Ryan van Velzen claimed his maiden victory on the Sunshine Tour in a dramatic final round of the Limpopo Championship at the Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate on Sunday.

At the end of a difficult week of weather delays which forced the tournament to be reduced to 54 holes, the 21-year-old Van Velzen signed for a final round of 68 to win by a single stroke on 12 under par. Jaco Prinsloo, Luca Filippi and Daniel van Tonder shared second place on 11 under par. Former South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) member Franklin Manchest achieved an impressive top 10 finish on seven under par.

A thrilling Sunday began with the suspended second round being completed on Sunday morning. Prinsloo posted a 67 – including four consecutive birdies on the back nine – to claim a two-stroke lead on 11 under par, with Neil Schietekat his nearest challenger on nine under par. Van Velzen was in a share of third place on eight under par.

In the third and final round, Prinsloo appeared to be well in control and headed for victory as he birdied the 16th for a one-stroke lead over Van Velzen with only the par-five 18th to come. Van Velzen had already made it into the clubhouse on 12 under.

But Prinsloo double bogeyed the 18th after hitting his approach deep into the left rough, with Van Velzen watching as he celebrated his first victory on the Sunshine Tour.

“It’s incredible. It’s awesome,” said an emotional Van Velzen. “This changes everything for me. I’m now into every single Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament next season.”

Van Velzen’s putter was the key for him this week. “I’ve been working really hard and I holed some good putts. I also stayed really calm during all the weather disruptions. My caddie Luke was such a big help for me. He kept me in a good space and we just had a good time out there. I’d set myself a target for 15 under overall. I didn’t get there, but I played unbelievable golf this whole week and had so much fun out there.” – Michael Vlismas

Final Scores:
-12 – Ryan Van Velzen 69 67 68
-11 – Jaco Prinsloo 66 67 72, Luca Filippi 71 68 66, Daniel van Tonder 71 66 68
-10 – Jean-Paul Strydom 71 69 66
-9 – Neil Schietekat 66 69 72, Jbe’ Kruger 69 71 67, James Hart du Preez 72 67 68
-8 – Wynand Dingle 68 70 70
-7 – Stephen Ferreira 69 68 72, Franklin Manchest 71 68 70
-6 – Hennie du Plessis 67 69 74, Malcolm Mitchell 71 71 68, Jacques Blaauw 66 73 71
-5 – Louis Albertse 71 72 68, Clayton Mansfield 70 71 70, Herman Loubser 70 68 73, Clinton Grobler 73 70 (-4) [17]
-4 – Christiaan Burke 69 67 76, Keagan Thomas 72 69 71, Hennie O’Kennedy 69 73 (-2) [17]
-3 – Ruan Conradie 71 72 70, Martin Vorster 72 71 70, Tristen Strydom 74 68 71, Pieter Moolman 71 70 72, Keenan Davidse 70 71 72, James Mack 73 67 73, Yurav Premlall 70 70 73, Deon Germishuys 69 71 73
-2 – Jacques P de Villiers 73 71 70, Rhys West 70 73 71, Madalitso Muthiya 72 70 72, Rupert Kaminski 73 68 73, Casey Jarvis 70 70 74, Jacques Kruyswijk 70 72 (Par) [17]
-1 – Paul Boshoff 72 72 71, Lyle Rowe 71 73 71, Michael Hollick 69 74 72, Peter Karmis 73 70 72, Jean Hugo 74 67 74, Danie Van Niekerk 70 71 74, Ruan Korb 70 70 75
Par – Heinrich Bruiners 73 72 71, Harry Konig 73 71 72, Hayden Griffiths 74 69 73, Callum Mowat 71 71 74
+1 – Chris Cannon 71 74 72, Kyle Barker 73 72 72, Combrinck Smit 71 74 72, Fredrik From 72 73 72, Jovan Rebula 72 72 73, Steve Surry 73 70 74
+2 – Doug McGuigan 74 71 73, Adam Breen 73 71 74, Wallie Coetsee 74 70 74, Sean Cronje 72 70 76
+3 – Albert Venter 74 70 75
+4 – CJ du Plessis 74 70 76, Quintin Wilsnach 68 75 77
+5 – Karabo Mokoena 73 71 77
+8 – Therion Nel 72 73 79
RTD – Stefan Wears-Taylor 71 70 RTD [16]

Photo Credit: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour