The R1.5-million Team Championship moves to Dainfern for its second playing on Thursday after it made its debut last year at Steyn City.
The format remains unchanged, with Thursday seeing 18 holes of better ball golf before Friday’s foursomes. Just 24 of the 48 teams starting this week at the Gary Player-designed course will advance to Saturday’s better ball final round.
Combination kings:
Individually, Jaco Ahlers and Vaughn Groenewald have been playing well recently and they played as a team at last year’s event where they finished 25th. Ahlers, for one, has been solid in his last three events, with two top-five finishes and a top 10 in his last three starts. His overall season has been impressive, with a runner-up finish at the season-opening Zanaco Masters. He also boasts four other top-10 finishes this season. On the other hand, Groenewald came from three straight missed cuts to make three strong finishes in his last three events. The Kingswood Golf Estate representative will want to register his second win of the season, and a win at Dainfern will achieve just that for the veteran campaigner.
Experience over youth:
Titch Moore and Wallie Coetsee finished three shots off the winners last year. Their team is the only team still together of the teams that finished in the top five at Steyn City, and this might work in their favour this week as they will want to better last year’s results. Coetsee, who occupies 68th on the Order of Merit, has had his ups and downs this season, but he is determined to turn things around this week alongside Moore. Moore has seen bad results in recent events, starting at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open where he failed to qualify, and had three straight missed cuts thereafter. His experience, however, should stand him in good stead to earn him an 11th Sunshine Tour win, while delivering Coetsee’s third.
Foreign friends:
Recently-crowned Dimension Data Pro-Am champion Philip Eriksson is paired with his compatriot Fredrik From, who played solidly himself at Fancourt. While they have not been seen together as a team, the Swedes will tee it up this week with their confidence high following their respective results in George. From’s strong finish in George, where he tied 10th, was yet another indicator of a good rookie season, while Eriksson’s victory also proved him a dangerous competitor.
Eriksson made only three bogeys all week long at Fancourt, and that week showed him to be an exceptional player with the ability to keep his cool when pressure starts building up. The duo overcame their struggles on the fairways in recent events, and they will need to keep the momentum if they are to win the title this week.
