30 MAY - 2 JUNE 2024
2020 RESULTS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SCORE CAPTURE
Kevin Ullyett, former tennis player.
Bryan Habana, former Springbok.
Marc Jury, CEO of SuperSport.
2020 - IT'S A WRAP!
by Matt Pearce
After being postponed from its scheduled date in May, the BCX Supersport Shootout made a welcome comeback to the Pearl Valley Golf Course at Val de Vie Estate, with three trophies at stake, for the individual net medal competition, the better-ball competition and the Ryder Cup-style team competition between Team BCX and Team Supersport. Defending champions Team Supersport had a new captain in CEO-elect Marc Jury and there was plenty of banter in the build up to the event between him and Team BCX captain, Jonas Bogoshi.
The weather was forecast to be wet for much of the weekend in the Paarl-Franschhoek valley, but Saturday’s opening round was almost entirely dry, although played in very strong winds.
Given the windy conditions, the round put together on the Jack Nicklaus Signature course at Pearl Valley by former Springbok scrum-half and 2007 Rugby World Cup winner Fourie du Preez, was astonishing.
For the first time ever in his golfing career, he had a bogey-free round, adding two birdies to 16 pars for a gross round of 2-under par 70, a net 68. That gave him the overnight lead of five strokes in the individual net medal competition over scratch golfer Graeme Watson, who posted a round of 73.
The rain did not stay away for Sunday’s second round – in which an early shotgun start was used – and the early part of the round provided extremely tough conditions.
Du Preez dropped seven shots to par on the opening nine holes to give the chasing pack some hope, but displaying all his World Cup calm under pressure, he played the back nine in level par to finish on a net medal score of 1-over par for the two rounds, for a seven shot win over Pearl Valley local Riz Majid. Cricketer Henry Davids finished a further shot back in third position, with Watson tied for fourth with four other players.
In the better-ball net competition, Du Preez was reunited with Springbok and Bulls teammate Victor Matfield, who had won the better-ball trophy together at Legend in 2017. Matfield was also defending the better-ball crown that he had won in 2019 with former Springbok coach Nick Mallett.
The Springbok duo were handily place after the first round, one shot off the pace set by another past champion pair, former Springbok Breyton Paulse and his partner Riyadh Peer, who posted a 6-under 66 for round one.
While Du Preez had made the major contribution on day one, Matfield came very good on day two, contributing significantly to the better-ball score of 66, to add to their first round of 67, enough for a two stroke win over Paulse and Peer.
Davids and his partner Vernon Philander tied for third on 6-under par with Koos van der Merwe and Willem Coetzer, with Marc Jury and Selwyn Nathan a further two shots back in fifth place. While Jury himself put up a good showing, Team Supersport was not able to follow suit collectively.
After racking up a decent lead at the end of the first day, Team BCX consolidated their position on day two to win the team title by 98 points to 76. Captain Bogoshi was all smiles as he lifted the crystal trophy for the first time.
As usual, the combination of government, business and sport provided for an environment of fun, networking, competitive spirit and camaraderie. The players were spectacularly treated by Val de Vie’s hospitality team and spoilt by sponsors, including new partner SA Tourism, who set up one of their Sustainability Villages at the golf club to support local entrepreneurs in selling their wares to the participants.
Most importantly and notwithstanding the current economic climate, almost half a million Rand was raised for the tournament’s beneficiaries via the charity auction, expertly conducted by Dave Usendorff.
There was a great deal of relief and appreciation for the fact that the event had been given permission to proceed and a tangible acknowledgement of the importance of coming together as a group of South African leaders across many disciplines, to plan next steps.
Once again, the BCX Supersport Shootout delivered a world class experience at a world class venue, providing a morale boosting platform to golf and giving.
2020
IN PHOTOS
