Staff WriterThe Vodacom Origins of Golf finale rolls into Pezula Golf Estate this week, and you can almost sense Karabo Mokoena telling himself that, at long last, his season is ready to kick into gear.
And if you’re going to pick a place to spark a run, the Vodacom Origins of Golf is as good as it gets: the same rugged, breathtaking stretch of coastline where the series first opened shop in 2004.
Since then, this travelling showcase has helped turn Sunshine Tour hopefuls into stars. Win here, and history says you’ve got a real shot of climbing toward the DP World Tour—maybe even sneaking your way into a Major someday. Plenty have done it before.
Now it’s Mokoena’s turn to see whether Pezula will treat him as kindly.
A Player Quietly Building Momentum
The 28-year-old has stitched together a steady run in recent weeks—T18 at the Limpopo Championship, followed by T15 at the Stella Artois Players Championship, where he opened with a blistering 62. That sort of round gives a man ideas, even if he’s determined not to get carried away.
“Just having the opportunity to play here and prove it again is a privilege. I’m just focused on earning the opportunity to be here, and nothing more,” he said on Tuesday.
He sits 92nd on the Sunshine Tour’s Courier Guy Order of Merit, with one clear objective: finish inside the top 70 and keep his passport stamped for next season.
But confidence, in his eyes, isn’t something to strut around with. It’s more of a trickster.
“I’ve been on Tour for four years now and confidence can be detrimental. One week you have a top five and the next week you don’t know where your swing is. So I just want to put in place the things I still want to achieve and keep my focus on that, not the feeling of confidence,” he added.
The Version of Himself He Still Doesn’t Quite Trust
Ask Mokoena what’s changed this year and you won’t get a triumphant “everything.” If anything, he almost downplays his progress.
“I don’t feel like anything has changed. I’ve been playing the same but I wasn’t getting the results until now. I have become stronger and am hitting the ball further. But I just think it’s a bit of luck going my way.
I still feel like that if this version of me played against myself three years ago, that guy from three years ago would win if he could putt better. I even feel like I was fitter back then. But when the putts go in it makes a difference. That’s the case now. I also feel like I have a more relaxed mindset now.”
Only a golfer could say he’s longer, calmer, and scoring better—and in the same breath insist the old him might still win the head-to-head.
Still, he knows exactly what he wants from the week: clarity, resilience, and another step up that increasingly steep Sunshine Tour ladder.
Pezula Awaits
The Vodacom Origins of Golf finale starts Thursday and runs through Sunday on one of the most dramatic courses in South Africa. The stage is set. The wind will almost certainly misbehave. And somewhere along those clifftop fairways, Karabo Mokoena will try to turn quiet promise into something more permanent.
If he gets the putter running again, don’t rule him out.
