Staff WriterThe Vodacom Origins of Golf may have opened under a blanket of mist at Gowrie Farm Lodge & Golf Course on Friday, but one rookie wasn’t squinting at the fog—he was staring down the leaderboard.
Sunshine Tour newcomer Ryan van der Klis carved out a six-under-par charge before darkness stopped play, leaving him perched at the summit with three holes still in his pocket.
Play will resume at 7 am Saturday, thanks to the Midlands’ weather acting more like a curtain call than an opening act. When the horn sounded, Van der Klis held a slender one-stroke lead over Samuel Simpson, who still has nine holes to finish, and Christiaan Burke, who has three left to bargain with.
For Van der Klis, it’s another quick step in what already looks like a sprinting career. The Augusta University alum only turned pro this year and wasted little time making noise, picking up silverware on the Betway Big Easy Tour.
Not that he’s alone in the hunt. Australia’s Austin Bautista, three-under with nine holes on the go, is sniffing back-to-back Sunshine Tour wins after bagging the Sunbet Challenge Wild Coast Sun last week.
And just to prove the fairways weren’t entirely a boys’ club, Gabrielle Venter and Kelsey Nicholas led the Sunshine Ladies Tour contingent at level par through nine holes.
While the pros were trading birdies and bogeys, the locals had their own theatre in the build-up. The two-day pro-am crowned Gowrie Farm’s very own Colin Hardie, who racked up 85 points alongside Sunshine Tour regulars Warwick Purchase and Dylan Mostert. Hardie punched his golden ticket to the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am Final at Pezula in November.
“This was my first experience of the Vodacom Origins of Golf and it was absolutely humbling to see just how good the Sunshine Tour professionals are and to spend two days inside the ropes with them. I was blown away by the experience,” Hardie said, still buzzing from his walk inside the ropes.
As Saturday dawns, all eyes return to Van der Klis. Mist or no mist, the rookie has made his intentions crystal clear: he’s not here just to make up the numbers—he’s here to win.
