It is all going down to the wire at this week’s Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates with the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner set to be crowned, writes ANDRE HUISAMEN.
It is a two-horse race to the finish for the Sid Brews trophy with JC Ritchie and Daniel van Tonder duelling it out after a brilliant season on tour.
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JC Ritchie
Ritchie has taken 2020 by quite a storm and it is no surprise why he is deemed the favourite after winning the Gauteng Team Championship and the Limpopo Championship towards the end of January. His form of late has shown a great level of consistency by claiming 5th spot at the Dimension Data Pro-Am at Fancourt. With the amount of confidence and his vein of form, it’s hard to imagine Ritchie stumbling with the Order of Merit title within his grasp. He might just win the Tour Championship in the process.
Daniel van Tonder
Realistically the only player who can challenge Ritchie this weekend. He made a cracking start to the season and held the early lead on the Order of Merit list until Ritchie overtook him just a few weeks ago. Nonetheless the player from Copperleaf is still in with an excellent shot to finish above Ritchie come Sunday. Should Van Tonder win the Tour Championship, it will force the current leader to finish third to win the Order of Merit, but if Van Tonder comes in second, then Ritchie must finish outside the top 10 for the man in second place to be crowned winner.
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George Coetzee
With Jaco Ahlers playing at the final event of the Asian Tour’s qualifying school this week, his absence will open the door for Coetzee to make a surge up the list. Coetzee is currently in fourth position on the Order of Merit after his second-place finish at Fancourt, while Ahlers sits in third. But, it looks set to change this week and Coetzee is also in with a good chance of challenging for the Tour Championship title. There is little chance of him winning the Order of Merit but he could certainly make it difficult for Ritchie and Van Tonder in their quest for victory. Coetzee has been showing some excellent form recently and it would be a perfect finish to the race if he can get his second win of the season.
Photo: Shaun Roy/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images
