In the final tournament of the 2023-24 season, Broomhead closed with a 69 to win by two strokes on 16 under par over Louis Albertse and Rupert Kaminski.

The tournament also finalised the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

Ryan van Velzen finished first here in a breakthrough season where he won twice. His triumph saw him secure a DP World Tour card, a place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and Major exemptions into The Open and the US PGA Championship.

“I just played so consistently and had some good finishes in big events. I’m really excited for my DP World Tour season to start later this year and to play in my first Major. I’m also very excited about playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge which I’ve been watching since I was a kid and now I can compete alongside the players I watched on TV,” said Van Velzen, who also earned a R500 000 bonus for his first-place finish on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.

“We’re delighted to see how the season turned out and we’ll continue to support in the next season as well. We’re very pleased with the incentives we could make for the golfers, both financially and career-wise for them,” said Craig Pitchers, Chief Executive Officer of The Courier Guy.

Robin Williams finished second on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and also earned himself a DP World Tour card as well as a R200 000 bonus. Williams was also crowned the Fortress Rookie of the Year, earning a R200 000 bonus.

“It’s amazing. It was one of my goals at the start of the year. It opens a lot of doors for me and I’m looking forward to that,” said Williams.

“We’re thrilled to be a small part of Robin’s remarkable story and we look forward to his continued success on and off the course in the future. He won the Fortress Invitational this season and it’s exciting to follow him and the other up-and-coming stars on the Sunshine Tour,” said Ryan Eichstadt, Fortress Head of Investor Relations.

Louis Albertse finished the season in third place on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy thereby claiming the last DP World Tour card on offer and a R100 000 bonus.

It was certainly a Sunday of incredible rewards for the Sunshine Tour professionals, with Broomhead leading the celebrations.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and there were going to be so many players around me giving it ago. I knew I just had to stick to my game, and my caddie and I worked really hard on not getting ahead of ourselves and staying in the moment. I was on edge coming down the last few holes but it all worked out,” said a delighted Broomhead.

Earlier in the round, Stefan Wears-Taylor decided to put the fact that he was drawn alone as the last player in the field to good use.

Wears-Taylor raced around the Serengeti layout in one hour and 27 minutes, breaking the PGA Tour record for 18 completed holes in a professional tournament set by Wesley Bryan in 2017 of one hour and 29 minutes.
Wears-Taylor shot a 79 in the process.

“When I saw I was playing alone the thought came to mind to play some speed golf. I sent my caddie a message to unload the bag with all the heavy stuff and come to the golf course with his running shoes on. It worked out well. I’m not sure if it’s an official world record, but we just pipped Wesley Bryan’s record. Perhaps the biggest challenge was putting with the faster greens and Sunday flags,” said Wears-Taylor. – Michael Vlismas.

SCORES:

272 – Jonathan Broomhead 70 66 67 69
274 – Louis Albertse 75 68 67 64, Rupert Kaminski 70 68 68 68
275 – Jayden Schaper 71 72 67 65
276 – JC Ritchie 70 70 69 67, Pieter Moolman 69 72 68 67, Neil Schietekat 69 69 68 70, Kyle Barker 70 65 69 72
277 – Daniel van Tonder 72 72 67 66, Ryan Van Velzen 72 70 69 66
278 – Gerhard Pepler 69 79 68 62, Jean Hugo 71 68 72 67
279 – Deon Germishuys 71 71 68 69, Wilco Nienaber 67 71 68 73
280 – Louis de Jager 72 67 74 67, Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 73 69 69, Casey Jarvis 69 70 72 69, Dylan Naidoo 71 68 71 70, Darren Fichardt 69 69 68 74
281 – Luca Filippi 68 75 70 68, Nikhil Rama 72 71 70 68
282 – Keenan Davidse 72 70 72 68, Peter Karmis 72 71 67 72
283 – Martin Rohwer 69 74 75 65, Jaco Van Zyl 72 75 68 68, Luke Jerling 73 71 68 71, Thomas Aiken 70 72 70 71, Lyle Rowe 69 72 71 71, Robin Williams 70 69 68 76
284 – Wynand Dingle 76 72 67 69, Jaco Ahlers 73 70 72 69
286 – Heinrich Bruiners 71 74 72 69, Anthony Michael 70 72 70 74
288 – Hennie O’Kennedy 71 69 75 73, Malcolm Mitchell 70 69 74 75
289 – Jovan Rebula 72 72 73 72
290 – Jacques Blaauw 68 75 75 72, Matthew Spacey 75 72 71 72, Danie Van Niekerk 70 76 71 73, Robson Chinhoi 71 70 73 76
296 – Hennie Otto 77 72 72 75, Jacques P de Villiers 71 74 75 76
301 – Stefan Wears-Taylor 80 65 77 79

