Kleinmond - The Sunshine Tour returns to Arabella
Hotel and Spa this week for the Origins of Golf event which was won by
Vaughn Groenewald last year with a nine-under-par 207 score to defeat Stefan
Engell Andersen by a single stroke.
This week's event is the second in a six-tournament series and a title-defence is not going to be a walk in the park
for Groenewald.
With many players getting back into the swing of things after
the seven-week break in June and July, every field from now on becomes a more
difficult challenge to overcome.
A host of players are regaining form and this was evident in
the last two events when Doug McGuigan held on to claim the VOG Highland Gate
event, while Peter Karmis' play-off victory against Jake Roos also highlighted
the unpredictability of these events.
So players like Neil Schietekat, Riekus
Nortje and Jacques Kruyswijk must not be overlooked this week.
Kruyswijk, in particular, has been putting together some
solid rounds of golf only to be disappointed by a few costly errors when it
matters most.
Nortje, too, has been on a high since his victory in Zambia and
has found himself in contention a few more times after that.
Add to those players the rookies who have been on the rise
since they got their playing cards at Qualifying School, and the field looks
even more interesting.
American Zack Byrd is the highest on the Order of Merit
while Danie van Niekerk, Herman Loubser and Luke Jerling have been some of the
most consistent thus far, and therefore should be watched closely as they all
look as if they could win this season.
Also worth a look will be members of the Gary Player Class
of 2017/18 Jacquin Hess, Musiwalo Nethunzwi and James Kamte.
Despite falling
away in the last few rounds of recent tournaments, Kamte's form has been
getting back together while Hess has been the most consistent performer from
that squad in the last two events.
Nethunzwi tasted victory on the Big Easy
Tour and will want to translate that into a win on the main tour.
The tournament tees off on Thursday.