Daniel van Tonder claimed a remarkable playoff victory in the SDC Open at the Zebula Golf Estate and Spa on Sunday, and in the process also reclaimed his No 1 position on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.
Van Tonder went into the final round seven shots adrift of leader Altin van der Merwe, who was hunting his first victory on the Tour.
But the experienced Van Tonder applied the pressure, most notably with a finish of four straight birdies for a 67 and the clubhouse target of 16 under par. Van Der Merwe, who had played superbly all week, was at one stage of the final round six shots clear of the field. But a double bogey on the seventh and then bogeys on the 13th and 17th holes drew him back into a playoff with Van Tonder.
Playing the par-five 18th, Van Tonder made a solid par for the win while Van Der Merwe ended with a double-bogey seven.
“It’s amazing. I’ve been doing this for a while now and I like to chase a few scores now and then. I was just determined to give myself chances, put a bit of pressure on and then wait and see,” said Van Tonder.
This is his third victory of the season, and also his third playoff win. “I’ve always enjoyed playoffs. I’ve won a couple, and it’s fun.”
This is also Van Tonder’s 12th victory as a professional, and his first since becoming a father. And it’s given him a clear sense of what his immediate goal will be.
“I’m going to finish off the Sunshine Tour season and I want to win the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and see where that takes me. I’m finally No 1 again and I want to extend that lead even more.”
With a career that now stretches into double figures in terms of victories, including the South African Open, Van Tonder has now definitely played his way into a different sphere of Sunshine Tour status.
“It feels great. I work hard and don’t like taking off days. I’ve never had a coach and everything I do is self-taught. Whatever feels right I try and do.”
SCORES:
WN - Daniel van Tonder
KO - Altin van der Merwe
273 - Liam Nolan
275 - Sebastien Gros
276 - David Law, Baard Skogen, Wilco Nienaber, Jason Roets
277 - JC Ritchie, Lucas Vacarisas, Malcolm Mitchell
278 - Maximilian Steinlechner, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Nikhil Rama, Nick Carlson
279 - Clement Sordet, Jacques Blaauw, Jens Fahbring, Jaco Van Zyl
280 - Per Langfors, Callum Mowat, Martin Vorster, Jean Hugo, Rhys West, Jovan Rebula
281 - Kyle Barker, Heinrich Bruiners, Aymeric Laussot, Albert Boneta
282 - Benjamin Van Wyk, Calum Fyfe, Joshua Berry, Sebastian Garcia, Herman Loubser, Jack Floydd, Michael Hollick, Adri Arnaus, Matthis Besard, Samuel Jones, George Bloor
283 - Vince van Veen, Borja Virto, Quim Vidal, Robin Petersson, Marc Hammer
284 - Lee Slattery, Ricky Hendler, Rupert Kaminski, Jordan Duminy
285 - Filippo Celli, Daniel Young, Rhys Enoch, Trevor Fisher Jnr
286 - Danie Van Niekerk, Tomas Gouveia, Kyle De Beer, Jacques P de Villiers, Graham van der Merwe, Lars van Meijel
287 - Stuart Krog, Yurav Premlall, Robson Chinhoi, Gerhard Pepler
288 - Maxence Giboudot, Keenan Davidse, Justin Walters
289 - Felix Mory, Tyran Snyders
290 - Neil Schietekat, Thabiso Ngcobo
291 - Gregor Graham, Gabriel Morgan
292 - Keagan Thomas
Missed the cut:-
143 - Jonathan Broomhead, Ryan Lumsden, Hennie O'Kennedy, Joe Long, Matt Sharpstene, Nathan Legendre, Alexander Settemsdal, Fredrik From
144 - Oliver Bekker, Victor Pastor, Jeremy Freiburghaus, Peter Karmis, CJ du Plessis, Ethan Smith, Makhetha Mazibuko
145 - Combrinck Smit, Oihan Guillamoundeguy, Euan Walker, Davis Bryant, MJ Viljoen, Jean Bekirian, Ruan Korb, Sentanio Minnie, Ilirian Zalli, Chris Paisley, Martin Rohwer, Henric Sturehed, Lorenzo Scalise, Wynand Dingle, Rourke van der Spuy, Jack Hawksby
146 - Max Kennedy, Julian Perico, Dan Erickson, Palmer Jackson, Ben Sigel, Callan Barrow, Werner Deyzel, Keith Horne, Quintin Wilsnach, James Mack, Franklin Manchest, Keegan Mclachlan
147 - Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Pieter Moolman, Tiger Christensen, Dayne Moore, Christiaan Burke
148 - Aron Zemmer, Louis Albertse, Tom Lewis, Luke Brown, Jaco Prinsloo, Brandon Pieters
149 - Matt Oshrine, Soren Broholt Lind, Jamie Rutherford, Renato Paratore, Bastien Amat, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Lyle Rowe, Chase Hanna, Hennie Otto, Matthew Spacey, Stals Swart
150 - Luke Jerling, Tristin Galant
151 - Albert Venter, Jonathan Goth-Rasmussen, Dylan Mostert
152 - Frank Kennedy, Daan Huizing, Ruan de Smidt, Bryce Easton
153 - Christofer Blomstrand, Pierre Pellegrin
154 - Lyle Pedro, John Gough
155 - Hayden Hopewell, Bradley Bawden, Jiri Zuska, Christofer Rahm
156 - Keelan van Wyk