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George - Allan Versfeld produced his best round at Fancourt's Links course with a 66 which earned him a two-stroke lead going into Friday’s final round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf final.
Versfeld heads the field on nine under par, with Alex Haindl on seven under after a 67, Divan van den Heever at six under after a 71, and three-time European Tour winner Branden Grace on five under following a 72.
On a day of intermittent rain but still no wind, Versfeld took advantage with four birdies in his first six holes. He started the back nine equally well with three birdies in the first four. Then he eagled the par-five 16th and birdied 18. But the par-threes at eight and 17 took three shots off his score.
“I made double bogey on eight. So when I got to 17 I was in between clubs. I went for a hard eight iron, but didn’t commit to it and hit it right,” he said.
There was also some indecision about his approach into the par-five 16th, but this time it worked in his favour.
“I was in between hitting a hard four iron or a rescue. I went with the hard four iron and it came off great. I had a putt from about 10 feet for eagle and holed it.”
Versfeld is hunting his second victory on the Vodacom Origins series, and is relishing having the experienced Simon Masilo as his caddie. Masilo is Ernie Els’s regular caddie whenever he plays in South Africa, and his experience has been key to Versfeld’s understanding of The Links.
“I’ve played quite a few rounds here, but this is by far my best round here. It helps to have Simon on the bag. He tells you where and where not to hit it. You feel so much more comfortable, and it feels like you can actually play this course now. This is our fourth tournament together and it’s going really well.”
Haindl certainly showed a greater understanding of this layout with his bogey-free 67. “That was the key – no bogeys. In the first round I made four drops of which three were quite stupid. I tried to keep those off the card today and just played solid. I think the rough is also a bit more forgiving than usual. You can still play it out of some spots, whereas before you couldn’t even try.”
Scores (RSA unless specified):
137 - Allan Versfeld 71 66
139 - Alex Haindl 72 67
140 - Divan van den Heever 69 71
141 - Chris Swanepoel 69 72, Branden Grace 69 72
142 - Ruan de Smidt 71 71, Vaughn Groenewald 71 71, Neil Schietekat 70 72
143 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 73 70, Grant Muller 73 70, Desvonde Botes 71 72
145 - Warren Abery 71 74, Ross Wellington 72 73, Charl Coetzee 72 73, Andrew Georgiou 75 70, Alan Michell 73 72
146 - Francois Haughton 72 74, Anthony Michael 72 74, Andrew Curlewis 73 73, Oliver Bekker 73 73, James Kamte 73 73, Brandon Pieters 72 74, Louis de Jager 72 74, Michiel Bothma 71 75, Jean Hugo 75 71, Darryn Lloyd 73 73
147 - Wallie Coetsee 75 72, Jake Roos 73 74, Ulrich van den Berg 70 77
148 - Riekus Nortje 69 79, George Coetzee 75 73, Tyrone Ferreira 74 74, Jake Redman 71 77, Steve Basson 71 77
149 - Danie van Tonder 73 76
150 - Ryan Tipping 71 79, Titch Moore 75 75
151 - Bradford Vaughan 77 74, Dean O'Riley 76 75, Johan du Buisson 73 78, Joshua Cunliffe 75 76, PH McIntyre 76 75, JG Claassen 78 73
Missed the cut:
152 - Albert Pistorius 77 75, Shaun Norris 77 75, Jacques Blaauw 75 77, Daniel Greene 78 74
153 - Graham van der Merwe 75 78, Doug McGuigan 80 73, Lyle Rowe 78 75, David Ryan 77 76, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 75 78, Bryce Easton 80 73, Ockie Strydom 83 70, Matthew Carvell 74 79
154 - Omar Sandys 77 77, Jaco Ahlers 77 77, Colin Nel 77 77, Pieter Moolman 76 78, Michael Hollick 78 76, Jared Harvey 75 79, Hendrik Buhrmann 75 79
155 - Merrick Bremner 80 75, Lindani Ndwandwe 81 74, Christiaan Basson 79 76
156 - Des Terblanche 79 77, David Hewan 76 80
158 - Theunis Spangenberg 74 84
159 - Louis Calitz 77 82, Andre Cruse 77 82
163 - Thabang Simon 83 80
164 - Francois Coetzee 76 88
Versfeld heads the field on nine under par, with Alex Haindl on seven under after a 67, Divan van den Heever at six under after a 71, and three-time European Tour winner Branden Grace on five under following a 72.
