After a challenging few week in which he battled with an injury, Neil Schietekat was rewarded with a two-stroke victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at the Pezula Championship Course on Sunday.
Schietekat showed every bit of his experience as he closed with a 67 to win on 15 under par overall, with Jacques P de Villiers finishing second on 13 under following a final round of 70.
Hennie O’ Kennedy took third place on 10 under par after signing for a 69.
Tara Griebenow finished as the leading Sunshine Ladies Tour professional in the field on five over par with a final round of 75.
It’s been a tough period for Schietekat as he had to carry an injury while still playing in Asia at a critical part in the season.
But it culminated in his second victory this season after winning the FBC Zimbabwe Open in May.
“It was a good week and I really want to thank my caddie for sticking with me through this injury and when the golf has struggled. But this brings us both a smile,” said Schietekat, who also won the magnificent prize of a six-night Christmas cruise courtesy of MSC Cruises South Africa.
It’s also his second victory on a Vodacom Origins of Golf series that he’s been playing on since he arrived on the Sunshine Tour in 2007.
Schietekat came close to adding his name to the illustrious winners on this series when he finished second in 2008 and he had another runner-up finish in 2013. Then in 2018 he won the Western Cape leg of the series.
“This one is definitely a sweet win for me. Vodacom has been part of the Sunshine Tour ever since I started out in 2007. They’ve been a great supporter of the Tour. Without them we wouldn’t have had the playing opportunities we do in the winter. Pezula was also just amazing this week.”
FINAL SCORES
273 - Neil Schietekat 65 71 70 67
275 - Jacques P de Villiers 68 70 67 70
278 - Hennie O'Kennedy 72 68 69 69
279 - Luca Filippi 70 70 75 64, Nikhil Rama 73 65 73 68, Stefan Wears-Taylor 71 70 70 68, Christiaan Basson 70 71 68 70, Rhys West 69 66 72 72, Jaco Van Zyl 71 67 69 72, Sean Bradley 71 69 67 72
280 - Robin Williams 73 70 71 66, Rupert Kaminski 66 71 74 69, Albert Venter 68 71 68 73
281 - Kyle De Beer 72 69 73 67, Oliver Bekker 66 73 74 68, Estiaan Conradie 68 70 70 73
282 - Otto Van Buynder 72 69 76 65, Rourke van der Spuy 69 72 74 67, Fredrik From 69 72 73 68, Jean Hugo 73 68 70 71
283 - Madalitso Muthiya 74 70 68 71, Stuart Krog 68 68 71 76
284 - Keegan Mclachlan 71 72 77 64, Toto Thimba Jnr 73 71 74 66, Jacques Blaauw 70 70 73 71
285 - Hennie Otto 74 69 74 68, Danie Van Niekerk 74 71 72 68
286 - Joe Long 70 71 77 68, Lyle Rowe 71 72 74 69, Jake Redman 70 73 73 70, Ulrich van den Berg 73 73 70 70, Tyron Davidowitz 70 74 71 71, Keagan Thomas 68 76 71 71, LB Boshoff 67 76 71 72
288 - Regan Steyn 72 68 77 71, Christiaan Burke 71 70 76 71, DK Kim 73 73 71 71, Haydn Porteous 70 74 70 74
289 - Willie Olivier 75 69 78 67, Keenan Davidse 69 71 77 72, Jake Roos 69 72 74 74, Combrinck Smit 74 69 72 74
290 - Callum Mowat 70 73 77 70, Ruan Conradie 71 74 74 71, Merrick Bremner 72 72 74 72
291 - MJ Viljoen 74 72 77 68, James Pennington 71 75 76 69, Dylan Naidoo 74 71 76 70, Matthew Spacey 71 72 74 74, Hayden Griffiths 67 72 74 78
292 - Jared Harvey 64 78 76 74
293 - Makhetha Mazibuko 72 74 74 73, Tara Griebenow 68 75 75 75
294 - Ruan de Smidt 75 69 79 71, Brittney-Fay Berger 71 74 77 72, Pierre Pellegrin 70 70 78 76
295 - Conner Mackenzie 70 73 81 71, Robson Chinhoi 72 72 80 71
296 - Leon Visser 71 74 77 74
297 - Dylan Mostert 73 72 76 76
298 - Zethu Myeki 71 68 81 78
299 - Gerhard Trytsman 70 76 79 74, Jovan Rebula 76 70 78 75
300 - Nicholaus Frade 73 73 75 79
302 - Ruan Korb 73 71 78 80
304 - Drikus Joubert 69 77 78 80
WDN - Karabo Mokoena 73 72 WDN