Ken Borland

DULLSTROOM (Mpumalanga) – Louis Albertse hails from Dundee Golf Club and would have to travel almost exactly due north from there to get to Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate, while Nico Mulder comes from Lydenburg, which is due north of Dullstroom, and together they combined to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Pro-Am in spectacular fashion on Thursday.

Albertse, a three-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, and Mulder blazed their way to 50 points on the second day of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Highland Gate Pro-Am, overtaking first-day leaders Keenan Davidse and former Springbok rugby player Akona Ndungane, to win by two points (90 to 88).

For Mulder, the general manager of the McGee group of companies, it was a maiden pro-am victory and the highlight of his golf career.

“It’s definitely the highlight, just playing with the pros is amazing enough. You see them on TV but it’s only when you’re standing with them on the course and you realise that you’re hitting six-iron and they’re taking wedge, then you know how good they are,” Mulder said.

“Vodacom have been fantastic with the way they have hosted us. It’s been an unbelievable couple of days and they have treated us like royalty. And the friendliness of everyone at Highland Gate, the staff have smiles wherever you look, it’s like being at a resort,” the nine-handicapper said.

While the first day featured such strong winds that Albertse felt like his game and maybe even himself might be blown off one of the spectacular cliffs around the course, Thursday was much calmer at Highland Gate and the winner of more than R4.6 million on the Sunshine Tour flourished, a good omen for him ahead of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series professional event that tees off on Friday.

“Yesterday the wind was really hectic, so today I had to contribute and I felt my game was there, which was nice. It’s also very enjoyable meeting new people and you never know what doors people you meet can open. And they are also the reason we are able to play in these tournaments, I am very respectful and thankful for what they do for us.

“It’s my second time playing here and I love the course, everyone who lives close to Dullstroom wants to come and play here. It’s a very good course and it is in great condition. There are scoring opportunities for sure, but if you’re not straight off the tee then it becomes really tough. You have to try and be patient and plot your way around it,” Albertse said.

Davidse and Ndungane, the runners-up, finished three points ahead of Jason Roets and George Leolo (85pts), while Stefan Wears-Taylor and Toby Mnisi were fourth on 83 points.

Ngwako Ramohlale struck a blow for the ladies as she finished fifth were her professional, Nikhil Rama, also on 83 points.

With the first day having shown that Highland Gate is not for the faint-hearted, Mulder was taking no chances on the second morning and admitted to bolstering his confidence in time-honoured fashion before the tee-off.

“My mate and I had a little Jagermeister before the start and then it was just a matter of keeping my head down and staying humble. But the wind on the first day made all of us humble,” Mulder laughed.

Bloemfontein (July 20, 2024) – South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said improving their discipline would be a pivotal part of their focus in the Rugby Championship after they beat Portugal 64-21 in their one-off Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday, despite playing with 14 men from the third minute and with 13 players for 16 minutes.

Centre Andre Esterhuizen was given an early yellow card for head-on-head contact after a crunching tackle on Jose’ Lima sent the Portuguese No.13 off the field with a concussion. Esterhuizen’s yellow card was later upgraded to a red by the television match official.

The Springboks also had wing Kurt-Lee Arendse yellow-carded in the 34^th minute for a dangerous clear-out at a ruck, and debutant replacement fullback Quan Horn was also sent to the sin-bin after playing an opponent in the air in the 74^th minute.

“Discipline is something we will need to look at after getting a red card so early. We had nearly 20 minutes with 13 men and the rest with 14, and obviously we won’t win World Cups like that. So that is something we will focus on. The incidents were all accidents, they weren’t things the players did on purpose.

“But we had to adapt to having 14 or 13 men, so that is a good thing. You get to learn the character of the players in matches like this. We had Duane Vermeulen next to the field and Gerry Flannery was planning how to defend without a blindside wing or a centre. On the field, the players can get rattled or stay calm, so there were big learnings from that tonight,” Erasmus said.

Conceding 10 tries but scoring three themselves was no disgrace for Portugal in their first meeting with South Africa, and their coach Simon Mannix said he could not have been more proud of his team.

