A series of top-10 finishes this season and a beautiful opening round of 7-under-par 65 at the Sun Boardwalk Challenge at Humewood Golf Club suggest that Danie van Tonder wants to rekindle the fire that saw him win twice on the Sunshine Tour in 2014.
His opening round at Humewood, plus several good finishes – like the ones from the Wild Coast, Arabella, Sun City and Sishen, all since the beginning of August – suggest a win on tour this season might be around the corner, and Van Tonder is feeling it.
‘I’ve found my form again. I’m quite positive about everything and I’m enjoying the golf. I am quite happy. I was playing well. I was hitting that ball on the line and putting well and chipping well. I didn’t miss many greens,’ he said after his opening round at Humewood.
His best season came in 2014 when he finished in the top-10 14 times, winning two events and following those up with five top-10 finishes last season in what was a quiet year for him. In 2014, having won the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Euphoria and the Investec Royal Swazi Open, he finished the season lying second on the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit.
The 25-year-old who plays out of Ebotse Links will not let anything come between him and his first win of the season, not even the wind blowing at Humewood.
‘Playing in the wind is not that hard. The only thing you need to do is get under the wind and hit the ball straight. You can’t hit skew out there otherwise you will lose a few balls so I just keep it simple; hit it low and just keep it straight. So I don’t mind the wind because it’s the same for everyone playing,’ he said.
Judging from his recent displays and record of the past two seasons, it is not unfair to conclude that a win for Van Tonder on tour this season may come sooner rather than later.