Everything seemed set for the victory of Altin Van der Merwe at the SDC Open. The young South African golfer, champion of the Africa Amateur Championship in 2024, was sailing smoothly on the final day of the SDC Open, the inaugural tournament of the season on the HotelPlanner Tour, the new name for the Challenge. He reached -20 after seven holes, and his closest rival was four strokes behind. At that moment, Daniel Van Tonder was eight strokes adrift. He wasn’t even in the picture…
But golf never ceases to remind us how difficult it is to win and that you should never count your chickens before they hatch. Surely more than one or two thought that Alex del Rey, for example, had it in the bag in Ras al Khaimah when he was five strokes ahead with six holes to go. It’s true that he ended up winning comfortably, but what needs to be appreciated in these cases is the way the Madrid native closed out the victory, as we know that such certainties can be deceptive.
How could it be that Van Tonder made up eight strokes on Van der Merwe in just eleven holes? Well, the math is simple. Altin finished with a four-over-par, with a double bogey and two bogeys in that stretch, and Daniel scored four-under, including an incredible streak of four birdies in the last four holes. This way, he managed to tie at the top of the leaderboard and eventually secured the victory in the playoff.
Van der Merwe will have to wait for the next opportunity. Now he has the chance to show his talent by recovering from a setback of this nature. This is also how great players are forged. Meanwhile, Van Tonder, known as the buffalo for the noise he makes every time he hits the ball, found himself with a victory he wasn’t counting on at all. He has laid the first stone for his return to the DP World Tour.
As for the Spaniards, Lucas Vacarisas (-11) opened the season with a valuable top 10 at the SDC Open. He signed a very hard-fought PAR card today, with a solitary bogey and a birdie. He finished in ninth place.
It wasn’t a great day for the Spaniards, except for Sebas García Rodríguez (-6), who shot 68 to sneak into the top 30. Important points that could be worth gold at the end of the season. Additionally, Albert Boneta (-7) finished with a round of 74, in 26th place, not bad for a first Challenge tournament with a card, as well as Adri Arnaus (-6), another top 30 playing at par, Quim Vidal (-5) with a final round over par, and Borja Virto (-5) with a farewell round of 71 strokes.
