Ken Borland

CENTURION – The solid plan and clinical execution of Kieran Vincent made sure that any dreams of a challenge to him would be still-born as the Zimbabwean cruised to a four-shot victory in the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am at Irene Country Club on Sunday.

Vincent went into the final round tied for the lead on 15-under-par with James Mack, and there were 11 other golfers within five shots. But the 26-year-old gave them no chance as he fired a brilliant, bogey-free six-under-par 66 on Sunday to finish on 21-under and clinch a comfortable victory.

Vincent picked up his first birdie at the par-four sixth hole and the turn was fertile territory for him as he then reeled off a hat-trick of birdies from the ninth to 11th holes. Vincent sank a superb 40ft putt for birdie on the par-five 10^th, and then hit an equally excellent approach to a foot on the par-four 11^th to pick up another shot.

The likes of Malcolm Mitchell and Jacques Blaauw did appear briefly in his rearview mirror, but Vincent settled the deal with birdies on the last two holes.

“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I’m here on an invite so I’m super-grateful to KitKat Cash & Carry for this opportunity,” Vincent said. “I’m very excited because we did a lot of good things today and a lot of hard work has gone into making this first professional win with my caddie Alec a reality. To have my mother and sister in the crowd was also so special.

“Any time you win, it’s a huge boost, wherever it is. I have a long season ahead and there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Vincent is hoping part of that long season will be the Olympic Games tournament in Paris, and his golf in the first two events of the new Sunshine Tour season – he finished tied-fourth in the FBC Zim Open – certainly fits the bill in terms of climbing the world rankings. He was number 439 in the world coming to Irene Country Club, but he is the leading Zimbabwean in the rankings.

“I’m not sure if I’m 100% there yet, but playing good golf will take care of that itself,” Vincent said.

Vincent was stalked by Mitchell on the front nine, with the latter reaching the turn in four-under to be just a stroke behind at one stage. But a double-bogey on the par-three 13^th and another dropped shot on the 14^th were crucial lapses by Mitchell.

Blaauw also legged it up the leaderboard with a round of 67 that included just one bogey, finishing in third place on 16-under-par.

Mack struggled to a 73 on Sunday and finished on 14-under-par, in a tie for sixth.

Our DP World Lions made sure they will host Sunday’s CSA T20 Challenge final with a commanding win over the Momentum Multiply Titans in Johannesburg on Wednesday night, claiming victory in their semi-final by a sizeable eight wickets with 20 balls to spare.

The #PrideOfJozi continued the great form that carried them to the top of the log after the round-robin stage, overwhelming the Titans with the control and skill of their bowling, and then racing to victory with a powerful batting display. Having successfully converted first place in the standings to a home final at the DP World Wanderers Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Lions will now face either the Dolphins or the Warriors, who play in Durban on Thursday night in the other semi-final.

Having won the toss, the DP World Lions took to the field first and immediately bossed the Titans. The visitors could only score 38 for one in the powerplay and a 20-minute delay to restore a floodlight did not break the momentum.

If anything, it saw the DP World Lions come back out with even more intent and ruthlessness, as they claimed the next eight Titans wickets for just 87 runs. Our chief hero was once again young leg-spinner Nqaba Peter, one of the finds of the domestic season, as he ripped through the Titans middle-order, taking four for 18 in his four overs.

The 21-year-old Peter has now taken 19 wickets in the campaign, at a ridiculously good average of just 7.78, while conceding only 5.19 runs per over. Another one of our exciting younger players, Codi Yusuf, was also excellent, taking two for 25 in his four overs.

With the match reduced to 18 overs-a-side due to the delay, the Titans finished on a meagre 131 for nine. The DLS recalculation meant our target was 134 in 18 overs.

Ryan Rickelton continued to pursue the leading run-scorer’s title as he struck a punishing 38 off 26 balls, his only boundaries being three large sixes, but the real slaughter came from the bat of Rassie van der Dussen.

The DP World Wanderers became a massacre site for the bowlers as the experienced Proteas star powered his way to a fiery 73 not out off just 45 balls, with eight fours and a six. He added 85 off 53 deliveries for the second wicket with Rickelton, and then Temba Bavuma (19* off 13) was out in the middle with him when the match was won, adding an unbeaten 46 off 31 balls for the third wicket.

Yusuf and Wiaan Mulder had earlier removed Titans openers Lhuan-dre Pretorius (8) and Rivaldo Moonsamy (24), with Peter coming on in the ninth over and immediately spinning his web.

The experienced Sibonelo Makhanya (6) was beaten in the flight and bowled trying to sweep, and then in his third over, Peter removed Neil Brand (7) and David Wiese (0) with successive deliveries. Brand was caught top-edging a sweep, Bavuma making plenty of ground to take a brilliantly-judged running catch at midwicket, while Wiese failed to spot the googly and was comprehensively bowled.