Issued by Michael Vlismas Media

Photo by Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour

The post Broomhead wins on a day celebrating Sunshine Tour excellence appeared first on SportsClub.

Broomhead signed for a third round of 67 to lead this exclusive field drawn from the top 50 on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy on 13 under par, with Kyle Barker his nearest challenger on 12 under par following a 69.

It’s another realistic shot at a maiden Sunshine Tour victory for KwaZulu-Natal professional Broomhead, who came close when he was in the running for the Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge last year before finishing 12th there. This season he’s also had top finishes of sixth in the Blue Label Challenge and tied eighth in the SunBet Challenge Sun Sibaya tournament.

“It was good today,” said Broomhead of a third round that started with three birdies and an eagle in his first five holes. “I made a couple of drops on the way but generally kept it very steady and played where I needed to and finished quite nicely.”

It’s been a solid rookie season thus far for Broomhead and one which he now hopes will culminate in a title on Sunday.

“It’s been great. I think the switch from amateur golf to professional golf was a lot bigger than I thought. But I’ve had a fairly decent season and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Just one shot behind him, Barker is equally looking forward to signing off a season in which he claimed his second Sunshine Tour title and played in his first Major in The Open on a high at Serengeti on Sunday.

But he was also full of praise for Broomhead’s performance.

“Well done to Jonno. He’s played great the last three days. To get to 13 under on this golf course in three days is pretty tough so that’s great golf.

“As for my own game, I’m driving the ball well and committing nicely to the shots. I’m feeling really good. I’ll just keep it the same in the final round. I’ll keep hitting drivers and hope to make the putts. I like the challenge of looking at the leaderboard during a final round, so it will be great fun.”

The third round also featured the culmination of the Bain’s Whisky Par-3 Shootout.

The Shootout saw all the professionals who have made holes-in-one on the Sunshine Tour this season coming together on the par-three ninth hole at Serengeti to challenge for the title of overall champion.

Jacques Blaauw claimed the overall title as the player nearest to the pin, winning himself R70 000 as well as a bottle of 21-year-old Bain’s Whisky.

“The Shootout was a lot of fun. There were definitely a lot more players who made holes-in-one on the Sunshine Tour this season than last season, which is great,” he said. – Michael Vlismas.

SCORES:

203 – Jonathan Broomhead 70 66 67
204 – Kyle Barker 70 65 69
206 – Wilco Nienaber 67 71 68, Neil Schietekat 69 69 68, Darren Fichardt 69 69 68, Rupert Kaminski 70 68 68
207 – Robin Williams 70 69 68
209 – Pieter Moolman 69 72 68, JC Ritchie 70 70 69
210 – Dylan Naidoo 71 68 71, Louis Albertse 75 68 67, Deon Germishuys 71 71 68, Jayden Schaper 71 72 67, Peter Karmis 72 71 67
211 – Jean Hugo 71 68 72, Casey Jarvis 69 70 72, Ryan Van Velzen 72 70 69, Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 73 69, Daniel van Tonder 72 72 67
212 – Lyle Rowe 69 72 71, Anthony Michael 70 72 70, Thomas Aiken 70 72 70, Luke Jerling 73 71 68
213 – Nikhil Rama 72 71 70, Malcolm Mitchell 70 69 74, Louis de Jager 72 67 74, Luca Filippi 68 75 70
214 – Robson Chinhoi 71 70 73, Keenan Davidse 72 70 72
215 – Jaco Van Zyl 72 75 68, Jaco Ahlers 73 70 72, Wynand Dingle 76 72 67, Hennie O’Kennedy 71 69 75
216 – Gerhard Pepler 69 79 68
217 – Danie Van Niekerk 70 76 71, Heinrich Bruiners 71 74 72, Jovan Rebula 72 72 73
218 – Matthew Spacey 75 72 71, Jacques Blaauw 68 75 75, Martin Rohwer 69 74 75
220 – Jacques P de Villiers 71 74 75
221 – Hennie Otto 77 72 72
222 – Stefan Wears-Taylor 80 65 77

