made another eagle on the par-five sixth hole before parring his way in for a phenomenal 62, his best ever round in his 52^nd Sunshine Tour event. That lifted Vorster to 12-under-par at the halfway mark of the R2.5 million event, one stroke ahead of Darren Fichardt (66) and Michael Hollick (67).

Vorster responded in style to a grungy first round that included four bogeys to offset six birdies. On Friday he made birdies at the 10^th, 12^th and 14^th holes, before his only dropped shot, a four at the par-three 15^th. But the 22-year-old then made sweet music with four straight birdies at 17, 18, one and two, before his eagle at the 475m par-three third.

Veteran Fichardt sounded a warning in the morning about his challenge, firing a six-under 66 that included eight birdies, being joined on 11-under-par by Hollick, who posted a 67 that included a good little run of his own when he birdied four successive holes from the fifth to the eighth.

Anthony Michael also shot a 67 to lie fourth on 10-under-par, while first-round leader Jaco Ahlers slipped back a bit with a 71 that left him on eight-under.

Kieran Vincent was the leading Zimbabwean as his 67 lifted him to six-under-par, alongside South Africans JC Ritchie (69) and Combrinck Smit (70) in the tie for sixth.

SUN CITY, North-West – England’s Lauren Taylor concentrated on first and foremost just being herself in the opening round of the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course on Wednesday, and it paid off as she finished in first place on the leaderboard.

Taylor fired a four-under-par 68 to enjoy a one-stroke lead over Vanessa Knecht, Ana Dawson, Pasqualle Coffa and leading South African Kaleigh Telfer.

The 29-year-old Taylor played the back nine at Lost City first, and made the perfect start with birdies on the first three holes and another on the 15^th. A bogey-birdie finish to the back nine saw Taylor go out in 32, and she then came home in level-par thanks to a birdie on the ninth making up for a bogey on the par-five seventh.

“I was just trying to be myself out there and take it hole by hole,” Taylor said. “It was a good day. I made a hot start, it’s always nice to get three birdies first up, so then I just tried to keep being aggressive.

“All parts of my game were pretty good, but the best part was that I hit every fairway. My irons were also good and that’s always a good combo which will always give you chances. So I was hitting good shots and making birdies.

“I still gave myself some chances on the front nine but I just didn’t hole the putts. But I was very happy to finish with a birdie. I was feeling confident after a good week at Fancourt in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, but anything can happen in golf and you never know how it’s going to be on the day,” Taylor said.

The in-form Dawson, who led for most of the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am before eventually finishing tied-third, continued her fine form, her 69 including just one bogey – on the par-three 13^th.

Telfer, who enjoyed an excellent Sunshine Ladies Tour campaign last year, posted five birdies with two bogeys to position herself just behind the leader.

Two South Africans – 2022 champion Paula Reto and amateur Isabella Ferreira, were two strokes back after shooting 70s, along with Romy Meekers of the Netherlands and Sweden’s Ellen Hutchinson-Key.

Ferreira also started on the back nine and reached the turn on one-over-par, but she was excellent on the front nine, collecting three birdies.