Corbin Bosch (9), hitting out ambitiously but in vain, then became Peter’s fourth and final victim, Yusuf taking a very composed catch on the cow-corner boundary. It is the second time this season the youngster who bowls brisk leg-spin with great variations has picked up four wickets in an innings.

Whether the Blue Bulls Company houses Sbu Nkosi’s rugby career in future is irrelevant right now, CEO Edgar Rathbone said on Tuesday, because their focus is on making sure the Springbok wing gets the help he needs to solve his personal issues.

Nkosi had been missing from Loftus Versfeld for three weeks, raising fears for his wellbeing and safety, before he was found at his father’s house in Emalahleni (Witbank) on Monday afternoon. Rathbone was among the search party and he had a 40-minute talk with the 26-year-old.

“It was important for me to establish he was okay, safe and unharmed, and to find out where he is at. I was thrilled he was alive but sad to see the state he was in,” Rathbone said on Tuesday.

“We will provide the support he needs, but it’s difficult to put a timeline on his recovery, we need to give him space and get him back to full health. We need to follow the process, for some people it takes one month, for others six months, it depends on the depth they have to go.

“Our goal is to get him back on the rugby field and feeling like the champion he is again. Even if that’s not at the Bulls, it’s our job to get him ready. It’s irrelevant right now whether he plays for the Bulls again or some other team, it’s about Sbu Nkosi the person.

“Our concern is not for Sbu Nkosi the rugby player but for him as a person. He is an employee of the company and being absent without leave for three weeks does have consequences. But at this stage, we’re missing the point if we’re worrying about whether he still has a contract or not,” Rathbone said.

In terms of how the Bulls handled the disappearance of one of their star players, Rathbone said they had to cut their cloth according to the circumstances at the time, but he added “I’m sure mistakes were made along the way, but the player’s reputation also needed to be managed and his safety was a concern as well”.

While both the Bulls and MyPlayers, the players’ organisation to look after their interests, have mental health support measures in place, Rathbone said they would review the overall efficiency of these systems.

The CEO added that he hoped the general public would cotton on to the fact that coarse messaging on social media can lead struggling players into the dumps.

“I would ask everyone to be kind and not to make any remarks that may be harmful to Sbu. If you look at the comments and articles on social media, it’s quite frightening how stones are thrown at people.

“Everyone is going through stuff, no-one is immune to it. I would ask people to have a bit of respect for their fellow human beings.

“Unlike other jobs, our employees win or lose every Saturday and that’s pressure. I know it’s what they signed up for, but if they need help handling it then that support needs to be there,” Rathbone said.

There was a twist last weekend on the old joke about where do the Sharks team stay when they play Free State in Bloemfontein (Answer: With their family) when the Cheetahs visited Durban for a friendly match, but the goal was very serious – making sure they are ready to fire when they return to United Rugby Championship action against the Cardiff Blues at Kings Park on Sunday.

The Sharks last played on October 30 in a disappointing defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria, which leaves them eighth on the log, so it is important they hit the ground running and maintain their five-match unbeaten home run against a tough and highly capable Cardiff team.

“Three weeks off without being in a game situation would maybe have caused us to be rusty this weekend, but fortunately we were able to organise a friendly against the Cheetahs,” director of rugby Neil Powell explained on Friday.

“It was a very good exercise, playing three halves of 30 minutes each, with full-out contact. A guy like Lionel Cronje, who could move into flyhalf on Sunday, was able to get some game-time, as did other guys who have not played a lot.

“Hopefully that means we have more flow and momentum on Sunday and we have to make sure we are up and ready against a really good, quality Cardiff team, who are defensively very strong and have lots of experience.

“We will have to make sure we manage our game well and are very disciplined, because Cardiff score the majority of their tries from the lineout and maul and we can’t be giving penalties away,” Powell said.

The new head honcho at Kings Park acknowledged that the Sharks always seem to be well-prepared for games but then for some reason don’t deliver the same clinical execution come match day. It is something they have identified as needing to be put right so they do not suffer two defeats in a row.

“The whole week we prepared so well for the Bulls but it did not carry over on to the field on match day. So the big focus is that: Carrying what we have done in our training sessions on to the playing field.

“We need the same effort, execution and consistency. I believe it’s a focus thing and we need to get the individual roles right in the structure.

“That wasn’t great against the Bulls, for some reason we didn’t focus enough on getting those basics done. We need to be present in the moment and firstly, understand all our roles and responsibilities,” Powell said.

Sharks: Anthony Volmink, Marnus Potgieter, Francois Venter, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Werner Kok, Boeta Chamberlain, Cameron Wright, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Vincent Tshituka,

James Venter (CAPT), Gerbrandt Grobler, Justin Basson, Carlu Sadie, Kerron van Vuuren, Dian Bleuler. Bench – Dan Jooste, Khwezi Mona, Khutha Mchunu, Hyron Andrews, Phepsi Buthelezi, Bradley Davids, Lionel Cronje, Ben Tapuai.