Mbombela-based professional golfer Ruan Groenewald (25) earned the best result of his first season on the Sunshine Tour so far at the recent Vodacom Origins of Golf – Highland Gate, where he finished tied 24th.
Having played the course many times growing up, Groenewald went into the first Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament of the season at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate with high hopes. These hopes were well placed after the first round as he stood tied 22nd on two under par.
The second round was tougher, though, as Groenewald went one over for the round and put him back to one under for the tournament in 35th place, two shots clear of the cut. His putting let him down in the second round, with a total of 32 putts, his highest for the week.
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But he still did enough to ensure he played the final day on Sunday, and boy, did he shine. Groenewald carded a near-faultless round of 69 in the third and final round. The round included five birdies, but a double bogey on the eighth meant he only went three under for the day.
His efforts ensured he finished on -4 for the week, though, seeing him finish in tied 24th. This is by far his best result of the season, improving on his tied 50th finish at the FNB Eswatini Challenge. Groenewald was in fine form, ensuring he made 74.07% of his greens in regulation during the tournament. This far exceeds his season average of 63.81%.
Bar the second round, he was also on form on the greens, averaging 29 putts per round, which is also better than his season average of 30.62 putts per round so far.
Groenewald’s short-game success has been evident right throughout the season too, as he ranks 44th on the Sunshine Tour (out of 200+ players) for average putts per green in regulation – 1.87.
Furthermore, Groenewald earned some valuable points for the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, where he is in 72nd place. He is currently seventh on the Rookie of the Year rankings. He also climbed 238 spots up the Official Golf World Rankings to number 2 308, his best ranking since August 29, 2022.
Groenewald will hope to continue this form as he travels to Pretoria to take part in the SunBet Challenge Times Square Casino at Wingate Park Country Club this week.
