Daniel van Tonder clearly has an affinity for Eswatini. The South African professional won the FNB Eswatini Challenge by two strokes at the Nkonyeni Lodge and Golf Estate on Saturday to claim his third victory in the kingdom.
Van Tonder closed with a final round of 68 to win on 14 under par overall and collect his first victory on the Sunshine Tour since the 2021 South African Open Championship.
Yurav Premlell took second place on 12 under par with an impressive final round of 63, and Jason Roets finished third on 10 under par with a 73.
This is Van Tonder’s ninth Sunshine Tour title, but it’s his third in Eswatini after claiming his debut Sunshine Tour victory in the country in 2014 and then adding another here in 2020. He can also add a second place in 2012 to this list.
Van Tonder has been building towards this success following his finishes of eighth, fourth and 20th in his previous three Sunshine Tour events.
He was level par through 12 holes of his final round and with Premlall busy putting together his magnificent 63 and challenging for his first Sunshine Tour title.
The young star birdied three of his first four holes as he went out in 30. He came home in 33 strokes and was leading on his own towards the end of his round before Van Tonder overtook him with two birdies and an eagle in his last six holes.
“That was quite something. I did everything I could to get myself into a winning position. I just gave myself chances the whole way through to see where I ended up,” Premlall said after claiming the highest finish of his Sunshine Tour career.
Kyle de Beer’s finish of fifth – his best on the Sunshine Tour this season – kept him at the top of the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings.
The Sunshine Tour will have a week’s break before the start of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series from 16-18 August.