Fullpage Media and Communications

07/06/2024

I had a young chat with my man Dylan O'Leary after his win in the Altron Big Easy Tour PlayOff Tournament at Irene Country Club a while ago.

Check it out on

Sunshine Tour professional Dylan O'Leary discusses the importance of his Atron Big Easy Tour Play-Off victory at Irene Country Club.

06/06/2024

It took a while but it is finally here. Kushen Sport TV is LIVE on YouTube. Make sure you smash that Sub button, hit the LIKE and SHARE as much as you can. It will help old Kush a lot.

Appreciate y'all.

South African Amateur Golfer Khanya Mkhize discusses how he got into golf and his plans for the future.

23/10/2023

What. A. Player!

Big congratulations to Pieter Moolman for a great victory in testing conditions in . Must have taken something special to pull through because that place is punishment when the weather doesn't play by golf rules.

May the good times last a long time from this week onwards.

16/10/2023

https://satourgolf.co.za/2023/10/16/for-the-love-of-golf-and-law-motsas-balancing-act/

We caught up with Sunshine Tour professional Ricco Motsa at KCC - Killarney Country Club to talk about how he juggles a professional golf career and being a full-time lawyer.

Motsa owns 2 law firms and is still a committed golfer.

Read the article below to find out more about the 49 year old player from Barberton, Mpumalanga.

Mpumalanga News Altron Big Easy Tour

By Matthews Mfubu (Fullpage Media and Communications) The game of professional golf is challenging, demanding, and often frustrating, and juggling that with any other profession becomes a tall order for many. In certain instances, for some individuals, both professions tend to suffer if not well tak...

28/09/2023

Another small glimpse of the work we do.

By Matthews Mfubu (Fullpage Media and Communications) Following his impressive fourth-place finish in the Blue Label Development Tour event at Reading Country Club two days ago, Thabiso Ngcobo feels he has decoded the secret to playing well in these one-day tournaments. The Centurion Country Club pl...

28/09/2023

Òne of the most well-spoken dudes I've ever interviewed. His knowledge of the game of Golf is also off the chains.

Following his impressive fourth-place finish in the Blue Label Development Tour event at Reading Country Club two days ago, Thabiso Ngcobo feels he has decoded the secret to playing well in these one-day tournaments.

21/08/2023

21/08/2023

We are at Huddle Park Golf & Recreation this week for the 4th of the Altron Big Easy Tour.

to Sunshine Tour for providing the with more to compete and sharpen their .

professional golf is .








📸- Sunshine Tour/ Troy Winfield

20/10/2022

De Zalze Golf Club caddy, Ivor Hartzenberg talks about his best moments of the tournament delivered by The Courier Guy.

Ivor is one of the first caddies to play in the new Caddy Division of this tournament.

Thank you to Golf RSA for creating a platform for the caddies to compete.

19/10/2022

Stand Up! Mash Makena has entered the building.

In her debut appearance in the delivered by The Courier Guy, Mash represented her province with aplomb.

A big congratulations to Golf RSA for a well-run tournament!
Thank you Kyalami Country Club for your great hospitality 🙏🏻

05/10/2022

We had the privilege of being MC at the Altron Big Easy Tour pro-am at Centurion Country Club on Monday!

Great function with great people! Thank you Sunshine Tour for a great platform for golfers to express their talents.

The Altron Big Easy Tour is where it’s at⛳️🏌️‍♂️

13/07/2022

GOLF – SUNSHINE TOUR – ALTRON BIG EASY TOUR SOWETO ROUND ONE WRAP

Mazibuko battles neck injury to co-lead in Soweto

Makhetha Mazibuko battled through a niggling neck injury to shoot an opening round of four-under-par 68 to co-lead by one in the Altron Big Easy Tour tournament held at Soweto Country Club.

“Four-under is a good score,” said an elated Mazibuko, “because I didn’t think I’d finish the round because I have a neck injury I picked up during the pro-am. I thought I played well on the first nine until I dropped 17 and 18.”

Mazibuko started from the 10th where he made par. He dropped on 11, his second, but recovered with a birdie on the next three holes. A par on 15 preceded a birdie before back-to-back bogeys made it onto Mazibuko’s card.

