Jonathan Broomhead claimed his maiden Sunshine Tour title in the Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates on Sunday and which also wrapped up another thrilling Sunshine Tour season that has opened doors for a new generation of South African stars.

In the final tournament of the 2023-24 season, Broomhead closed with a 69 to win by two strokes on 16 under par over Louis Albertse and Rupert Kaminski.

The tournament also finalised the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.

Ryan van Velzen finished first here in a breakthrough season where he won twice. His triumph saw him secure a DP World Tour card, a place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and Major exemptions into The Open and the US PGA Championship.

“I just played so consistently and had some good finishes in big events. I’m really excited for my DP World Tour season to start later this year and to play in my first Major. I’m also very excited about playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge which I’ve been watching since I was a kid and now I can compete alongside the players I watched on TV,” said Van Velzen, who also earned a R500 000 bonus for his first-place finish on the Order of Merit.

“We’re delighted to see how the season turned out and we’ll continue to support in the next season as well. We’re very pleased with the incentives we could make for the golfers, both financially and career-wise for them,” said Craig Pitchers, Chief Executive Officer of The Courier Guy.

Robin Williams finished second on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and also earned himself a DP World Tour card as well as a R200 000 bonus. Williams was also crowned the Fortress Rookie of the Year, earning a R200 000 bonus.

“It’s amazing. It was one of my goals at the start of the year. It opens a lot of doors for me and I’m looking forward to that,” said Williams.

“We’re thrilled to be a small part of Robin’s remarkable story and we look forward to his continued success on and off the course in the future. He won the Fortress Invitational this season and it’s exciting to follow him and the other up-and-coming stars on the Sunshine Tour,” said Ryan Eichstadt, Fortress Head of Investor Relations.

Louis Albertse finished the season in third place on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy thereby claiming the last DP World Tour card on offer and a R100 000 bonus.

It was certainly a Sunday of incredible rewards for the Sunshine Tour professionals, with Broomhead leading the celebrations.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and there were going to be so many players around me giving it ago. I knew I just had to stick to my game, and my caddie and I worked really hard on not getting ahead of ourselves and staying in the moment. I was on edge coming down the last few holes but it all worked out,” said a delighted Broomhead.

Earlier in the round, Stefan Wears-Taylor decided to put the fact that he was drawn alone as the last player in the field to good use.

Wears-Taylor raced around the Serengeti layout in one hour and 27 minutes, breaking the PGA Tour record for 18 completed holes in a professional tournament set by Wesley Bryan in 2017 of one hour and 29 minutes.

Wears-Taylor shot a 79 in the process.

“When I saw I was playing alone the thought came to mind to play some speed golf. I sent my caddie a message to unload the bag with all the heavy stuff and come to the golf course with his running shoes on. It worked out well. I’m not sure if it’s an official world record, but we just pipped Wesley Bryan’s record. Perhaps the biggest challenge was putting with the faster greens and Sunday flags,” said Wears-Taylor. – Michael Vlismas.

SCORES:

272 - Jonathan Broomhead 70 66 67 69

274 - Louis Albertse 75 68 67 64, Rupert Kaminski 70 68 68 68

275 - Jayden Schaper 71 72 67 65

276 - JC Ritchie 70 70 69 67, Pieter Moolman 69 72 68 67, Neil Schietekat 69 69 68 70, Kyle Barker 70 65 69 72

277 - Daniel van Tonder 72 72 67 66, Ryan Van Velzen 72 70 69 66

278 - Gerhard Pepler 69 79 68 62, Jean Hugo 71 68 72 67

279 - Deon Germishuys 71 71 68 69, Wilco Nienaber 67 71 68 73

280 - Louis de Jager 72 67 74 67, Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 73 69 69, Casey Jarvis 69 70 72 69, Dylan Naidoo 71 68 71 70, Darren Fichardt 69 69 68 74

281 - Luca Filippi 68 75 70 68, Nikhil Rama 72 71 70 68

282 - Keenan Davidse 72 70 72 68, Peter Karmis 72 71 67 72

283 - Martin Rohwer 69 74 75 65, Jaco Van Zyl 72 75 68 68, Luke Jerling 73 71 68 71, Thomas Aiken 70 72 70 71, Lyle Rowe 69 72 71 71, Robin Williams 70 69 68 76

284 - Wynand Dingle 76 72 67 69, Jaco Ahlers 73 70 72 69

286 - Heinrich Bruiners 71 74 72 69, Anthony Michael 70 72 70 74

288 - Hennie O'Kennedy 71 69 75 73, Malcolm Mitchell 70 69 74 75

289 - Jovan Rebula 72 72 73 72

290 - Jacques Blaauw 68 75 75 72, Matthew Spacey 75 72 71 72, Danie Van Niekerk 70 76 71 73, Robson Chinhoi 71 70 73 76

296 - Hennie Otto 77 72 72 75, Jacques P de Villiers 71 74 75 76

301 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 80 65 77 79