Wilco Nienaber (-27) has dominated the NTT Data Pro Am, the fourth tournament of the year on the HotelPlanner Tour and the one that closes the South African swing. He started the final round with a six-shot lead and ended up winning by seven. Zero doubts. Zero anxiety. Domination.
Nienaber finished the job with solidity and practically without breaking a sweat. A round of 70 strokes on the Montagu course, with two birdies and 16 pars. Absolute control of the situation. Everything very clean. It’s the second victory of his career. The second on the Challenge Tour. The second in this same tournament, although back then, in 2021, it was called Dimension Data Pro Am.
Even then, when he won four years ago, the question lingering in the golf backstage was whether that victory would be the catapult for the definitive takeoff of the powerful South African golfer, the longest in the world unless proven otherwise. Four years later, the answer to that question is no. A resounding no. Moreover, he didn’t even manage to establish himself on the DP World Tour, despite having the card and the allure of his drives often close to 400 yards earning him a good number of invitations, not only here but also across the Atlantic.
Wilco was 20 years old when he achieved that victory. Now he’s 24, and the same question is back on the table. Will this be the breakthrough victory? Will this be the turning point the player from Bloemfontein has been seeking for his career?
Obviously, today there are many more doubts than in 2021, as four years have passed where he hasn’t confirmed the expectations placed on him. However, at the same time, he is still very young, and his game has all the resources needed to reach the top: longer than anyone, good irons, aggressive, a great short game, and splendid composure with the putter. Really, the only thing he lacks is consistency, and it probably has more to do with a mental issue than a technical one.
Who knows if this victory will unleash the beast that seems to be within him. In any case, it’s not a victory that changes your life immediately. He still has a long way to go to return to the DP World Tour. He doesn’t even have his presence among the top 20 at the end of the year secured. One victory is not enough. However, he will arrive at the next three tournaments with morale at its peak. He plays in Kenya and the two in South Africa. There, he could indeed give his life a 180-degree turn. From those three tournaments, we can draw more conclusions about whether this has served as a catapult or is simply another false alarm.
As for the Spaniards, Santi Tarrio (-14) has been the best among them. He finished in 15th place with a final card of 69 strokes, with five birdies and two bogeys. Quim Vidal (-11) delivered one of the best results on Sunday, 67 strokes, and climbed 30 positions to also get into the top 30. Meanwhile, Lucas Vacarisas (-9) and Víctor Pastor (-9) bid farewell with rounds of 70 strokes each. It won’t be a tournament that goes down in the history of the Armada, but anything that adds up should be taken as something positive.
The HotelPlanner Tour now pauses for almost a month. The next stop will be in mid-March in India.