A solid run on the back nine yielded three straight pars for the Bloemfontein Golf Club player as Mazibuko battled to keep the big numbers from his card. Then, he found joy on the fourth hole, making a welcome birdie there. That was followed by two more – on six and eight – as Mazibuko went bogey-free on that stretch.

“I love this course but I don’t play it as often as I would like,” added Mazibuko who is a member of the recently-launched Sunshine Tour Transformation initiative known as the Papwa Sewgolum
Transformation Class.

“I play here sometimes with Thabang Simon on weekends and I think it’s a tough course. I know where the dangers are. But overall, I think it was all about driving the ball well and being smart with the approach shots.

“The main thing here is to hit good tee shots but I was a little bit aggressive on some holes. The lesser the distance you have, the better. And my putting was good too, so I think I played well.”

Mazibuko ties the top spot with fellow member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, Jacquin Hess, Gerhard Pepler and Noel Anderson after they all shot 68s.

“It was fun out there,” said Pepler, “I had a nice chip-in on hole 13 which turned things around for me and from there I just made some putts. The key is to go with the flow, which I will do in the second round. My putting and my driving were solid today. I hit a lot of fairways and made some good putts. We finished well and we go again on day two.”

The Papwa Sewgolum Class of 2022/23 is created to drive transformation and allow for greater inclusion. The programme offers players of colour greater opportunities to compete on the Sunshine Tour and Altron Big Easy Tour through the expanded schedules and increased prize money offered on both these tours and with monthly financial assistance towards their tournament golf expenses, including their tournament entry fees.

The Transformation Class which comprises 61 Black professionals had a few other representatives in the top 10 leading players after round one as Siyanda Mwandla’s three-under 69 earned him a share of fifth with veteran Ryan Tipping while the trio of Irvin Mazibuko, Franklin Manchest and Evans Vukeya find themselves in a six-way share of the seventh spot after rounds of 70.

“This is no mickey mouse course,” said Mwandla after his round, “so I am happy with my start. I putted well and that helped a lot. I’ve been playing well and it’s all to do with hard work. My coach and I have been working on a few things and I can see them coming together. But it’s a process, a long road and it won’t come together overnight. But I am happy with where I am.”

The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els and counts current international star Christiaan Bezuidenhout among its former Order of Merit winners.

13/07/2022

𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐈

𝑻𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝑷𝒓𝒐-𝑨𝒎 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒏

Tandi McCallum says her Standard Bank Pro-Am series win at Serengeti Estates last week was long overdue and now that she’s gotten a taste of what it feels like to win again, she intends to contend for a win at each of the remaining tournaments in the series.

McCallum’s final round of 73 combined with her opening 67 was enough to earn her a two-shot victory over Lindi Coetzee who won the first event at Glendower Golf Club, and Nadia van der Westhuizen who is a member at Serengeti.

“I’m quite happy to finally get it done,” said McCallum. “I’m now looking forward to all of the events because now, I think, once you’ve had a taste of the win, you want more.”

She’s come close to winning a few times on this Series and last week’s victory was nothing short of spectacular as both Coetzee and Van der Westhuizen were fighting hard. And having lost out a few times before, McCallum knew that any mistakes in the final round on Friday would be costly.

“I stayed really calm out there,” she recalled. “And I just used a conversation with my playing partners to try and distract myself, and I also had my close friend Neil Herman on the bag and he was instrumental too. I tried to block out thoughts of how much I wanted to win but then towards the end, it’s in your face. You can’t avoid it and it becomes a matter of trying to control the nerves.

“But this win is huge for me – from the point of view that I played a long time in Europe and I got into a playoff a couple of times but didn’t win and got a bunch of second places. I’ve had a lot of second places on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and two wins and I’ve been knocking on the door for so many years. A lot of the girls here call me a veteran because, they say, I’ve been around a long time.

“But I don’t feel like I’ve converted as much of the opportunities that I’ve had, into wins, so it’s great to still be able to compete at the age of 36. I still have a lot of good golf in me and I think now that I’ve had this breakthrough, I can go for more and show the younger girls that I can still play.”

Despite having to fend off the chasing pack – led by Coetzee and Van der Westhuizen – McCallum was just as impressed with their effort, particularly Van der Westhuizen.

“It was tough out there and it’s a relief to finally get that breakthrough,” she said, “Nadia was playing really well and she put up a strong fight towards the end. It was exciting overall.”

