Broomhead wins Tour Championship as Van Velzen clinches Sunshine Tour Order of Merit
Jonathan Broomhead claimed his maiden Sunshine Tour title in the Tour Championship delivered by The Courier Guy at Serengeti Estates on Sunday and which also wrapped up another thrilling Sunshine Tour season that has opened doors for a new generation of South African stars.
In the final tournament of the 2023-24 season, Broomhead closed with a 69 to win by two strokes on 16 under par over Louis Albertse and Rupert Kaminski.
The tournament also finalised the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.
Ryan van Velzen finished first here in a breakthrough season where he won twice. His triumph saw him secure a DP World Tour card, a place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and Major exemptions into The Open and the US PGA Championship.
“I just played so consistently and had some good finishes in big events. I’m really excited for my DP World Tour season to start later this year and to play in my first Major.
“I’m also very excited about playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge which I’ve been watching since I was a kid and now I can compete alongside the players I watched on TV,” said Van Velzen, who also earned a R500 000 bonus for his first-place finish on the Order of Merit.
Robin Williams finished second on the Order of Merit and also earned himself a DP World Tour card as well as a R200 000 bonus. Williams was also crowned the Fortress Rookie of the Year, earning a R200 000 bonus.
“It’s amazing. It was one of my goals at the start of the year. It opens a lot of doors for me and I’m looking forward to that,” said Williams.
Louis Albertse finished the season in third place on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy thereby claiming the last DP World Tour card on offer and a R100 000 bonus.
It was certainly a Sunday of incredible rewards for the Sunshine Tour professionals, with Broomhead leading the celebrations.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and there were going to be so many players around me giving it ago. I knew I just had to stick to my game, and my caddie and I worked really hard on not getting ahead of ourselves and staying in the moment. I was on edge coming down the last few holes but it all worked out,” said a delighted Broomhead.
Earlier in the round, Stefan Wears-Taylor decided to put the fact that he was drawn alone as the last player in the field to good use.
Wears-Taylor raced around the Serengeti layout in one hour and 27 minutes, breaking the PGA Tour record for 18 completed holes in a professional tournament set by Wesley Bryan in 2017 of one hour and 29 minutes.
Wears-Taylor shot a 79 in the process.
“When I saw I was playing alone the thought came to mind to play some speed golf. I sent my caddie a message to unload the bag with all the heavy stuff and come to the golf course with his running shoes on. It worked out well,” Wears-Taylor said.
“I’m not sure if it’s an official world record, but we just pipped Wesley Bryan’s record. Perhaps the biggest challenge was putting with the faster greens and Sunday flags,” said Wears-Taylor.
Michael Vlismas