Ken Borland

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – Golf can be a terribly cruel game at times and while leader Ockie Strydom was busy racking up a quadruple-bogey eight at the par-four 11^th hole, Ruan Korb was putting the finishing touches to his brilliant round of 63 by sinking yet another birdie putt on the final hole of the Vodacom Origins of Golf St Francis Links tournament on Saturday.

Korb’s third successive birdie, to go with two-in-a-row on the 12^th and 13^th holes, saw him go an astonishing nine-under-par in the final round, leaving him on 13-under-par for the tournament.

Strydom had been on 15-under before the awful shock of his snowman on the 11^th, and although he did well to not totally disintegrate, he could only par his way through to the close, settling for a level-par 72 after being four-under at the turn.

That left the 37-year-old in second place on 11-under, two behind Korb. Scottish veteran Doug McGuigan also challenged for the title, but bogeyed the last two holes when pushing for birdies to tie Korb, the 52-year-old closing with a 71 that left him on nine-under and in third place for the tournament.

The 28-year-old Korb admitted that it was just one of those idyllic days when every putt he looked at, he seemed to sink.

“I really enjoyed myself out there today, the weather was better and my putting was definitely the main reason for my win, every putt just seemed to find the bottom of the cup,” Korb said.

“My putting was certainly much better than when I finished second in the SunBet Challenge Time Square in August.”

The Silver Lakes golfer, who had begun the final round seven shots off the pace, had picked up decent momentum on the front nine with three birdies and a bogey in his first four holes, but he really began pushing for the title with a brilliant run that saw him eagle the par-five sixth and then pick up shots at the next two holes.

He was now 10-under for the tournament and in striking distance, but his charge was reversed as he had a 15-minute delay at the ninth tee while the group in front searched for balls. Korb lost concentration and bogeyed both nine and 10.

“I said before the round that if I could get to 14-under then I would have a chance, but waiting on the ninth was a bit of a momentum-breaker,” Korb said.

“But after those two bogeys I just tried to get calm and said to my caddie that we have to do something now otherwise the win is going to get away from us.”

Knowing he had to be positive, Korb birdied both the par-four 12^th and the par-five 13^th into the westerly wind, and then, with holes 16 and 17 heading in the opposite direction, he took advantage with two more birdies.

The three on the par-four 18^th was the icing on the cake for his second Sunshine Tour victory, his first coming at the Time Square Casino Challenge at Wingate Park Country Club in 2020.

“It’s a big confidence-booster to win at this time of year, with the big summer events coming up,” Korb said.

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – The St Francis Links on a completely overcast, drizzly and blustery day on the rugged southern coastline of the Eastern Cape would probably not be your first choice for a relaxed round of golf, but 24-year-old Dylan Naidoo was beaming after his day out in the strong winds and cold on the first day of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am.

And it’s not as if Naidoo had a stellar round of golf to smile about either: He reckons he was no more than solid and praised his pro-am partner Malcolm Subramony for having a great day.

Naidoo was just delighted to be back at one of his favourite courses, playing in the Vodacom Origins of Golf series he, and his fellow pros, appreciate so much.

“The last time I played here I was just 17 years old and it is such a phenomenal course. It tests every aspect of your game and I feel like I’m a very different player to when I was last here,” Naidoo said. “I enjoyed it so much, it tests where your game is at in a lot of different ways.

“And the Vodacom Origins of Golf series is great, as a younger golfer you are pretty much guaranteed to get in if you have your tour card. The series teaches you how to be a pro and it allows you to network with the amateurs. The pro-am is always a lot of fun and you get to know all the Vodacom people and their clients.

“It’s a lovely way to get in a practice round ahead of the Sunshine Tour event starting on Thursday, you can play with your mates and have fun, and I enjoy it a lot.

“It basically teaches you how to go about your business on tour. It was a big help when I started out as a pro and it’s a big help still now,” Naidoo, who joined the Sunshine Tour in 2019/20 after a stellar amateur career, said.

While Naidoo has made his big break by earning playing privileges on the Korn Ferry Tour in the United States, he is one of the first intake of the Papwa Sewgolum Development Class that aims to fast-track the success of golfers of colour who have been previously disadvantaged.

