A lot goes into any win, and even more so a team victory. For both Jean Hugo and Ruan Korb, there was an immense sense of gratitude at seeing it all come together as they claimed victory in the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship at the Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate on Sunday.
With family and friends watching, the duo put the finishing touches to a commanding final-round better-ball performance as they finished on 20 under par with a closing 63.
It was Hugo’s second victory this season following his win in the Vodacom Origins of Golf last month. And Korb was delighted to win again after his last triumph in 2022.
The moment Jean Hugo and Ruan Korb won the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship. 🏆🏆#BainsWhiskyUbunyeChamps #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/DSKrzW4YBv
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) September 15, 2024
“I’m very happy to be back in the winner’s circle. I thanked Jean on 18 for making that possible for me,” said Korb.
“You know, a lot of things have come together this season,” added Hugo.
“Family life and that balance, and good friends, and then obviously all the hard work. All of us out here work very hard behind the scenes.
“But I think it’s balance and contentment. That’s the secret. I think it also gives a lot of people hope that no matter what age you are we can all play this wonderful game. It’s brilliant. I’m blessed.”
The teams of Trevor Fisher Jnr and Stefan Wears-Taylor and Jaco Ahlers and Michael Hollick finished tied second on 16 under par.
Hugo and Korb finally got the fast start they were chasing all week and turned five under for their round, which had already distanced them from the field on a windy day at Silver Lakes.
With three straight birdies from the 13th they could enjoy a four-stroke lead playing the 18th.
“We’re very happy about the start. When we teed off we told each other that if we could just start a little faster than the last three rounds we can build some good momentum. The course played harder today. But we managed the wind well and Jean helped me a lot with the direction of the wind,” said Korb.
Hugo also thoroughly enjoyed a day when he could truly soak in the win.
“It was awesome today. I made a good putt for birdie on the first to set us off and then Ruan chipped in for eagle on two which was brilliant. We were looking great after nine holes and just wanted to keep each other calm out there. After the birdie on the 15th we could enjoy it coming in. You can never relax too much, but with the lead we had it was quite nice playing the 18th, just hitting the green, making the putt and enjoying the celebrations.”
The winning pair this week.
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) September 15, 2024
🏆Jean Hugo.
🏆 Ruan Korb.#BainsWhiskyUbunyeChamps #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/EU0Ht4C7GS
SCORES:
264 - J Hugo & R Korb 65 69 67 63
268 - S Wears-Taylor & T Fisher Jnr 66 70 69 63, M Hollick & J Ahlers 66 67 70 65
269 - D van Tonder & M Mitchell 67 64 73 65
270 - R Van Velzen & Y Premlall 63 70 71 66, J Van Zyl & G. Mckay 67 69 66 68, J. Rebula & M Vorster 63 68 70 69
272 - P Moolman & R Conradie 67 70 68 67, N. Schietekat & R. Kaminski 67 71 67 67
274 - J de Villiers & R West 65 69 73 67, O. Van Buynder & S. Swart 65 73 69 67, S Ferreira & S Krog 67 71 66 70
275 - R van der Spuy & JP Strydom 66 70 71 68, E. Smith & B. Meads 67 69 68 71
276 - K. De Beer & W. Deyzel 68 69 77 62, G. Pepler & CJ du Plessis 67 70 72 67, J. Broomhead & K Barker 68 71 70 67, S Minnie & K. Van Wyk 66 69 73 68, H Bruiners & K Davidse 63 74 69 70
277 - C. Mackenzie & J. Mack 67 70 71 69
278 - A. van der Merwe & C. Kriek 64 69 72 73
279 - L Brown & F. From 63 73 74 69
280 - Q Wilsnach & F Manchest 66 73 69 72
282 - J. Long & K McClatchie 68 71 75 68, H. O'Kennedy & L. Boshoff 65 67 79 71
283 - N. Rama & D Moore 66 73 74 70
MISSED THE CUT:
140 - T Thimba Jnr & J du Preez 70 70, C Smit & W Dingle 68 72, K. Mclachlan & T. Ladner 67 73
141 - L Rowe & J Redman 66 75, A Venter & R. Groenewald 65 76, D Mostert & D Naidoo 64 77
142 - R de Smidt & V Van Deventer 69 73, G van der Merwe & H Porteous 67 75, M Spacey & L Jerling 68 74
143 - D. Van Niekerk & S Bradley 68 75
144 - M Rohwer & M Bremner 68 76, J. Hawksby & N. Cunningham 69 75, S Sithebe & T Molloyi 70 74, T. Galant & P. Pellegrin 68 76, S. Simpson & K Thomas 69 75
145 - H Otto & D McGuigan 67 78, J Roets & R. Hendler 70 75, MJ Viljoen & J Blaauw 73 72
146 - T Nel & H. Griffiths 67 79
147 - T Mavundla & M Mazibuko 69 78
148 - C. Burke & B Gildenhuys 70 78, H Loubser & C Mowat 68 80