Issue by Michael Vlismas Media

Photo by Sunshine Tour/Tyrone Winfield

The post Broomhead chasing maiden Sunshine Tour title appeared first on SportsClub.

Barker produced the joint low round of the day in this exclusive 43-man field on Friday – a seven-under-par 65 – to lead the field on nine under par overall. Only Stefan Wears-Taylor matched his 65 on Friday, but he heads into the weekend on one over par.

After breaking through with his maiden Sunshine Tour title in the Stella Artois Players Championship early in 2023, Barker went into the new season full of confidence and claimed his second title in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Western Cape.

He came into this week at Serengeti ranked 15th on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, the highest ranking of his career.

It’s been a confident season for Barker including four top-10s and one where he played in his first Major championship in last year Open at Hoylake.

Just one shot behind him, it’s been an equally memorable season for Broomhead.

The KwaZulu-Natal professional is challenging for a maiden title in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour and started the season with an eight-place finish in the FBC Zimbabwe Open. He’s had a further five top-10s and came close to victory when he led the Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge before finishing 12th there.

Broomhead is currently third on the Fortress Rookie of the Season standings, with Robin Williams heading the way there.

In joint third place on six under is the experienced group of Darren Fichardt, who is looking to become the first double winner of the Tour Championship following his victory in 2018, Rupert Kaminski, Neil Schietekat and Wilco Nienaber.

Casey Jarvis, who finished second last year, could also still have a say on the weekend at just four shots off the lead. – Michael Vlismas.

SCORES:

135 – Kyle Barker 70 65
136 – Jonathan Broomhead 70 66
138 – Darren Fichardt 69 69, Rupert Kaminski 70 68, Neil Schietekat 69 69, Wilco Nienaber 67 71
139 – Jean Hugo 71 68, Louis de Jager 72 67, Casey Jarvis 69 70, Robin Williams 70 69, Malcolm Mitchell 70 69, Dylan Naidoo 71 68
140 – Hennie O’Kennedy 71 69, JC Ritchie 70 70
141 – Pieter Moolman 69 72, Robson Chinhoi 71 70, Lyle Rowe 69 72
142 – Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 73, Thomas Aiken 70 72, Anthony Michael 70 72, Keenan Davidse 72 70, Ryan Van Velzen 72 70, Deon Germishuys 71 71
143 – Peter Karmis 72 71, Louis Albertse 75 68, Jaco Ahlers 73 70, Jacques Blaauw 68 75, Nikhil Rama 72 71, Luca Filippi 68 75, Jayden Schaper 71 72, Martin Rohwer 69 74
144 – Daniel van Tonder 72 72, Luke Jerling 73 71, Jovan Rebula 72 72
145 – Heinrich Bruiners 71 74, Stefan Wears-Taylor 80 65, Jacques P de Villiers 71 74
146 – Danie Van Niekerk 70 76
147 – Jaco Van Zyl 72 75, Matthew Spacey 75 72
148 – Gerhard Pepler 69 79, Wynand Dingle 76 72
149 – Hennie Otto 77 72

Issued by Michael Vlismas Media

Photo by Sunshine Tour / Tyrone Winfield

The post Barker looking to end Sunshine Tour season on a high appeared first on SportsClub.