“I’ve been a transformation golfer for the last three years and, since the Papwa Sewgolum Class came into being in June, I have seen really nice growth in our group of golfers.

“It helps the guys realise that they are very good players, they deserve to be here, and it’s about giving them every opportunity to be successful.

“Starting out on tour can be financially very difficult, especially if you come from a disadvantaged background. Now there’s a system in place, with each of the golfers getting a bit of a stipend every month, that will really help,” Naidoo said.

PRETORIA, Gauteng – Albert Venter enjoyed a dream start to his round, but then had to stay chill to ensure he converted it into a brilliant one on the opening day of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square Casino at the Wingate Park Country Club in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Venter, teeing off shortly before noon, birdied the first three holes and then made sure he gave nothing away as he compiled a bogey-free nine-under-par 63 to give himself a four-stroke lead after the first round of the R1 million event.

The Silver Lakes golfer ensured he didn’t push too hard, making pars from the fourth to eighth holes, before making his fourth birdie at the par-three ninth hole. Venter went on another superb run from the 12^th hole, going birdie-eagle-birdie, and then he capped his round with another birdie on the 18^th, the third par-five of the back nine.

“Those three birdies in the first three holes really put my round in place, but it was important not to get ahead of myself,” Venter said. “I just tried to keep hitting greens and give myself chances.

“I had to still go through my processes. I reached the turn in four-under even though there was only one par-five on the front nine. With three par-fives on the back nine, I always thought there would be scoring opportunities there and I just had to be patient.

“On the 13^th I had only an eight-iron in, but finished on the fringe because of an unlucky bounce. But then I putted in from there, although it counts as a chip-in on the stats,” Venter laughed.

There’s not much water around Wingate Park and it’s nice to golfers off the tee, but the firm greens, especially at this time of year, are what generally prevents golfers from really laying down the law on the course established in the late 1940s.

“Wingate Park in winter is quite difficult because the greens are quick, firm and fast,” Venter said. “That’s the defence – it’s unpredictable how the ball will bounce on them, so your approach shots have to be more accurate, you have to be more specific about where you land the ball.

“Hitting 10 fairways obviously helped me. The course is quite tree-lined so those fairways I missed, fortunately it was not a big enough miss to land me in too much trouble,” Venter said.

Other golfers to get good returns on Wednesday were Hennie O’Kennedy, Richard Joubert and Martin Rohwer, who all shot five-under 67s to share second place.

Estiaan Conradie, Wynand Dingle, Keagan Thomas and Ruan Korb were a further stroke back after shooting 68s.

South Africa scraped through to the knockout round of the Women’s Hockey World Cup by a single goal on Wednesday night as pool-toppers Australia only managed to beat them 2-1 in Terrassa.

The phenomenal defensive effort by South Africa meant they finished with a goal-difference of minus-four, compared to Japan’s minus-five after they had earlier lost 3-0 to Belgium.

Although South Africa conceded a seventh-minute penalty corner goal, they were relieved to finish the first quarter on level terms at 1-1 thanks to some fine saves by goalkeeper Phumelela Mbande and a superb short-corner drag-flick goal by Lilian du Plessis.

The African champions had few opportunities in the second quarter and conceded another penalty corner goal to go 2-1 down at halftime.

Australia started the second half well but fired wide at a penalty stroke, a massive moment that seemed to disconnect the world’s number three ranked side, despite their dominance of possession and being awarded several penalty corners.

This scrappiness was advantageous for South Africa and they created a couple of chances early in the final quarter. Knowing that as things stood they were in the crossover playoffs, they showed excellent game-management to close out the match with a pleasing result, considering the last time they played Australia they lost 7-1.

South Africa will now take on Germany on Saturday at 5pm in Amsterdam for a place in the quarterfinals for the first time since finishing seventh in 1998 in Utrecht, Netherlands.

As pool winners, Australia and the Netherlands have both qualified directly for the quarterfinals. Fellow Pool D qualifiers Belgium will face Chile in the knockout round.

Pool B is wide open with New Zealand, China and India all able to finish first and go straight into the final eight, while Argentina will seal top spot in Pool C if they beat winless Canada.