Fuente: © Southern Africa Tour
http://www.sunshinetour.com/

SOUTHERN AFRICA TOUR: Vodacom Origins Race enters the home straight

/noticias.info/ The Vodacom Origins Points Challenge race has travelled from the windy Western Cape to the country’s capital in Gauteng, from the wild coast of Natal to the freezing Free State. This week the Points Race enters the homestretch with a visit to the magnificent Pezula Championship course in Knysna.

With three events to go, the Points Race has not reached the crucial stage just yet, but, with a hefty R100,000 cash prize from sponsor Vodacom in the offing, players in and around the top end of the rankings are stepping up their bids to secure the booty.

Adilson da Silva of Brazil, who has been the man to catch since the start of the season, still leads the way at the top of the rankings. He tops the log at 182 points, and has a 27-point advantage over the man in second, leading 2006 rookie, Rossouw Loubser of Pretoria.

The 34-year old Brazilian tied for third at Arabella Golf Estate in April, shared fourth at Pretoria Country Club and second at Selborne Country Club in May and again, grabbed a share of second at Bloemfontein Golf Club in August.

Although Da Silva has not looked back since Arabella, he is far from secure in the number one spot and will surely come under fire with three events still to come.

With 60 points on offer to the winner and the points decreasing by two from second place down to 25th spot - worth 2 points - any of the players already in the higher echelons of the Points Challenge Race can still dethrone Da Silva.

The Brazilian’s biggest threat is Loubser, who placed sixth at Arabella, finished outside the cut-off mark in Pretoria, but then catapulted from nowhere to second on 155 points after back-to-back victories at Selborne and Bloemfontein.

Telkom PGA Pro-Am winner, Doug McGuigan, has also enjoyed a healthy run in the Origins series. The 36-year old Scotsman collected a total of 147 points and is ranked third after a tie for 13th at Arabella, eighth at Selborne and two runner-ups in Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

Also among the front-runners, Desvonde Botes, a two-time Origins winner in 2005.

‘Boats’, a 13-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, is fourth in the current rankings, having collected 121 points in three top-10 finishes and he aims to blast to the top of the rankings with a successful title defence at Pezula this week.

After Knysna, the Sunshine Tour players will turn their focus on the penultimate event of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour series, to be played at Fancourt’s Montagu course in George in October.

After George, the Origins series takes a four-month hiatus and returns on the summer swing in February 2007, where the Sunshine Tour’s finest players will do battle in the final event for the R100,000 cash prize on offer.

Vodacom Origins Points Challenge (Top-20)
1. Adilson da Silva BRA - 182
2. Rossouw Loubser - 155
3. Doug McGuigan - 146
4. Desvonde Botes - 121
5. Vaughn Groenewald - 107
6. Jean Hugo - 99
7. Chris Williams - 86
8. Brett Liddle - 80
9. Omar Sandys - 76
10. Keith Horne - 67
11. Grant Muller - 60
12. Dean Lambert - 58
13. Hennie Otto - 52
14. Thomas Aiken - 51
15. Alex Haindl - 49
16. Mike Lamb ZIM - 48
17. James Kamte - 45
T18. Doron Mommsen 44; Lindani Ndwandwe 44; Leonard Loxton 44

POINTS BREAKDOWN
1st – 60 Points
2nd – 48 Points
3rd – 46 Points
4th – 44 Points
5th – 42 Points
6th – 40 Points
7th – 38 Points
8th – 36 Points
9th – 34 Points
10th – 32 Points
11th – 30 Points
12th – 28 Points
13th – 26 Points
14th – 24 Points
15th – 22 Points
16th – 20 Points
17th – 18 Points
18th – 16 Points
19th – 14 Points
20th – 12 Points
21st – 10 Points
22nd – 8 Points
23rd – 6 Points
24th – 4 Points
25th – 2 Points

(NOTE: Players who tie for 25th position, will be awarded two points each.) notas_de_prensa_archivo