McCallum becomes the third first-time winner on this series this season, following in the footsteps of Coetzee and Royal Cape Golf Club’s Isabella van Rooyen who claimed victory at Atlantic Beach Links last month.

The Standard Bank Pro-Am series drives the development of female players at the grassroots level and empowers talented professional female golfers by creating opportunities for more playing time which will enable them to hone their skills further.

Scores: https://www.scorecapture.com/scorecapture/ScoreCard/DisplayScoreCard?TourID=292357&LID=0&WithHandi=0

06/07/2022

𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐏𝐑𝐎-𝐀𝐌 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 – 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 ‘𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲’ 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶

KEMPTON PARK, July 6 – Nadia Van Der Westhuizen says while she harbours ambitions of winning in the Pro-Am Series brought to you by Standard Bank, she will not put pressure on herself when the third tournament of this series tees off at her home course, Serengeti Estates, on Thursday.

The professionals’ competition will be preceded by a pro-am tournament where amateurs will mix it up with the professionals on Wednesday.

“The most important thing for me last season and this season has been to hitting greens in regulation,” she says, “I just try to hit as many greens as possible and try to get myself in that position of making birdies and taking it from there.

“There are many opportunities to play well and win but the most important thing for me is to keep playing myself into contention all the time, and just try to stay up there. There’s no need to put pressure on myself because if I keep to my process, the win will come. But, I’m really excited for this week and looking forward to a strong competition.”

Excited as she is for the week in familiar territory, the 20-year-old Van der Westhuizen is fully aware of what this course offers and has cautioned against complacency of any form.

“This course is beautiful on the eye but it can get dangerous,” she explained. “Because there aren’t many trees here, the wind becomes a real challenge and the bunkers as well. I know the course well because I started playing golf here, this is where I learned how to play golf. So, I would say the wind is the biggest challenge, together with reading the greens because there are tough greens here. But the wind is mainly what makes it tough.”

Van der Westhuizen did not play in the first tournament of the series this season at Glendower Golf Club. Her only start this season – at Atlantic Beach Links – saw her finish in a share of 15th and now playing in familiar surroundings, she will feel her opportunity to win is close. Having turned pro just last year while she was 19 years old, Van der Westhuizen was the youngest player to tee it up on the Standard Bank Pro-Am series.

The series drives the development of female players at the grassroots level and empowers talented professional female golfers, such as Van der Westhuizen, by creating opportunities for more playing time, which enables them to hone their skills further.

Written and Distributed By: Matthews Mfubu (Fullpage Media and Communications)

05/07/2022

𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 – 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐊𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏

𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝘆𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶

KYALAMI, July 5 – Zambia’s Dayne John Moore says a solid short game helped him to his second successive 67 of the Altron Big Easy Tour tournament which is being played at Kyalami Country Club where he currently leads by one shot ahead of the final round.

Moore is 10-under-par for the tournament and a shot ahead of State Mines Country Club amateur, Casey Jarvis.

“I hit some really good iron shots this week,” said Moore. “I was solid off the tee too. My strength is my chipping and putting and I think it all came together this week. I feel I need to hit more fairways and more greens but it’s a work in progress and I’m just happy to have played well these two days.”

Moore played solidly on the front nine and he made three birdies on that stretch – on the first, the fourth and seventh holes. A bogey on the 10th made it onto his card but Moore bounced back expertly; making three birdies on the trot.

He held things tight after that, taking three pars in the next three holes before he dropped a shot on 17, his second bogey of the day. Once again, the Ndola Golf Club player was able to make up for that dropped shot; birdieing the last to seal a round of five-under 67.

The Zambian has played four Altron Big Easy Tour events this season, finishing 16th, 25th, ninth and 13th respectively in those events, something he attributes to a trip he made to the United State.

“My coach is over there (USA) and we’ve been planning to get together for a while because there were elements of my game I felt needed to be worked on,” Moore revealed after his round. “So, after the last season of the Sunshine Tour – during the break – I decided to skip the first two tournaments and go see him because even though I have been playing decently, I still want to be competitive.

“That trip was much needed because it’s improved a lot of what I wanted to work on. I needed to work on my technique; the swing, my take-away wasn’t what I wanted it to be and my lower body, transitioning better on the downswing. I’m still getting used to it but I am happy that there is progress. There are some flashes here and there and I am happy with it.”

Now, heading into the final round perched at the summit of the leaderboard, albeit by a slender lead, Moore is clear about what he needs to do to compete for honours in the final round here at Kyalami.

“It’s exciting to go into the final round leading,” added Moore. “Obviously, you want to get into those positions a lot more, even on the Sunshine Tour, because the only way is up, from there. It’s the sort of experience you cannot pay for. So, tomorrow is the same game plan. I have been aggressive where I needed to be and a bit safe where I needed to be safe. Fairways and greens.”

Moore will know all about Jarvis after the amateur’s exploits in the last two years and will want to bring his best game on Wednesday. Jarvis is but a shot adrift and second on the leaderboard, a position he is familiar with. Luke Trocado is third on eight-under while the duo of Muzi Nethunzwi and overnight co-leader, Chris Swanepoel share fourth on seven-under-par.

The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els and counts current international star Christiaan Bezuidenhout among its former Order of Merit winners.

Scores:
134 - Dayne Moore 67 67
135 - Casey Jarvis 69 66
136 - Luke Trocado 68 68
137 - Chris Swanepoel 66 71, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 69 68
138 - Coert Groenewald 71 67, Keegan Mclachlan 70 68, Sentanio Minnie 70 68
139 - Nicholaus Frade 70 69, Heinrich Bruiners 70 69, LB Boshoff 70 69, Jason Froneman 66 73, Matthew Spacey 69 70
140 - Regan Steyn 73 67, Stuart Krog 69 71, Reinhardt Blaauw 72 68
141 - Keelan van Wyk 73 68, Philip Geerts 70 71, Matthew Rushton 74 67
142 - Slade Pickering 68 74, Jordan Duminy 75 67, Carlo Heunis 73 69
143 - Leon Visser 73 70, Cameron Moralee 71 72, Keanu Pestana 71 72, Jonathan Waschefort 72 71, Thabang Simon 71 72
144 - Dwayne Basson 74 70, Robson Saurombe 71 73, Allister de K**k 75 69, Gerhard Pepler 70 74, Vaughn van Deventer 69 75, Ryan Van Velzen 73 71
Missed the cut:-
145 - Ricky Hendler 71 74, Jacquin Hess 72 73, DK Kim 69 76, Zabastian de Jager 73 72, Carlos Laranja 71 74
146 - Francois van Staden 69 77, Adam Breen 69 77, Keelan Africa 72 74
147 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 73 74, Mike Maile 73 74, Keaton Slatter 76 71, Ruan de Smidt 70 77, Murad Hoosen 73 74, Slenda Sithebe 74 73, Jason Roets 77 70, Willie Olivier 73 74, Makhetha Mazibuko 77 70
148 - Noel Anderson 75 73, Rigardt Albertse 78 70, Irvin Mazibuko 74 74, James Kamte 75 73, Lwazi Gqira 76 72
149 - Marthin Scheepers 72 77, Cole Stevens 80 69, Alphius Kelapile 69 80, Jack Duthie 71 78
150 - Yubin Jung 76 74, Omar Sandys 78 72, Franklin Manchest 73 77, Richard Kruger 73 77, Tumelo Molloyi 76 74
151 - Ryan Tipping 74 77, Brandon-Jude Rennie 75 76, Karabo Mokoena 78 73, Aneurin Gounden 75 76, Matt Saulez 78 73
152 - Lindani Ndwandwe 79 73, Ethan Smith 78 74
153 - Lindani Mthiyane 78 75, Warwick Purchase 78 75, Wade Jacobs 73 80, Steven Le Roux 82 71, SP Mthethwa 82 71, Henning du Plooy 77 76
154 - Mark Williams 74 80, Joe Knox 77 77, James Pennington 76 78, Fezekile Kana 80 74
156 - Thanda Mavundla 80 76, Gerard du Plooy 79 77
157 - Brandon Moodley 81 76, Jastice Mashego 81 76, Mandla Dlamini Jnr 80 77
159 - Thabo Moraba 80 79
161 - Ricco Motsa 82 79, Gerard Moodley 79 82
163 - Thabiso Ngcobo 84 79, Shalan Govender 79 84
165 - Sandy Makume 82 83, Lincon Denzy Cele 89 76
169 - Byron van der Merwe 83 86
173 - Boeta Nasie 85 88
WDN - Kieron van Wyk 79 WDN
RTD - Bradley Diggeden RTD RTD

05/07/2022

𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 – 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀' 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶

KEMPTON PARK – The third tournament of the Pro-Am Series brought to you by Standard Bank is teeing off at Serengeti Estates on Wednesday, while the series’ golf development programme for girls continues to yield the desired results for the girls and the coaches.

The Standard Bank Pro-Am Series was created by Lifestyle Golf in association with the Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA) and aims to drive the development of female players at the grassroots level and empower talented professional female golfers by creating opportunities for more playing time.

The first two professional events of the season were hosted at Glendower Golf Club and Atlantic Beach Links, respectively. At the same time, the development of girls has been ongoing in various places around the country.

In Orange Farm, there are currently 29 girls, from the initial intake of 30 girls last year, all of whom have progressed to level three of the programme and they have hit the ground running this year, according to Barbara Pestana who is the executive director of the WPGA.

“The girls couldn’t wait to pick up from where they left off last year and in order to facilitate progression to the next level an early assessment was done by the coaches to gauge retention levels and skill sets,” Pestana said.

The coaches were suitably impressed with the girls' absorption levels so much so that this group is now ready to make the switch to standardized golf equipment which will be introduced in tandem with the SNAG (Starting New At Golf) programme due to the limited space within the school grounds.

The girls were transported to the Chris Hani Sports Stadium, which is roughly 3 km from the school, for the final term sessions. This enabled them to experience hitting real golf balls with proper golf clubs and to become more acquainted with the game much to their delight.

The potential and high level of commitment within this group bodes well for their venture onto the golf course later in the year.

In addition, 26 girls from the original intake at Serengeti last year had returned for levels four to six but this number has dropped to 22 girls. This is largely due to a few experiencing transport challenges in returning home after the lessons along with some who have changed schools, and similarly, their progress has impressed Pestana her professional coaches.

In their early assessments, the girls passed with flying colours and progressed comfortably on to playing-related activities and are now learning to hit longer clubs which has captured their attention even more and has brought out their competitive edges in seeing how far they each hit the ball.

As this was the pilot group, the girls will now be split into segments of equal abilities as the focus begins to shift to playing the game.

Founder and promoter of the golf development programme and the pro-am series, Jenny Havenga of Lifestyle Golf said more work is being done in the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape with girls over there currently doing their levels one to three of the programme, after which they will move on to levels four to six.

“These programmes are designed with longevity in mind so, hopefully, we can successfully retain most of these children within the golfing environment in some shape or form. We thank the WPGA for the work their coaches are doing with these girls and we thank our sponsor Standard Bank - South Africa for making all this possible,” Havenga said.

The girls are between the ages of six and 17, a perfect age for them to learn new skills and behaviours. The Golf Development Programme supports the objectives of the Standard Bank Pro-Am series, which, amongst others, is to introduce as many young girls to golf as possible, equipping them for any role within the golfing landscape.

“It is pleasing to note that the targeted objective for the first part of the year has been met, and in some cases exceeded, as a few of the older girls in the latter programmes have already progressed onto standardized golf equipment due to their advancement,” said Pestana.

Pestana added that whilst continuity is key, the opportunities being provided to these young girls are invaluable and hopes that with more stakeholders getting involved in structured golf development for girls, in particular, a lot more could be done to improve their lives and show that there are sustainable opportunities in golf.

28/06/2022

Jacquin Hess credited a combination of sound decision-making and a brilliant wedge game for his round of 67 on day one of the Altron Big Easy Tour tournament that is underway at Houghton Golf Club.

The Robertson Golf Club member is currently two strokes ahead of the field after the opening round.

“I was a bit disappointed with how I played the back nine at Randpark last week,” reveals Hess, “so I sent my caddie a short motivational video to watch to get us ready for this week. But it’s all down to good decision-making between myself and my caddie, you know. If you’re not clear about how you approach the game, it gets messy very fast. But today, we were clear about every shot we chose and it’s getting better.”

Hess had a shaky start to the round, by his own admission; going one-over after the first three holes. He was quick to rectify this, however, as he birdied the next four holes to move up the leaderboard.

He parred the next three holes before finding joy on the 11th, birdieing that hole to take it to four-under with seven holes to play.

Three more pars were followed by a brace of birdies which Hess was happy to welcome as he set his sights on the top spot. A par-save on 17 was followed by a bogey on the last, much to Hess’ disappointment.

