for quality writing

Ken Borland


Birdies & eagles & nearly an albatross for Van Tonder, but goslings were safe 0

Posted on October 01, 2020 by Ken

There were so many birdies, a couple of eagles and very nearly an albatross for the red-hot Danie van Tonder on Wednesday that one half-expected the Rise Up Series order of merit leader to shoot something new and extraordinary like a gosling in the first round of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded at Huddle Park Golf Club.

Van Tonder instead settled for a wonderful nine-under-par 63 in a superb round of golf that meant the baby Egyptian Geese in danger were the ones way down the fairway and certainly not those around the water hazards. The 29-year-old collected six birdies and two eagles as he basically overwhelmed the course from the tees. He very nearly scored an albatross two at the 438-metre par-five 14th hole, when his approach lipped out of the hole.

“I’m very happy, the Driver gave me lots of chances with wedges to get really close to the pins. On 14, I hit a five-wood off the tee and then had 110 to the pin, I took my lob-wedge and said to my caddy that I must go for some spin, and I spun it back almost into the hole for a two. But almost all the holes are birdie holes, you can attack the pins and there are lots of chances on every hole.

“I’m quite happy about everything in my game, it’s great to see my hard work paying off and I’m just going to keep on practising and trying to get better. It’s a new day tomorrow and I will try and make a 10-under 62, you never know. I’ll go home now and wait for the rain to come – the greens are already very receptive and rolling nicely,” Van Tonder said after starting his hunt for a third Rise Up Series title in perfect fashion.

Four-time Sunshine Tour winner Christiaan Basson has had a disappointing Rise Up Series, only making the cut at the African Bank Championship at Glendower, but on Wednesday he played like he had a personal grudge against Huddle Park as he fired an eight-under-par 64.

He was joined on that score soon afterwards when Louis de Jager, playing in the same three-ball as Van Tonder, finished with three 3s to also sign for a brilliant 64.

It was also a good day for the experienced and consistent Jacques Blaauw, who also had two eagles on his way to a 65, and Musiwalo Nethunzwi, who also finished on seven-under alongside rookie Malcolm Mitchell.

Young Jayden Schaper produced one of the more exciting rounds of the day as he eagled the first three par-fives on his way to a 66 that gave him seventh place all by himself.

On a day when one golfer was heard to enquire “where is the rest of the par-five?”, it was a very disappointing first round for Darren Fichardt, Van Tonder’s only rival for the Rise Up Series order of merit title, as he let himself down by coming home in 38 shots (the back nine was tougher on Wednesday) to finish with a 72. With 64 golfers shooting under-par on the first day, Fichardt’s battle is now to make the cut.

Tags:
Category Golf, Sport

Willett simmers, then red-hot over the weekend at Sun City 0

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Ken

Danny Willett simmered in the first two rounds before a red-hot weekend saw him cruise to a four-stroke victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, the Englishman firing a brilliant six-under-par 66 on Sunday to seal the deal at Sun City.

Following a sensational 65 in the third round that vaulted him into the final group, Willett was barely challenged on Sunday as he birdied three of the first five holes. Barring some moments of pressure on the sixth, seventh, 12th and 14th holes, when he produced quality shots to save the situation, the 27-year-old was in cruise-control as fellow Englishmen Ross Fisher and Luke Donald hardly had a sniff.

Donald, the overnight leader, was beaten by six strokes and vouched for Willett’s brilliance on the day.

“I could have played a bit better but I still would have had to shoot five‑under just to tie with Danny.  He played really focused golf today and hats off, he’s a deserved winner.

“He just had a red‑hot putter, didn’t seem to miss and did everything really well. He just drove it amazingly well around here, which is a very tough, tight golf course. There’s a lot of trouble, and every time when the pressure is on, he hit it down the middle,” Donald said.

Willett, trailing by one overnight, claimed the lead when he picked up three early shots, proving lethal from the fringe. On the par-five second, a delightful chip set up a birdie, and on the third and fifth holes, he sank lengthy downhill birdie putts from the fringe.

“I hit a lot of driver on the first few holes where a lot of other golfers would hit irons. It meant I had a five-iron into two, a nine-iron into three, where the others are hitting five or six-irons into narrow greens. There was no hanging back for me,” Willett said.

The win takes the former world number one amateur into the top 60 on the world professional rankings and means a definite place in the Majors is beckoning, never mind the Ryder Cup points earned by one of Europe’s rising stars.

“It’s a ridiculous amount of money to win, but a week like this won’t be matched anywhere, not even on the PGA Tour. It’s great to win against a very good field, because it says I’m improving and I can compete against the best,” Willett said.

The win was based on an aggressive strategy off the tee, devised with caddy John Smart, and his deft touch around and on the greens.

“We had a good game-plan, the course is visually intimidating off the tee, but we wanted to be aggressive and take it on, I trusted my driver. We would take on shots where others would lay back.

“I also felt comfortable on the greens, they remind me of home without much grain on them. The grass around the greens is also not as sticky as elsewhere, it feels similar to home,” Willett said.

Donald closed the gap to two as they reached the turn with a birdie on the par-five ninth, having laid up while Willett reached the green in two but misread his eagle putt. But the former world number one bogeyed 10 while the eventual winner birdied from 12 feet.

Both Donald and Fisher birdied the par-five 14th to potentially close the gap to two with four holes to play, but Willett produced a remarkable bunker shot and sank a clutch putt for birdie himself.

“It was always comfortable enough, but you still put pressure on yourself, you’re saying ‘well I can only throw this away from here’. Three-putting on nine after I hit two good shots in gave me a kick up the backside and it was a good one to win…” Willett said.

http://citizen.co.za/288628/nedbank-golf-challenge-sun-city-showdown/

Tags:
Category Golf, Sport

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Thought of the Day

    John 14:20 – “On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

    All the effort and striving in the world, all the good works and great sacrifices, will not help you to become like Christ unless the presence of the living Christ is to be found in your heart and mind.

    Jesus needs to be the source, and not our own strength, that enables us to grow spiritually in strength, beauty and truth.

    Unless the presence of Christ is a living reality in your heart, you will not be able to reflect his personality in your life.

    You need an intensely personal, more intimate relationship with Christ, in which you allow him to reveal himself through your life.

     

     



↑ Top