Daniel Van Tonder (-22) is on the brink of his second consecutive victory in the Hotel Planner Tour. Two out of two. He won last week’s inaugural event at Zebula and is close to a double at Pecanwood. The South African shot 66 in the third round of the MyGolfLife Open and will head into Sunday with a three-shot lead over Danny List (-19), four over Martin Vorster (-18), five over Andreas Halvorsen (-17), and six over Kyle Barker (-16). He has lined them all up, with the Spaniard Albert Boneta (-15) positioned just a step further back after his round of 66 today. The same as the leader.
It’s clear that the victory is in Van Tonder’s hands. There are many reasons. The first is that he comes from a win, with sky-high morale. The second is that he has a significant lead. The third is that he has mastered this Pecanwood course in Pretoria, having only made two bogeys in 54 holes. The fourth is that he is excelling on the back nine, with a score of -15, so even a poor start on Sunday shouldn’t make him nervous.
However, if Van Tonder falters, he hasn’t yet, but we know how this sport of golf is, the field of contenders opens up, and that’s where Boneta comes in. Quietly, the young 23-year-old from Barcelona has already created his first chance of victory in the HotelPlanner Tour, even if it’s a remote one. It hasn’t taken him long. His second tournament with a card in this circuit and the sixth of his career.
Albert is in a hurry, quite the opposite of his starts at Pecanwood. The first three holes have been challenging for him each day, but if there’s one thing this player is demonstrating in his early professional outings, it’s a will of steel. He is undeterred by setbacks. “I’m struggling to get going, and I don’t know why. They’re not particularly difficult holes,” he admitted to Ten Golf this Saturday shortly after finishing his round.
His score on those first three holes is +3. It’s clear they are a challenge for him. Equally clear is that he knows how to recover well, and on the rest of the holes, his score, without bogeys, is -18. “I’d say the shot of the day was on the 4th. It’s a narrow par 4, where most use an iron, but I hit the driver, placed it perfectly, and left it 60 metres away. Then I hit a good wedge and left it a metre and a half to set up the round. From there, I played quite well,” he explains.
He shot seven under between holes 4 and 18, even though he doesn’t feel entirely comfortable with the wedges. “I haven’t hit them very well, and it’s hard to give yourself chances on par 4s like that. I don’t know what it is, whether it’s the grass or what, but I’m struggling to get the distances right. Really, the two best wedges were on the 4th and 11th, but otherwise, I haven’t left them close. I’ve scored by taking advantage of the par 5s and making good putts. Maybe the key is that I’ve been patient,” he notes.
The driver and putter are working very well, and he will try to move closer to the top position tomorrow, provided Van Tonder gives the world a break. As for the rest of the Spaniards, it wasn’t the moving day they needed. Víctor Pastor (-7) and Borja Virto (-6) both shot 72, insufficient on a day where the average was just over 69.
