Staff WriterLuis Carrera might be the only man in professional golf whose game is as sharp as his taste for South African biltong.
The Mexican sensation, who has fallen head over heels for the country’s fairways and flavours, will be striding down the Parys Golf & Country Estate this week for the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series — that’s Parys in the Free State, not Paris with a baguette.
The 25-year-old is in the kind of form that makes seasoned pros mutter into their yardage books. Carrera burst onto the Sunshine Tour in storybook fashion, becoming the first player in its history to win Qualifying School and then immediately snatch the first two tournaments of the season — the FBC Zim Open and the Kit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am — as if they were on a 2-for-1 special.
He’s now perched at the top of both the Courier Guy Order of Merit and the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings.
His next stop? The Sunshine Tour’s most storied stage — the Vodacom Origins of Golf — a series that’s been producing future global champions since 2004, some of whom have gone on to Major glory.
And the only reason he’s even here is thanks to a plan hatched with a few Colombian friends.
“I had a couple of friends from Colombia who were going to come to the Sunshine Tour Qualifying School in April this year. We decided on the Sunshine Tour because it gives you something more and you can jump to another level like the HotelPlanner Tour, DP World Tour and even the PGA Tour.
It also has a lot of tournaments so you get into the rhythm of playing the whole year, and the prize money is very good too,” says Carrera.
In the end, the Colombians didn’t make it. “So I came alone. I was a bit nervous about that, but it seems to have worked out well.”
Born and raised in Mexico, Carrera was introduced to the game by his father at the tender age of three. By 18, he’d packed his bags for the United States to play college golf, winning the Canadian Amateur in 2022 before turning professional in June 2023. Until recently, he was even self-coached — proof that his swing is powered as much by instinct as it is by mechanics.
Now, he’s chasing a third Sunshine Tour title, a spot in the Vodacom Origins history books, and maybe a few more sightings of South African wildlife along the way.
“I think it’s wonderful here. I like the nature. At one of the tournaments we saw monkeys on the course – that was unreal.
I was so impressed by the wildlife. I also love the biltong. And the South African players are super nice to me,” he says.
As the calendar flips into August, Carrera’s position looks ideal for a run into the Sunshine Tour’s co-sanctioned events with the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour later this year. His ambitions, as you might expect, stretch beyond Parys and the Free State horizon.
“I’d like to play the whole season on the Sunshine Tour and finish in a good spot so I can hopefully get into the co-sanctioned events. Right now my dream is to play on the DP World Tour and in the Majors.”
If his current form holds — and his supply of biltong doesn’t run dry — Luis Carrera could be the next name the Sunshine Tour exports to the world stage. And if that happens, somewhere between Mexico and the Majors, there’ll be a South African butcher who can claim part of the credit.