On a day of intermittent rain but still no wind, Versfeld took advantage with four birdies in his first six holes. He started the back nine equally well with three birdies in the first four. Then he eagled the par-five 16th and birdied 18. But the par-threes at eight and 17 took three shots off his score.
“I made double bogey on eight. So when I got to 17 I was in between clubs. I went for a hard eight iron, but didn’t commit to it and hit it right,” he said.
There was also some indecision about his approach into the par-five 16th, but this time it worked in his favour.
“I was in between hitting a hard four iron or a rescue. I went with the hard four iron and it came off great. I had a putt from about 10 feet for eagle and holed it.”
Versfeld is hunting his second victory on the Vodacom Origins series, and is relishing having the experienced Simon Masilo as his caddie. Masilo is Ernie Els’s regular caddie whenever he plays in South Africa, and his experience has been key to Versfeld’s understanding of The Links.
“I’ve played quite a few rounds here, but this is by far my best round here. It helps to have Simon on the bag. He tells you where and where not to hit it. You feel so much more comfortable, and it feels like you can actually play this course now. This is our fourth tournament together and it’s going really well.”
Haindl certainly showed a greater understanding of this layout with his bogey-free 67. “That was the key – no bogeys. In the first round I made four drops of which three were quite stupid. I tried to keep those off the card today and just played solid. I think the rough is also a bit more forgiving than usual. You can still play it out of some spots, whereas before you couldn’t even try.”
Scores (RSA unless specified):
137 - Allan Versfeld 71 66
139 - Alex Haindl 72 67
140 - Divan van den Heever 69 71
141 - Chris Swanepoel 69 72, Branden Grace 69 72
142 - Ruan de Smidt 71 71, Vaughn Groenewald 71 71, Neil Schietekat 70 72
143 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 73 70, Grant Muller 73 70, Desvonde Botes 71 72
145 - Warren Abery 71 74, Ross Wellington 72 73, Charl Coetzee 72 73, Andrew Georgiou 75 70, Alan Michell 73 72
146 - Francois Haughton 72 74, Anthony Michael 72 74, Andrew Curlewis 73 73, Oliver Bekker 73 73, James Kamte 73 73, Brandon Pieters 72 74, Louis de Jager 72 74, Michiel Bothma 71 75, Jean Hugo 75 71, Darryn Lloyd 73 73
147 - Wallie Coetsee 75 72, Jake Roos 73 74, Ulrich van den Berg 70 77
148 - Riekus Nortje 69 79, George Coetzee 75 73, Tyrone Ferreira 74 74, Jake Redman 71 77, Steve Basson 71 77
149 - Danie van Tonder 73 76
150 - Ryan Tipping 71 79, Titch Moore 75 75
151 - Bradford Vaughan 77 74, Dean O'Riley 76 75, Johan du Buisson 73 78, Joshua Cunliffe 75 76, PH McIntyre 76 75, JG Claassen 78 73
Missed the cut:
152 - Albert Pistorius 77 75, Shaun Norris 77 75, Jacques Blaauw 75 77, Daniel Greene 78 74
153 - Graham van der Merwe 75 78, Doug McGuigan 80 73, Lyle Rowe 78 75, David Ryan 77 76, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 75 78, Bryce Easton 80 73, Ockie Strydom 83 70, Matthew Carvell 74 79
154 - Omar Sandys 77 77, Jaco Ahlers 77 77, Colin Nel 77 77, Pieter Moolman 76 78, Michael Hollick 78 76, Jared Harvey 75 79, Hendrik Buhrmann 75 79
155 - Merrick Bremner 80 75, Lindani Ndwandwe 81 74, Christiaan Basson 79 76
156 - Des Terblanche 79 77, David Hewan 76 80
158 - Theunis Spangenberg 74 84
159 - Louis Calitz 77 82, Andre Cruse 77 82
163 - Thabang Simon 83 80
164 - Francois Coetzee 76 88
