Honeymoon continues for newly-wed Conradie who shares lead at Blu Label Unlimited Challenge
Married life agrees with Estiaan Conradie, who a month after his wedding is sharing the lead after the first round of the Blu Label Unlimited Challenge at the Lost City Golf Course.
Conradie and fellow South African Tyran Snyders both collected 17 points under the modified stableford scoring system being used for this tournament, giving them a two-point lead over England’s Joe Sullivan.
Conradie was first in the clubhouse on Wednesday.
“I’m happy with those 17 points. I couldn’t have really asked for a better start than that. It’s a good position to be in,” he said.
“It was a good round. There was just the one bogey on the par five, which is not really what you want to do, especially with this format. I’m glad I could bounce back after that quickly. Overall, it was a good round. I gave myself lots of birdie opportunities and made lots of putts,” Conradie added.
The unique format of this tournament invites an aggressive approach, and Conradie certainly enjoyed this.
“It’s a nice format. It’s a bit different and a nice change. I’m enjoying it. Trying to be as aggressive as you can is important, especially in this tournament. You need to be aggressive and give yourself as many birdie opportunities as you can, because you need birdies to make the points.”
Snyders joined him later in the day with a round that included and eagle on the fourth hole.
And behind them, Ricky Hendler had a solid start with his 12 points in a tournament where he finished second in 2024, and at a venue he always enjoys.
“That was an amazing week in 2024. It always gives me a good vibe coming here and I always enjoy coming to Sun City. The format of this tournament allows you to play more freely and be more aggressive.”
Zimbabwe’s Stuart Krog kept the hole-in-one trend on the Sunshine Tour going for a second week in succession when he aced the par-three 15th, earning himself 100 000 SkyBucks courtesy of Fly Airlink and also joining the Airlink Aces Shoot-Out at the end of the season.
Scores
17 - Estiaan Conradie
17 - Tyran Snyders
15 - Joe Sullivan
13 - James Mack
12 - Jean-Paul Strydom
12 - Ricky Hendler, Stuart Krog
11 - Warwick Purchase
11 - Kyle Barker, Lyle Rowe
10 - Jean Hugo
10 - Samuel Simpson, Quintin Wilsnach, Martin Rohwer
9 - Nikhil Rama
9 - Dylan Mostert, Pierre Pellegrin, Pierre Viallaneix
8 - Luis Carrera
8 - George Coetzee, Austin Bautista
7 - Hennie O'Kennedy
7 - Malcolm Mitchell, Adam Breen, Luke Brown, Tristen Strydom, Gerhard Pepler, Benjamin Van Wyk, Eric Wowor, Ockie Strydom
6 - Tomas Gana
6 - Cole Stevens, Keenan Davidse, Travis Procter, Rupert Kaminski, Graham van der Merwe
5 - Kyle De Beer
5 - Justin Walters, Morris Schiefner, Agustin Errazuriz, JJ Senekal, Christiaan Burke, Jaco Prinsloo, Jonathan Broomhead
4 - Carlos Bustos
4 - Stals Swart, Jacques Blaauw, Neil Schietekat, Jason Roets, Daniel Cronje, Conner Mackenzie, Gabriel Morgan, Robson Chinhoi, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Altin van der Merwe, Stephen Ferreira
3 - Tristan Leonard
3 - Allen John, Jordan Burnand, Liam Grehan, Daniel van Tonder, Luke Jerling
2 - Doug McGuigan
2 - Charl Barnard, Keelan Africa, Benjamin Kedochim, Tristin Galant, Keagan Thomas
1 - Toto Thimba Jnr
1 - Oliver Goldhill
0 - Herman Loubser
0 - Jaco Van Zyl, Haydn Porteous, Makhetha Mazibuko, Simon du Plooy, Jacques P de Villiers, Rowan Lester
-1 - Albert Venter
-1 - Ruan Korb, Kian Rose
-3 - Matthew Spacey
-3 - Wynand Dingle
-4 - Ryan van der Klis
-6 - Jacques Van der Merwe
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