Van Tonder wins Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge at Kyalami Country Club
His ability to ignore all the nerves that comes with the pressure of winning and simply trust his attacking instincts once again paid off.
Daniel van Tonder overcame pressure and nerves by trusting his instincts, eagling the 18th hole to reach a playoff, which he won at the Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge on August 30 at Kyalami Country Club.
Van Tonder, who started the final round four strokes off the lead, first of all chipped in to eagle the 480m par-five closing hole in regulation play to complete a brilliant six-under-par 66, and leap to 14-under-par for the tournament.
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The 33-year-old then had to wait to see if his clubhouse lead withstood the challenge of the last three two-balls. The eagle proved crucial as both Yurav Premlall and Martin Rohwer shot four-under-par 68s to also finish on 14-under, sending the trio into a sudden death-playoff on the 18th.
Premlall was eliminated on the second play-off hole as he made par and Van Tonder and Rohwer both birdied the par-five.
After replaying the last hole three times, they then took on the par-three 17th, which Van Tonder had bogeyed in regulation play. Another excellent chip shot, this time out of a bunker, set up victory for his 10th time on the Sunshine Tour.
“I was frustrated when I stood on the 18th tee in regulation play because I was unlucky twice on 17. First, I had a bad bounce with my tee-shot that went over the green, but I hit a great chip, only for the par-putt to horseshoe out. I knew it was a big putt,” said Van Tonder.
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“I also knew I had to make eagle on the last to have a chance, so I took the driver and tried to get as close as possible to the water. I had a five-iron in, which finished just right of the green. I said, ‘Take the pin out!’, because I knew there had to be space for the ball, and then I chipped in.
“We then went back to 17 in the playoff and Martin and I were both in the greenside bunker. He hit a good shot to about three metres, but I was able to put it within a foot and make the par,” Van Tonder said matter-of-factly about two extraordinary moments of self-belief.
The Serengeti Estate golfer also won the FNB Eswatini Challenge on August 3, and said he was pleased his hard work on his game since returning from Europe is paying off.
“I’ve been playing well for a while, so it’s nice to be able to pluck the fruit from the tree, so to speak. They call me the Silent Assassin and the camera is never on me back in the field, but the game is there,” added Van Tonder.
Premlall had birdied the 18th to get into the playoff, but fell just short of his maiden Sunshine Tour title, while Rohwer had moved to 14-under with a birdie on the par-five 13th, but he just could not grab another opportunity to move ahead.
Van Tonder, along with the next 22 top professionals from this tournament, the five leading transformation professionals, and two tournament invites, has secured a spot in the esteemed Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational at Sun City in November.
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