“The lessons were enormous tonight and we were monstered in a lot of areas. The physicality of the Springboks was something else and the players felt it was two or three levels higher than what they experienced in the 2023 World Cup.

“I’m not naïve, I know it was a South Africa B team we played against, but they played some really good rugby, they have great athletes. We were beaten up at the breakdown and in a lot of areas, but we showed a lot of courage. I could not be more proud of the boys.

“We will learn and get better, but I’m very proud of the way we tried to play some rugby, especially in the first 10 minutes. We showed we can move the ball and go wide. This was an historic event and I hope the players will remember those first 10 minutes, we showed we were here to play and what we can do, we exposed them on the outside, which I was delighted about.

“We learnt so much about ourselves tonight, you can’t look at it negatively. There’s a huge gulf between No.15 and No.1 in the world. One of my players is in the fifth division in France and tonight he started against the Springboks. We have no full-time pros, but we have incredible spirit,” Mannix said.

South Africa kick off their Rugby Championship campaign against Australia in Brisbane on August 10.

Expectation can be an unkind burden for young cricketers and it would only have been human for Kwena Maphaka to feel the pressure during the ICC U19 World Cup hosted by South Africa. But instead the DP World Lions rising star showed his mettle by flourishing and enjoying a spectacular tournament.

The St Stithians pupil was named the Player of the Tournament for his 21 wickets, just one short of the all-time record at the event. Bangladesh spinner Enamul Haque took 22 wickets in 2004, but one record Maphaka did claim for himself was for three five-wicket hauls in a single edition of the U19 World Cup, which no-one had managed before.

He is the fourth South African to receive the honour, the first being current DP World Lions men’s captain Dominic Hendricks in 2010. Aiden Markram (2014) and Dewald Brevis (2022) are the others to bring the individual title back to Mzansi.

Left-arm fast bowler Maphaka is a prodigy, of that there is no doubt, and the 17-year-old was playing in his second junior world cup. He first played for the St Stithians first XI in Grade IX, so he has had to deal with expectation from a very young age.

“I’ve learnt how to deal with it quite well, there is always expectation. It’s getting higher as I get older, but I’m just trying to grow as a cricketer at the same pace,” Maphaka says.

“On a personal level I was quite happy with the tournament, but it was unfortunate that we did not go through from the semifinals and win as a team. But that’s cricket.

“I guess I just hit a run of form and when you’re in that purple patch you feel confident and that there’s not much that can stop you. The games were all so close together and I was in good mental places, so I just ran with it,” Maphaka says.

Having fulfilled his considerable potential at junior level, the matric student will be prioritising his academics in 2024, but he is already part of the DP World Lions men’s squad. He made his debut for them on November 30 at St George’s Park, taking four wickets in the match against the Warriors. He had already made his first-class debut back in June last year when he was fast-tracked into the SA A team in Sri Lanka by Test coach Shukri Conrad.

Maphaka is sure to still pop up from time-to-time this year as he begins to transition into senior cricket.

“This year my first priority is to pass matric, so my focus will be on school, that’s my main goal. From next year onwards I can focus on domestic cricket and I hope to make my name with the DP World Lions. Then maybe in a couple of years I will be fortunate enough to represent the Proteas,” Maphaka says.

By then he could quite possibly be running the joint, just like his predecessor at St Stithians and the DP World Lions, the great Kagiso Rabada.

DP World Lions bowling coach Allan Donald sees some similarities between Maphaka and Rabada, who he coached in his first few months at international level with the Proteas.

“You get these youngsters who you just absolutely know have got it and they’ve got the jewels to go the whole way, like KG. The first time I saw Kwena I could see he had everything – he’s fit, strong and athletic; he has a good action and a magnificent wrist.

“We saw in the U19 World Cup that he was bowling late-inswinging full balls to the right-handers, knocking over the stumps at pace. He has all the credentials to be a wonderful prospect. Every now and then you get a freakish cricketer and Kwena is one of those.

“It’s a privilege to be involved with him and I look forward to him joining us full-time when he’s finished school. He is just a gem and the world is at his feet,” Donald said.

When Thriston Lawrence arrived at Randpark Golf Club on Thursday, November 25, 2021, he did not bargain on it being the weekend that would change his life, and in some of the most chaotic circumstances ever.

