Fezekile Kana is the latest member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class to win a Sunshine Tour event and says he was inspired by Dylan Naidoo’s breakthrough win at Umhlali this past weekend.
So inspired was Kana by his fellow Papwa Sewgolum Class member, Naidoo, that his mentality going into Monday’s Blue Label Development Tour’s one-day event at Wingate Park Country Club was only to go for a win.
He carded a quick-fire three-under-par 69 to edge Nicholaus Frade to a one-stroke victory in Pretoria; a victory which would delight the Sunshine Tour and the Papwa Sewgolum Foundation.
“Yesterday when I saw the final scores from Umhlali, I was so inspired,” said Kana. “I felt like many of us in the Papwa Class can do it as well; that if one of us can achieve big things, we all can if we double our efforts and work harder. If we keep improving, we can also get there.
“Coming into today’s tournament, I had to give it my all because Dylan’s win was still fresh in my mind. But it was tough out there today but I am happy that I finally won something. It means a lot to me because if I can be able to beat these pros, then I can compete at a high level. At the moment, though, I will take this one and enjoy it and work hard to improve on it.”
At a windy Wingate Park, Kana – who plays out of Port Elizabeth Golf Club and is a native of Motherwell – played some of his best golf to break a long spell of poor results on the Altron Big Easy Tour and the Blue Label Development Tour.
“This is a confidence booster for me because Wingate is a tough track,” admitted Kana, “so for me to win my first event on a Sunshine Tour tournament is special. I had to stay really patient today to get the win and hopefully, I’ll be able to do it on a bigger stage in the near future.”
Frade also played solidly to place second after a round of 70. Luke Trocado, Ricky Hendler and DK Kim shared third, thanks to respective scores of 71.
Members of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, Ricco Motsa and veteran Irvin Mazibuko finished in a seven-way share of the sixth spot, marking a remarkable turn of results for the players who make up that transformation class.
The Wingate Park tournament was the ninth tournament in the series and the 10th and last for the current season will be played at the iconic Soweto Country Club on Thursday, October 27th.
There were 10 tournaments in the series and all were played in Gauteng. There are no entry fees required from the participating players, ensuring more playing opportunities. The Blue Label Development Tour events carry a R50 000 purse for each of the 10 one-day tournaments while expanding playing opportunities for players to sharpen their skills further.
FINAL SCORES
69 - Fezekile Kana
70 - Nicholaus Frade
71 - Luke Trocado, Ricky Hendler, DK Kim
72 - Ricco Motsa, Philip Geerts, Jason Roets, Keanu Pestana, Irvin Mazibuko, Willie Olivier, Leon Visser
73 - Lincon Denzy Cele, Keegan Mclachlan, Slade Pickering, Keelan Africa, Ryan Tipping, Marthin Scheepers
74 - Andrew Williamson, Zabastian de Jager, Tumelo Molloyi, Makhetha Mazibuko, Jason Froneman, Thabang Simon, Sentanio Minnie, Slenda Sithebe, Carlos Laranja, Gerard du Plooy
75 - Reinhardt Blaauw, Toto Thimba Jnr, LB Boshoff, Stuart Krog
76 - Jonathan Waschefort, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Marcel Steyn Scholtz, Ethan Joseph
77 - Omar Sandys, Gerard Moodley, Mike Maile, Regan Steyn
78 - Lwazi Gqira, Alphius Kelapile, Coert Groenewald, Mark Maart
79 - Thabiso Ngcobo, Evance Vukeya
80 - Sipho Bujela, Shalan Govender
82 - Brandon Moodley
83 - Francois van Staden, Sandy Makume
WDN - Carlo Heunis