Danie van Tonder leads by two

Should he win on Friday, the R95,100 cheque for first place will lift him from his current position of fourth on the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit to second behind England’s Ross Fisher.

But the reality is, he would actually be in first place because Fisher has only played two tournaments on the Sunshine Tour this season.

A minimum of seven tournaments is required to qualify for the local Order of Merit.

With the top-ranked player on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit on November 24 earning a place in this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge field, Van Tonder is well aware that this week could be a career-changing one for him.

“Playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge would open a lot of doors for me,” Van Tonder said after his 67 on Thursday to lead on 10 under par.

“You play in that tournament and all of a sudden your name is known worldwide.

“I’d love to test myself against such a world-class field.”

Van Tonder’s form this season makes it a distinct possibility that he can make it into the Sun City showpiece.

Van Tonder sits with a little over R3.2 million in earnings, courtesy seven top-10s in 11 tournaments this season, including a win in the Royal Swazi Open and solid performances in the tournaments co-sanctioned with the European Tour, such as his second place in the Tshwane Open and ninth place in the Joburg Open.

– Sapa