Veteran Sunshine Tour campaigner Oliver Bekker did exactly what he intended to do while his Mediclinic Invitational first round co-leader Willie Olivier did what he hopes can lead to the kind of career his more experienced compatriot has had.
The duo opened with rounds of seven-under-par 65 at the Maccauvlei Golf Club to lead by one shot over the group of Quintin Wilsnach, Ryan van Velzen, Matthew Spacey, Makhetha Mazibuko and Jovan Rebula.
Bekker’s name at the top of the leaderboard in the Sunshine Tour’s first tournament of 2024 is certainly to be expected from a man with eight wins on the Tour, a European Challenge Tour title, and a narrow playoff defeat in a DP World Tour event on his CV.
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— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) January 25, 2024
That’s something Olivier is certainly working towards, and his 65 was a big step in the right direction for a 25-year-old professional looking to make his mark on the Sunshine Tour.
“This was a very satisfying start to the year for me, with a good round like this,” said Olivier.
"I’m currently on the bubble in terms of keeping my card for this season with only a few tournaments left for me, so this is a good sign of what is to come. I’m very happy playing the golf I know I can play. I was a bit shaky off the tee at the start of the round and managed my wayward shots to save par. My putter was working though and a lot of birdie putts went in.
"My irons were also good and I was hitting them close enough, and then rolling them in with the putter always helps.
"There were some snippets of good golf last year and I’m glad everything is coming together now. It’s exciting for the rest of the tournament and the rest of the season."
Having played on Altron Big Easy Tour, the Sunshine Tour represents a definite step up for Olivier and he’s taking in everything he can to grow his game.
"I didn’t have much off time over the festive season because I knew I had to perform in the new year to keep my card. So I only took about two weeks off and started grinding again. I had one simple thing I needed to work on in my swing to get greater consistency and that’s improved.
"The Sunshine Tour is another level. On the Altron Big Easy Tour there are smaller fields, but on the Sunshine Tour everyone is next level. Everyone’s here for a reason though. We can all play golf and it’s about making your bad shots average and your good shots exceptional. It’s about getting more consistent in your golf. Your bad rounds need to be less damaging and your good rounds need to be very good to compete with the best in South Africa."
SCORES
65 - Willie Olivier, Oliver Bekker
66 - Quintin Wilsnach, Ryan Van Velzen, Matthew Spacey, Makhetha Mazibuko, Jovan Rebula
67 - Jean Hugo, Jacques Blaauw, Jacques P de Villiers, Sean Bradley
68 - Wynand Dingle, Martin Rohwer, Herman Loubser, Bryce Easton, Callum Mowat, Jbe Kruger, Louis Albertse, Danie Van Niekerk, Luca Filippi, Toto Thimba Jnr
69 - Jason Smith, Reinhardt Blaauw, Albert Venter, Robin Williams, Ricky Hendler, Luke Trocado, Sentanio Minnie, Ruan Conradie, Peter Karmis, Kyle Barker, DK Kim, Robson Chinhoi, Jonathan Waschefort
70 - Leon Visser, Allister de Kock, Dayne Moore, Doug McGuigan, Martin Vorster, Jacques Kruyswijk, Keith Horne, Dylan Naidoo, Jason Roets, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Joe Long, Conner Mackenzie, Pierre Pellegrin, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Keegan Mclachlan, Estiaan Conradie, JC Ritchie, Neil Schietekat, Yurav Premlall, Pieter Moolman
71 - Wade Jacobs, Alphius Kelapile, Vaughn van Deventer, Fredrik From, Combrinck Smit, Ruan Korb, Gerhard Pepler, Daniel van Tonder, Dylan Mostert, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Jake Redman, Ethan Smith, Drikus Joubert, Haydn Porteous, Erhard Lambrechts, Marcel Steyn Scholtz, Keelan Africa, Nyasha Muyambo, James Kamte, Sean Cronje, Madalitso Muthiya, MJ Viljoen, Anthony Michael, Jonathan Broomhead, Hennie O'Kennedy, Hayden Griffiths, Clancy Waugh
72 - Michael Hollick, Tristen Strydom, Anton Karlsson, James Hart du Preez, Jack Hawksby, Ulrich van den Berg, Adriel Poonan, Jastice Mashego, Ryan Tipping, Gerard du Plooy, Travis Ladner, Malcolm Mitchell, Dan Erickson, LB Boshoff, Nicholaus Frade
73 - Tyron Davidowitz, Luke Jerling, Christiaan Basson, Lyle Rowe, Alex Haindl, Slenda Sithebe, Nikhil Rama, Heinrich Bruiners, Kyle McClatchie, Siyanda Mwandla, Thabang Simon
74 - Samuel Simpson, Aneurin Gounden, Keelan van Wyk, Stuart Krog, Kyle De Beer, Luke Brown, Keagan Thomas, Gerhard Trytsman, Michael Kok, Steven Le Roux, Mandla Dlamini Jnr
75 - James Pennington, Gregory Mckay, Christiaan Burke, James Mack, Richard Joubert, Franklin Manchest, Rourke van der Spuy, Adam Breen, Brandon-Jude Rennie
76 - Karabo Mokoena, Irvin Mazibuko, Omar Sandys, Tristin Galant, Merrick Bremner, Hunter Epson, Richie O'Donovan, Bradford Vaughan
77 - Keenan Davidse, Thabiso Ngcobo, Lindani Ndwandwe, CJ du Plessis, Jared Harvey
78 - Benjamin Follett-Smith
79 - Shalan Govender
80 - Ruan de Smidt