It was the co-sanctioned Joburg Open, the first tournament after the European Tour had rebranded itself as the DP World Tour, and Lawrence’s first round was interrupted by an untimely thunderstorm when he was playing his final hole and was tied for the lead.

Mother Nature had an even bigger shock up her sleeve as the discovery of the Omicron variant of Covid by South African experts led to Britain making the drastic decision of imposing a ban on flights from South Africa, shortly followed later that night by many other European nations.

With several golfers withdrawing from the tournament in order to scramble home on the last few flights available, and the organisers cutting the event to three rounds, there was more rain and lightning on the second day, but Lawrence managed to complete his first round and get the full 18 holes in for his second round too, posting 65-65 for a four-shot lead.

So, on the third and now final day, many golfers still needed to finish their second rounds and with thundershowers returning around midday, no-one managed to finish their third round. And so Lawrence was awarded his maiden DP World Tour title.

It was just the second time he had won on the Sunshine Tour, and now he had full European playing privileges and a spot in the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrew’s. Lawrence’s Joburg Open triumph set in motion a staggering year that saw him also win the European Masters in August, as well as finishing tied-42^nd in his Major debut.

He became the first South African to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, replicating the feat of such luminaries as Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and Nick Faldo.

The 26-year-old Lawrence has made a tremendous start to the new DP World Tour season as well, last weekend winning the South African Open at Blair Atholl to go top of the order of merit.

“Everything I could’ve dreamed of happened this last year, my life changed and that motivates me to achieve even more in my career,” Lawrence said. “To play my first major at St Andrews, the Home of Golf, was incredible. Whatever I could’ve imagined it would be, it was triple that when I experienced it. I had my family with me and it was just incredible.

“Driving into Houghton Golf Club for the Joburg Open this year and seeing the signage with my photo and the trophy, you dream about those things when you’re a young golfer.

“Not much more than a year ago I never thought this would happen, and there’s a lot less pressure with that first win. And then you dream of moments like coming down the stretch at the SA Open, it’s what you strive for, in front of an amazing crowd. Those dreams have come true too, but it’s obviously not all the dreams I want to achieve, but it’s the start.

“It really motivates you because if you do that once you want to be there again. I just try to stay very calm in these situations [when contending]. But of course you do still get nerves and that gets the adrenaline flowing,” Lawrence said.

Born in Nelspruit on December 3, 1996, Lawrence is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to many golfer’s penchant for constantly tinkering with their swing and their game-plan – it sometimes seems like no sooner has a player found consistency with their swing than they bin it and try something new to try and get even better results.

Lawrence is a firm believer in ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

“It’s been a great year and hopefully there are many more wins to come. I think the key has been keeping everything the same, including the way I practise and my routine.

“I’ve just kept on doing what I do, sticking to my game-plan. I’m a big believer in not changing what is working. Lots of people do make changes, but this is a game you can’t perfect.”

Constantly seeking perfection can lead to some pretty dysfunctional behaviour and perhaps Lawrence’s greatest asset is his calm demeanour and his ability to take the rough with the smooth. His SA Open triumph was witnessed by many friends and family, and it was clear from the celebrations that the two-time SA Amateur champion (2013 & 2014) has several caring relationships in his life.

After his win at Blair Atholl, he had to spend more than an hour on the 18^th green posing for a host of photographs for seemingly every sponsor under the sun and every member of the estate, as well as signing autographs and giving interviews. Lawrence did it all with a gentle smile on his face; no doubt that same patience and fortitude has much to do with his success as a golfer.

It all began when Lawrence was but five years old and his grandfather, who had retired to the Umdoni Park Golf Estate on the South Coast of KZN and had become a keen golfer, gave him a Little Tiger golf set. Lawrence remembers the set was red, colour-coded for the five-to-seven age-group.

Within a handful of years he was competing in junior tournaments – including at Leopard Creek where he is doing well right now in the Alfred Dunhill Championship – and he turned pro in 2014.

Having taken a couple of years to develop his winning nerve, he now has a collection of three DP World Titles, and it is a safe bet that that tally will increase.