Justin Walters not only had to wait 15 years for another title, he had to also dig deep to achieve it in winning the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun Boardwalk at Humewood Golf Club on Friday.
Walters closed with a 72 to finish on 15-under par, one shot clear of Daniel van Tonder (67) and Jacques Blaauw (69) to become a three-time Sunshine Tour winner.
He went into the final round with a four-shot lead but found trouble on the front nine with three bogeys in four holes and turned in three over for his round. This opened the door for the chasing pack to not only close in, but also move past the overnight leader.
The moment Justin Walters became a 3-time winner on the Sunshine Tour. 👏 🏆 #SunbetChallenge #SunbetChallengeBoardwalk #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/SamEGJRY45
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) May 22, 2026
With the lead changing hands a couple of times during an eventful final round, Van Tonder took the clubhouse lead on 14 under par with his trademark strong finish that included three birdies over his final four holes. Blaauw came home just as strong, also finishing with three birdies in his last four holes.
But Walters edged ahead with his two birdies on the 15th and 16th holes on his way to victory.
It was the perfect ending to a week in which Walters came back to the Sunshine Tour looking for exactly this kind of restart.
“It was nice to be back home. I’m normally campaigning overseas this time of year and my career has taken a different direction at the moment. I couldn’t have thought of a better place to come down and support my home Tour. This is where it all started for me, and it’s been great to be able to regather some of the momentum that I had in the past. It’s friendly faces, friends, golf courses, food, weather – the Sunshine Tour is just a fun place to play golf,” said Walters.
The Welshman Jack Davidson (70) ended fourth on 13 under par after finishing third in last week’s Kit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am.
