Daniel van Tonder heads into this week’s Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship at Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate in some of the best form of his career with two Sunshine Tour victories in August alone. MICHAEL VLISMAS reports.
Van Tonder has played his way to the top of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy with victories in the FNB Eswatini Challenge and the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge last month.
This week brings a different focus and strategy as he teams up with fellow professional Malcolm Mitchell for a 72-hole Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship that is played in a team format including betterball and foursomes.
This R2-million tournament has quickly become one of the most popular on the calendar for the professionals as they enjoy a rare week on Tour of team golf.
But Van Tonder will still have a singular focus about what he wants to achieve this week as he looks to keep building on his current form.
“I had a six-week break recently and I think it did me the world of good,” he said. “It gave me some good time to really practice and work on a few changes, and to take a step back from just playing week in and week out. And I think that has helped me to just enjoy my golf again.”
Another man in great form is Yurav Premlall. The young star is currently second on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, and as much as he’s chasing Van Tonder on that list he’s been doing the same on the golf course in August.
Premlall finished second to Van Tonder at both of his victories, and he’s added another two top-fives on the Sunshine Tour this season.
“I think I’ve just been getting my confidence again and competing with the kind of mindset I had as an amateur. It’s just a case of believing in myself that I can compete out here,” he said.
Premlall has Ryan van Velzen as his partner this week, with Van Velzen having won this title last season when he played with Luca Filippi.
“We make a good team and I’m looking forward to the week with him. We both play an aggressive brand of golf and are hoping we can take advantage of this course with that strategy.”
The Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Championship could certainly play its part as an enabler for the kind of bigger dreams Premlall has.
Last season when Van Velzen and Filippi teamed up to win, Van Velzen went on to win the overall Sunshine Tour Order of Merit and thereby secured himself a DP World Tour card and a spot in The Open and US PGA Championship this year.
And Filippi used that breakthrough victory to go on and claim the Blue Label Challenge for his second Sunshine Tour title two months later.
By Michael Vlismas
Photo: Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour
