The finals of the Grid Pro Xtreme Long Driving took place at its normal spot, the Grasslands Driving Range, on November 27 and 28.
The amateurs division kicked off with a bang on November 27.
Chris Harmse entered as an amateur from the senior division and got off to a great start in the qualifying sets, with some great long drives in the afternoon.
Rain was forecasted for the early afternoon leaving them with limited time to get the four sets in and still take part in the double-elimination rounds.
Fourteen players qualified for the finals and they were hungry for some fierce competition.
“Campbell McMillian (Macca) was out here for the finals from Zimbabwe as he also qualified early in the year by winning his national tournament. Macca was a force to be reckoned with from the first set, but the other guys were not going to make it easy for him,” explained Stephen van Zyl, Grid Pro owner.
“Daniel Prinsloo and Damian Swanepoel made sure that the Zimbabwean was not going to walk over them that easy, they both fought their way out of the loser’s pool to reach the semi-finals match where Swanepoel beat Prinsloo, finding himself fighting it out for the SA title. Then the heavens opened and we were forced to come back on Sunday morning at 07:00.”
Prinsloo hit the longest drive for the amateurs at 344m in his qualifying set and ended third overall for the day.
Andrew Mare won the Order of Merit and could not be with the team for the finals as he got married on Saturday.
Gridpro SA dedicated this event to Duncan Powell for attending and competing with them after losing his son earlier this month.
“God bless and may he rest in peace,” said Stephan.
On November 28 the finals continued.
Amateur final continuation
“What a final we had early Sunday morning with Macca versus Swanepoel,” explained Stephan.
“In the eight-ball finals, Macca took charge and hit a brilliant 338m drive over Swanepoel’s 305m to win the finals. Macca, Swanepoel and Prinsloo then qualified to hit against the pros in the African men’s open division early that morning.”
Men’s open division
After their lunch break, it was time for the men’s open division, pitting the strength of top five professionals and top four amateurs.
“This division brought some great hitting to the tee box with a few amateurs giving the pros a run for their money,” said Stephan.
After four opening matches with some amateurs knocking out the top-ranked pros in SA, Greagan Horn and Swanepoel faced off in the first semi-final with Swanepoel progressing to the final awaiting the winner of the big match against the formidable Macca, who had just won the amateur division and knocked out das Neves, who now had to face current SA champion, Thorne van Zyl.
“After some great hitting by both players, Thorne outshone Macca by 12 odd metres on a very wet grid with very little to no roll. Thorne found himself up against another hard hitter, Prinsloo, who beat Jason Cook and Horn to advance to the final.
“Juan Nel hit the longest drive making a 359.9m drive,” said Stephan.
“Thorne then showed why he is ranked the number one long driver in SA for the past five years and in the world circuit too.”
After an exciting final match against Prinsloo who hit some of his best drives all day, Thorne took the longest drive and won the title.
“Great hitting by all throughout the event and congratulations to all winners,” he said.
Pro division, November 28.
According to Stephan, this division was the culmination of all the season’s hard work and dedication.
“We have had 11 events throughout 2021, through Covid-19, lockdowns and travel bands to the USA. We had the privilege to join PLDA with Bobby Pieterson, Ryan and the Ultimate Long Drive with Jeff Gilder and the team.
“After all this that happened in the world, we still managed to enjoy the sport we have all come to love and participate in. It all comes down to who can hit the ball the furthest and the straightest at the end of the day,” said Stephan.
“We have had all of this all season long with athletes such as das Neves winning the first two events of the year and the fourth one too, Jason Vickers winning two in a row, Jason Cook won the XLD trophy, together with David Melman winning the PLDA trophy after winning the next event.
“Lastly, Thorne van Zyl took five second places and won four of the last events in a row to finish the Order of Merit winner for the fifth year running.”
Thorne was gunning for his third SA title in a row but came up short this time although he still won the champion long driver of 2021 and retains his SA number one.
Number two was das Neves, three was Cook, four was Vickers, five Wynand Roos, six Juan Nel, seven Nico Potgieter, eight was Melman, nine Berno Korff and number ten Corne Duvenage.
“At the end of the day, they all wanted the SA Championship title and a dog fight it was. After four sets of the SA men’s open event and a knockout format, the top eight were decided. Our visitor Zimbabwean champion Macca gave up his amateur status and joined the pro division for his third event of the weekend.
“It was crazy. From Gridpro SA, I would like to take this opportunity in wishing Juan Nel ‘The Hulk’ the best on his move to Canada and wish him all the success he dreams of in his new venture.
Congratulations to all our winners and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
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