POLOKWANE – Bronkhorst’s lead in the Toshiba Cup comes after a stunning yet close fought victory in the Tzaneen Open at the Tzaneen Golf Club on Saturday, 25 February.
Bronkhorst not only had to battle with his rivals, but also had to endure extreme humid conditions, and during the last few holes of the second round late in the day, he had to play in wet and rainy comditions.
Bronkhorst finished the first round on 75 strokes and the second on 70 strokes to win with a score of 145 strokes; two shots ahead of Gerhard Pepler (147 strokes) from Mogol Golf Club who is also currently the number one ranked Limpopo junior player.
In the first round, Bronkhorst recorded two birdies at the eighth and 12th holes, along with ten shots on par. The four bogeys and two double bogeys hindered his progress to take the lead in the first round.
The second round saw Bronkhorst find his stride to record four birdies in the first, second, seventh and 11th holes along with 11 holes on par.
The heavy rain near the end of the second round allowed Bronkhorst to add a bogey and a double bogey on his scorecard. His second score was nonetheless enough to secure him with an overall victory.
Third place went to Marnus Nel from Tzaneen Golf Club with a total of 148. Fourth place went to Polokwane Golf Club player Neil Rathmann on 148 strokes.
Rathmann’s effort in the first round with 74 strokes, and 75 in the second, was enough to slot him into second place in the current Toshiba Cup standings behind his friend, Bronkhorst.
Rathmann achieved two birdies and ten par scores in the first round along with five bogeys. In round two, he went even better with three birdies and another ten par scores. The three bogeys and two double bogeys resulted from the challenging weather near the end of round two.
After round three, with Bronkhorst on 1260 points, he leads the Toshiba Cup standings. Rathmann is in second place with 780 points.
The consistent Bronkhorst opened his account at the opening round in the Soutpansberg Open in January, finishing second, followed by a win in the Limpopo Closed Stroke in February.
Rathmann only competed in two rounds as opposed to Bronkhorst who played three. In the Limpopo Closed Stroke Play, Rathmann placed second, which was followed up by a fourth place in the most recent encounter. Rathmann walked away with the Mid-Am prize at the Tzaneen Open.
These two golfers are far from done and will take part in the following games:
- March 4-5 – Messina Open at Messina Golf Club
- April 1 – Groblersdal Open at Groblersdal Golf Club
- April 29 – Chrome Open at Chrome Golf Club (Steelpoort)
- May 27 – Kameeldoring Open at Kameldoring Golf Club (Mokopane)
- June 3 – Drakensig Open at Drakensig Open at Drakensig Golf Club (Hoedspruit)
- June 24 – Hans Merensky Open at Hans Merensky Country Club (Phalaborwa).