30 MAY - 2 JUNE 2024
2019 RESULTS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SCORE CAPTURE
Impi Visser, Ryan Oosthuizen, Werner Kok and Shakes Soyizwapi
Reuben Riffel and Ryk Neethling
Kevin Curren, Siya Kholisi and Gideon Khobane
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At the end of day one, played in perfect, almost windless conditions, Soyizwapi and Bosch had signed for a superb score of 10-under par 62, dove-tailing efficiently and setting an impressive target.
Despite their first round brilliance, there were plenty of pairings applying pressure on the leaders, most notably another rugby pairing, Victor Matfield and Nick Mallett. Matfield was defending the better-ball title he had won in partnership with fellow former-Springbok Fourie du Preez in 2018.
Matfield and Mallett were a solitary shot behind the leaders having posted a 63, while no fewer than four teams recorded scores of 8-under par 64, including past winners Riyadh Peer and Breyton Paulse, both single figure handicap players who always combine with distinction at this event.
On day two, the leading better-ball pairs were in the same group, with Matfield and Mallett quick to apply the pressure on Soyizwapi and Bosch. Consistency was key for the former pair, as they added a second round 7-under par 65 to finish 16-under par for the 36-hole event.
They had to keep a watchful eye on the leaderboard as a number of pairings threatened their lead throughout day two, with a number of 6-under par 66’s being recorded. One of these came from Morailane Morailane and partner Elton Masia, who featured prominently in the individual competition as well.
Their 66, added to a first round of 65 was good enough for a tie for second place in the better-ball with Moss Ngoasheng and Mandla Mlangeni, who posted rounds of 64 and 67. A further shot back in a tie for fourth were Paulse and Peer, as well as Ockie Douglas and Dean Meyer, the current captain at Pearl Valley.
The best of the better ball scores on day two was also the best of both days, with Kevin Janse van Rensburg – a late entrant to the event – and his partner Johan van Zyl posting a stunning better-ball score of 11-under par 61 to go hurtling up the leaderboard after their first round 72, a total of 11-under giving them a share of sixth.
There would be a greater reward for Janse van Rensburg, however, thanks to his wonderful second round. Having posted a more than respectable first round net score of 74 – 2-over par – he was six strokes behind the overnight leaders Anton van Wyk of sponsors PwC and Marius Schoeman of the SA Rugby Sevens Academy, who had set the bar high with nett medal scores of 4-under par 68.
Van Wyk stayed in contention until the very end, eventually signing for a second round of 74 for a two round total of 2-under par. Another who showed admirable consistency over the 36 holes was Blitzboks star Impi Visser, who
also added a 74 to his opening 69 to finish on 1-under par and alone in third place, a shot behind Van Wyk.
But neither of them had quite enough to fend off the challenge of Janse van Rensburg, who swept through the field with the best round of the tournament, a 6-under par 66 to finish on a superb total of 4-under for the two rounds and the crystal trophy that went with his victory.
He knew he was in contention, but the nerves were apparent as SuperSport’s cameras took a keener interest in him on his final hole, the par-5 ninth in front of Pearl Valley’s magnificent clubhouse. Eventually his two putts on the ninth were enough to secure his impressive win on his first visit to the Shootout.
And what of the team competition? After their captain’s rousing motivational video on the first evening, Team BCX and powered their way into a seven point lead after the first round and were quick to ‘bait’ their opponents at Saturday’s function. SuperSport’s captain Gideon Khobane’s response was to simply stand up and say to his team: “We are the World of Champions – and we will be champions tomorrow evening”.
His team took his words to heart and, after hauling in the seven-point deficit, proceeded to record a comfortable victory by 93.5 points to 87.5.
And while Team SuperSport, Kevin Janse van Rensburg, Victor Matfield and Nick Mallett were the winners off the course, the important winners were those who will ultimately benefit from the funds raised by this tournament, the Tournament of Champions.
LIV Villages was once again one of the beneficiaries, while this year additional beneficiaries were the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation and the Val de Vie Foundation, that has done much uplifting work in the communities around the estate since its establishment.
Through pledges from players and sponsors, as well as through the charity auction conducted on the Saturday night, well over R1 million was raised over the course of the weekend, with the tournament total raised for charity since inception passing comfortably through the R25 million mark.
A stunning setting at Val de Vie in the Drakenstein Municipality, a superbly presented Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Pearl Valley, generous product for the players from an amazing array of sponsors, all contributed towards the creation of a world-class event and atmosphere around it.
After 16 years, South Africa’s Tournament of Champions had found a way to raise the bar yet again.