Daniel van Tonder clearly has an affinity for Eswatini. The South African professional won the FNB Eswatini Challenge by two strokes at the Nkonyeni Lodge and Golf Estate on Saturday to claim his third victory in the kingdom.
Van Tonder closed with a final round of 68 to win on 14-under par overall and collect his first victory on the Sunshine Tour since the 2021 South African Open Championship.
Yurav Premlell took second place on 12-under par with an impressive final round of 63 and Jason Roets finished third on 10-under par after a 73.
This is Van Tonder’s ninth Sunshine Tour title but it’s his third in Eswatini after claiming his debut Sunshine Tour victory in the country in 2014 and then adding another here in 2020. He can also add a second place in 2012 to this list.
Van Tonder has been building towards this success following his finishes of eighth, fourth and 20th in his previous three Sunshine Tour events.
He was level par through 12 holes of his final round with Premlall busy putting together his magnificent round and challenging for his first Sunshine Tour title.
The young star birdied three of his first four holes as he went out in 30. He came home in 33 strokes and was leading on his own towards the end of his round before Van Tonder overtook him with two birdies and an eagle in his last six holes.
“That was quite something. I did everything I could to get myself into a winning position. I just gave myself chances the whole way through to see where I ended up,” Premlall said after claiming the highest finish of his Sunshine Tour career.
Kyle de Beer’s finish of fifth – his best on the Sunshine Tour this season – kept him at the top of the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings.
The Sunshine Tour will have a week’s break before the start of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series from 16-18 August.
Scores
202 - Daniel van Tonder 68 66 68
204 - Yurav Premlall 71 70 63
206 - Jason Roets 67 66 73
207 - Neil Schietekat 68 69 70
208 - Kyle De Beer 69 70 69
209 - Jacques Blaauw 73 70 66, Samuel Simpson 71 71 67, Jonathan Broomhead 75 65 69
210 - Martin Rohwer 71 72 67, Ethan Smith 68 74 68, Franklin Manchest 69 70 71, Lyle Rowe 71 67 72
211 - MJ Viljoen 70 71 70, Graham van der Merwe 70 70 71, Keenan Davidse 69 68 74
212 - Brandon Meads 72 72 68, Nick Cunningham 71 71 70, Luke Brown 72 68 72
213 - Thanda Mavundla 69 75 69, Rourke van der Spuy 69 74 70, Otto Van Buynder 75 68 70, Combrinck Smit 67 72 74
214 - Therion Nel 70 73 71, Allister de Kock 70 73 71
215 - Stuart Krog 72 73 70, Leon Visser 71 73 71, Stephen Ferreira 67 74 74
216 - Kyle Barker 75 70 71, Stals Swart 74 71 71, James Hart du Preez 71 73 72, Robson Chinhoi 71 72 73, Dan Erickson 71 70 75, Callum Mowat 74 66 76
217 - Jean Hugo 71 74 72, Hennie O'Kennedy 73 72 72, Keagan Thomas 72 72 73, Luke Jerling 73 71 73, Travis Ladner 72 72 73, Ryan Van Velzen 74 69 74, Ruan Korb 73 70 74, Danie Van Niekerk 71 72 74, Altin van der Merwe 69 71 77
218 - Gerhard Pepler 78 67 73, Albert Venter 73 72 73, Christiaan Burke 72 72 74, Jacques P de Villiers 72 71 75, Sean Bradley 72 69 77
219 - Dayne Moore 74 71 74, Hayden Griffiths 72 72 75
221 - Ruan Groenewald 74 71 76, Ruan Conradie 72 73 76, Jovan Rebula 75 70 76
223 - Dylan O'Leary 75 67 81
225 - Steven Le Roux 74 69 82
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