The Sunshine Tour’s Altron Big Easy Tour resumes this week following the Christmas break with the first tournament of the new year getting underway at Dainfern Golf Estate on Tuesday.
This 54-hole event is the eighth tournament of the season and marks an important juncture for most players. Among them will be Zambia’s Dayne Moore who, on 399.79 points, is the current leader of the Order of Merit.
The 31-year-old representative of Ndola Golf Club has been in scintillating form on the Big Easy Tour this term, making six cuts from the seven tournaments he has played. His only missed cut was in the fourth tournament of the season which was played at Huddle Park Golf Club in August last year.
While Moore is yet to claim a win on this Sunshine Tour development circuit, the big-hitting Zambian has played well enough this season and his standing on the Order of Merit rankings proves it. Moore’s second-place finish at Blue Valley Golf Estate in November was his best result this season; heading into this week’s event, he will aim for a victory.
Moore will feel the pressure to produce good results at Dainfern as that first spot on the standings isn’t guaranteed. Samuel Simpson is his closest challenger and with a victory already under his belt in the current campaign, the Royal Cape Golf Club player will have the necessary confidence to try and unseat Moore from the summit.
As has been proven repeatedly on this Tour, winning is tough and with the calibre of the field at Dainfern this week, the challenge will be even greater. The field includes former Sunshine Tour winner Toto Thimba Jnr, Keegan Mclachlan, Ruan de Smidt, Gregory McKay and GolfRSA No 1 Altin van der Merwe amongst others.
Van der Merwe is still high on confidence after claiming the Freddy Tait Cup as the leading amateur in the Investec South African Open Championship at Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate in November. He is joined by fellow amateurs Pascal Gunther, Oliver Goldhill, Tristan Leonard and Christopher Bagnall.
