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

SOUTHERN AFRICA TOUR: Holder shares Pezula Origins Qualifier win

/noticias.info/ Every player in the field at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour Qualifier had a chance to break into the main event, to claim one of the 21 spots on offer and have a chance to gain exemption with a win this week.

For each of the 41 hopefuls it represented a chance to claim one of the potentially 50 exempt Sunshine Tour cards on offer to the Sunshine Tour’s finest players.

But ask any golfer that their most nerve-wracking experience is and they will tell you: ”Qualifying”.

Eighteen tension fraught holes….only one chance…. And at one of the most challenging layouts on the Sunshine Tour’s winter swing, the Pezula Championship Course, a ‘Scottish Links’ style course designed by Ronald Freem and David Dale that hugs the Eastern Cape coastline and comes under constant fire from the brutal coastal winds.

For a third time in the six-leg Origins series, Darren Holder topped the leaderboard, but the 22-year old from Johannesburg looked as if he had the life whipped out of him.

“I hate these qualifiers,” sighed Holder, who signed for a five-under-par 67 to share the top spot with Johan Kok.

“Qualifiers, they drag the life out of you. It’s so tough; you stand on that first tee knowing you only have one chance; knowing there are 40 other guys out there who wants this just as bad as you.”

“You can’t afford to let your focus wane for a second. Just look at my round. I got through the first nine with three birdies, no drops and just when I thought it’s looking good, when I let my guard down just a little; I catch the rough and drop.

“Wham, bam and you’re fighting to stay alive. And this course is tough. You can’t afford to drop because it doesn’t give you a lot of opportunities to fight back.”

Holder, who earned his card at Tour School in March, is in his second season on the pro-circuit. Last year, he had six starts during the summer swing and was three for three for qualifying, but he missed all the cuts.

He has faired a smidgen better this season and ranks 71st after 10 starts. Although he hasn’t finished higher than a tie for 24th, he has survived cuts at the Stanbic Zambia Open, Suncoast Classic, Origins in Bloemfontein and the Telkom PGA Pro-Am.

But to avoid the qualifiers, he either has to win or finish top-20 every week, something he has not quite got the nick off yet.

“The qualifying rounds also have their benefits, especially for the new guys like me. I’ve learned not to get down on myself when I miss a cut. I’ve learned that you have to take it one week at a time. I’ve learned to keep my goals realistic.

"When you make the decision to turn pro, these are the odds and you better be prepared to take it on the chin. But I also learned that I don’t want to be doing this next year.”

Kok, a South African who lives in Georgia, USA, has been coming out to play the Sunshine Tour since 2004. Also chasing that elusive maiden win, Kok has started his 2006 campaign on a high note, collecting six birdies against a lone drop at the 14th to book his spot in the main event.

Twenty qualifiers dragged their bags with little enthusiasm to an assortment of rides, packed up and left for home, knowing they will have to do this all over again in two weeks at the Seekers Travel Pro-Am Qualifier at Dainfern.

But for 21 qualifiers there remains a stab at the title, the R56,520 first prize cheque and the two-year exemption that accompanies victory at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour at Pezula. notas_de_prensa_archivo