Ken Borland

DURBAN, KwaZulu-Natal – For the second day in a row, Louis Albertse found himself at the top of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series leaderboard alongside Adilson da Silva as they go into the final round of the Mount Edgecombe event.

Albertse teed off in the afternoon on Friday and the 25-year-old from Dundee once again matched the veteran Brazilian all the way after Da Silva had come home in two-under 35 in the morning. The pair both shot one-under-par 69s in blustery conditions to go to five-under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Ockie Strydom.

Although the rain that was an irritation on the first day had disappeared, there were gusty winds and rather fresh temperatures to contend with on Friday.

But Albertse, who is now in his fourth season on tour, felt at home, not only in the tricky weather but also being right in the mix at the top of the leaderboard.

“Conditions were not easy but I felt I handled them very well. In these conditions there are always going to be mistakes, but I’m happy that I’ve ended the day in a good position. There was no rain this afternoon, but the wind was definitely a factor. In my last six or seven holes it really picked up and it was a bit cold as well.

“At times the wind meant a difference of three or four clubs, and at this place when that happens then anything under par is good. I will approach the final round exactly the same, I’m playing nicely and there’s no need to change anything. Both my bogeys today were putting errors on the par-fives, which was really surprising because I’ve been putting well. I’ve played with Adilson before and he’s a really nice guy,” Albertse said.

With finishes of T10th, third (a career-best finish at the SunBet Time Square Challenge at Wingate Park), T42nd and T12th since the beginning of August, Albertse has risen to 21^st on the order of merit. He is certainly playing with more consistency now, which he puts down to the work he has done with strength and conditioning coach Jacques Swarts.

“I think my recent success is a factor of a lot of things coming right at a similar time. But with Jacques Swarts I’ve been working really hard in the gym for the last couple of years and since that I’ve become a lot more consistent because my body feels good throughout a tournament. It’s small things added together which have led to more consistency,” Albertse said.

Strydom, a winner of the Sishen Vodacom Origins of Golf Series leg in 2019, closed to within a shot of the leaders with his two-under-par 68 on Friday, which featured a double-bogey six on the 11^th hole and two other dropped shots, which were nullified by three birdies on each loop.

CJ du Plessis made a strong move into the tie for fourth on three-under-par with his 67, with experienced golfers Lyle Rowe, Anton Haig, Trevor Fisher Jnr and Hennie Otto lurking with intent on two-under-par with several other golfers.

Scores – https://sunshinetour.com/tournament-information/?tourn=VOWC&season=221S&report=tmentry~season=221S~alphaorder~#/profile

DURBAN, KwaZulu-Natal  – Brazilian Adilson da Silva has been dogged lately by an inconsistent putter and a struggle to maintain focus on the course, but he put it all together in fine style on Thursday as he claimed a share of the lead after the first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series event at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate.

Da Silva opened the third leg of this season’s Vodacom Origins of Golf Series with a polished four-under-par 66, sharing the lead with Dundee Golf Club’s Louis Albertse.

The 49-year-old Da Silva started at the 10^th on Mount Edgecombe’s The Woods course and moved to two-under with back-to-back birdies on the par-three 12^th and par-four 13^th.

There was a bit of a wobble though when he bogeyed the 18^th and second holes, sandwiching a birdie on the par-four first, but Da Silva said his efforts to stay mentally focused have started paying off as he picked up three more birdies, returning to the clubhouse in 32 strokes.

Playing in the wet, it was easy to get frustrated and allow a promising round to fritter away, but the experienced Da Silva regrouped brilliantly.

“With all the breaks between tournaments due to Covid, I was really struggling to concentrate on the course, but playing events now every couple of weeks has helped a lot. I’ve pushed myself to focus my mind on the target and not worry so much about my swing. Otherwise it’s a strange feeling of not really being there. So I’m trying to visualise, put more emphasis on the shot, keep my mind focused on the present.

“I missed a couple of putts and then made silly bogeys on 18 and two, you’re getting wet and it’s easy to get frustrated. But I just told myself to hang in there, I hit most of the fairways and greens after that and made some key putts.

“My putting has been on and off lately, which is so frustrating when you’re hitting the ball well but you feel like you’re not playing well because you can’t make a score. But today was better – 28 putts and I can feel something building,” Da Silva said.

The 13-time Sunshine Tour winner also shared the lead after the first round of his previous event, the Sunshine Tour Invitational at Centurion Country Club two weeks ago, before finishing in a tie for 12^th after closing with a pair of 71s. This time, with his putter playing along, Da Silva is hoping to maintain his first-round momentum. But he warns “You can’t just run after it here, this is a course that gives you nothing.”

Chasing Da Silva and Albertse, who coincidentally also finished in a tie for 12^th at Centurion, are Siyanda Mwandla and Riekus Nortje, who shot 67s on Thursday.

Eleven golfers are two shots back on two-under-par, including Alex Haindl, winner of the second leg of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series at Sishen at the end of last month, Ockie Strydom, Lyle Rowe, Trevor Fisher Jnr and Anton Haig.

The Sharks rugby team may have endured a terrible Currie Cup final last weekend, but their star fullback Curwin Bosch was all smiles on Tuesday after a thoroughly enjoyable day out on the first day of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Pro-Am at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate.

The country’s top rugby players will be off to Europe to play in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship barely a week after the end of the Currie Cup, so Bosch was enjoying the opportunity to play some of his second-favourite ball sport.

“It’s really nice to have some off-time and be able to do what I love doing in my spare time – I play a lot of golf. It was a really nice experience today to mingle with the pros and I didn’t play too badly either. Fortunately Mount Edgecombe is my home course and I got one birdie. Overall I really enjoyed it,” the six-handicapper said.

Being accustomed to lining up pressure kicks at goal, Bosch should be used to the horrible nerves that can come with having to make clutch putts. But the lanky 24-year-old says putting is not as awful for him.

“I think the mental side comes into it more so with my driving and long irons, putting is actually a bit easier for me. I do hit my drives a long way, but not often as straight as my kicking,” Bosch, who is known for having a mega boot, chuckled.

Rumour has it that Bosch outdrove his professional by 20 metres on one hole.

With rugby now becoming an all-year pursuit, Bosch said he was also interested to see how golf professionals, many of whom have to grind it out week-to-week, approach the game. Work ethic is one thing that stands out for the Springbok.

“It’s nice to see how the pros go about it, that’s the fantastic part, seeing how they go about things on the course. You see how much thinking is done before every shot and talking to them was a great experience. The hard work, the many hours they put in to hone their game, you have to admire them. I have a better understanding of the things they go through now,” Bosch said.