“I think we were not clear enough on that last hole,” Hess continued. “My caddie wanted me to tee from the right and I wanted to tee from the left and then I didn’t commit to the shot. The ball got blocked out by the tree and I had to take my bogey there.

“I’ve put in a lot of work in the last three years and I’m still learning. But I am beginning to see some rewards now and I have a great caddie, one of the very best on the Sunshine Tour and we keep getting better. We are making good decisions and it was important today because this is a tricky layout. If you’re out of position here, you are going to struggle, even if you hit the greens it’s not easy.”

With eight players just two shots off the pace, including the ever-green Ricky Nathen Hendler who has been in scintillating form and Nicholaus Frade who played well too last week at Randpark Golf Club, Hess knows that the next two rounds will be important if he is to claim his second Altron Big Easy Tour title sooner rather than later.

“It’s important to have a great start in these tournaments and I think Marvin (his caddie) and I started well,” he said, “we learn together. The plan is to win on the Sunshine Tour this season but it would be nice to win another Big Easy title. We were in contention at Reading until the second last hole and last week it was the same thing.

“I know it takes a lot of patience but we are getting better. We are not going to force things because that’s when you get inside your own head and start making wrong decisions which may cost you a tournament.”

Frade, Hendler, last week’s winner Adam Breen, Gerhard Pepler, Richard Kruger, Samuel Simpson, Portugal’s Carlos Laranja and member of the recently-launched Papwa Sewgolum Class Nikhil Rama share the second spot on the leaderboard, thanks to rounds 69 for each.
The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els and counts current international star Christiaan Bezuidenhout among its former Order of Merit winners.

Fullpage Media and Communications provides media services to the Altron Big Easy Tour.

23/06/2022

𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗙 – 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥 – 𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗬 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗕

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 ‘𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞’ 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤

JOHANNESBURG, June 23 – Adam Breen carded an even-par final round of the Altron Big Easy Tour to claim a come-from-behind one-shot victory on one-over-par in testing conditions at Randpark Golf Club on Thursday.

“I’m very relieved and excited and surprised,” said an elated Breen. “I was three back today and I didn’t really think that level-par would give me a chance and when I got to the 18th box I heard I was tied for the lead, I was surprised. Just very relieved and quite surprised.

“I haven’t won much in my career. The last proper win I had was probably when I was a junior. This is definitely number one. I’ve won a bunch of club championships but this is next level.”

Breen was three shots off the pace set by Ricky Hendler and Nicholaus Frade when the final round got underway in wet and windy Firethorn layout at Randpark and had it all to do in order to make the climb up the leaderboard.

With Hendler and Frade struggling like everyone else in the field, Breen knew he had an opportunity to work his way up the leaderboard and he grabbed it with both hands; making crucial par-saves while giving little away. He made three bogeys on the front nine (on one, three and seven) which were accompanied by birdies on the fifth and eighth holes.

Coming home, the 24-year-old Breen was as clinical as can be; making eight pars and a single birdie there to seal a round of 71. The Country Club Johannesburg player credited his putting for his resolute performance on Thursday, saying even he was surprised at some of the putts he made.

“I made a six-footer for par on 10,” Breen recalled, “and I made a 10-footer for par on 15 and 10-footer for par on 16. I never really make those putts, especially under so much pressure. I know I haven’t this season. So, the putter was key for me; making a lot of those eight to 10-footers and especially for par. I know you’re going to hit so many bad shots the way the wind is, and chipping it close to the hole is difficult. So, those 10-footers were crucial today.

“The wind was absolutely howling this week and as cliché as it sounds but being patient was key out there, and knowing that you’re going to make mistakes. I was grinding because the golf course is such a demanding test, especially in these conditions. So, I really can’t believe that I’ve done it because I thought that the winning score would be around two under today. I thought 68 is the number that I needed so I’m stoked to get it done.”

Breen, who secured his Sunshine Tour playing privileges earlier this year at Qualifying School, said his win at Randpark is just a validation of the work he and his team have been putting in behind the scenes and that it boosts his confidence to want to compete even more.

Breen joins amateur Christiaan Maas, DK Kim and Gregory McKay on the list of winners on the Altron Big Easy Tour this season. The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els and counts current international star Christiaan Bezuidenhout among its former Order of Merit winners.

Go to https://bigeasytour.co.za/ for more!