Jacques Blaauw made par at the first playoff hole to win the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City at the Gary Player Country Club last week, with the 38-year-old breaking an eight-year win drought and doing it at one of his favourite courses.
It all led to an emotional celebration by Blaauw as he admitted to being “like a madman, going crazy on the phone” with his wife and father shortly after the trophy presentation.
“It’s been a while since my last win. 2016 to be exact. But I’ve been playing very well the last two months and I was thinking the win was coming,” Blaauw said.
The former SA Amateur Champion’s win at Sun City with rounds of 71-71-69 for five-under-par followed his third place the week before at the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am in Irene.
🤳 A fifth victory on the Sunshine Tour for @JacquesBlaauw 🏆#SunbetChallengeSunCity #SunbetChallenge #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/ByEmiyhOrX
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) June 7, 2024
“I played really well today, besides my finish in regulation play when I bogeyed the 15th and 18th holes. But the wind made conditions tough today and those last holes were playing difficult. I’ve been putting very well recently and my approach play today was much closer than I’m used to, which gave me more chances for birdies. A lot of hard work has gone into this, especially with my driving, which I’ve struggled with lately. But I worked on it yesterday and changed my settings,” Blaauw remarked after his victory.
The popular player from The Els Club, Copperleaf in Centurion was grateful to be able to hold a trophy again after such a long winning drought.
“This game keeps you humble, there are more ups and downs. It’s funny, but what I consider to be my first professional win came at the Gary Player Country Club, one of the best courses in the country, when I won the Klipdrift Touring Pro-Am back in 2010,” Blaauw said.
Blaauw’s two late bogeys left him tied with Tristin Galant, who made an excellent par to force the playoff.
The two players then made their way to the par-five ninth and although Blaauw was initially in a weaker position than Gelant, he kept his head and played par. Galant missed his birdie putt and then unfortunately missed a three-footer for par.
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