A bogey-free final round on Friday saw Daniel van Tonder surge to an impressive three-shot victory at the African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship, writes ANDRE HUISAMEN.
Van Tonder, who was one of the overnight leaders, kept a great deal of composure to emerge victorious on another somewhat testing day at Glendower Golf Club.
READ: Three-way tie at Glendower
Two birdies on the front nine and two more as he came home saw Van Tonder conclude on 11 under par and was enough for the 29-year-old to edge ahead of George Coetzee, Adilson da Silva and Neil Schietekat, who grabbed a share of 2nd spot on 8 under.
It was Van Tonder’s fourth career victory on the Sunshine Tour as well as his first win since March last year and according to him, it was a special occasion to win so early on in the new season.
Congratulations to Daniel van Tonder – winner of the African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship ? #Gr8nessBeginsHere #RiseUpSeries pic.twitter.com/4tPBSIeBCZ
— Compleat Golfer (@CompleatGolfer) August 28, 2020
‘I have been putting in hard work in practising and since everything opened again I have been practising every single day, getting my clubs back in my hand – lockdown made my hands nice and soft but in general I’m very happy,’ he said.
Conditions, though, challenged players throughout the course of the three rounds and with strong winds at times Van Tonder remained calm under the pressure, something he says was a key element in his final-round showing on Friday.
ALSO READ: Walters leads at rainy UK Champs
‘If you hit it well and strike it straight the course will give you a few birdies, so the trick is to be patient. On the 2nd hole I hit the ball into the water on a par-5 but I managed to make an up-and-down par there. It was a slow start – I made a lot of pars but made four birdies for the day so it helps to be patient.’
Off go the leaders: ?️
T1 = Daniel van Tonder (-7)
T1 = Martin Rohwer (-7)
T1 = Jayden Schaper (-7)Watch the action live at 12pm on DSTV Now 245 and the Sunshine Tour’s YouTube and Facebook accounts.?#Gr8nessBeginsHere #RiseUpSeries pic.twitter.com/qnhkBpXC7u
— Compleat Golfer (@CompleatGolfer) August 28, 2020
After narrowly missing out on winning the Order of Merit last year, Van Tonder is determined to keep it in the past and focus on the job at hand in the new season.
‘It’s a new year and a new season so it’s important to just keep on practising and keep on working,’ he added.
