The first event on the 2020 Road to Mallorca is in the bag, with JC Ritchie securing his first European Challenge Tour title at the co-sanctioned Limpopo Championship. Here is what you might have missed from an entertaining week in South Africa…
Home domination
South Africans dominated the opening event of the season, with homegrown players occupying the top five places on the leaderboard. JC Ritchie followed in the footsteps of notable former South African Challenge Tour winners, including Trevor Immelman and Erik van Rooyen, by securing his maiden win on the circuit, with Wilco Nienaber, Jacques Kruyswijk and Louis de Jager all making early points gains on the Road to Mallorca Rankings. Meanwhile, The Sunshine Tour’s Hennie du Plessis also impressed to finish third.
One to watch
Nienaber has long been touted as one of South Africa’s brightest young stars and he continued to demonstrate his budding talent with a final day charge at Euphoria Golf Club.
The 19-year-old, who is starting his first full season as a professional, holed out from the fairway on the seventh hole to jump into contention on the final day, before going on to card a five under par round of 67 to finish the week in second position. Be sure to keep a close eye on the teenager as he continues his search for his maiden professional title.
Birdies 4 Rhinos
Challenge Tour players got the full bushveld experience at last week’s two co-host venues, Euphoria Golf Club and Koro Creek Golf Club, with a wide variety of wildlife, including zebras and ostriches, roaming the fairways. South Africa’s beautiful ecosystem is particularly close to the heart of South African Jaco Ahlers who is one of several high profiles players who work to support the Birdies 4 Rhinos charity. We caught up with him to find out why the charity’s work is so vital:
Sometimes golf isn't just a game 🦏@Birdies4Rhinos #LimpopoChampionship pic.twitter.com/fSBpknKxPD
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) January 31, 2020
Rankings race under way
The Limpopo Championship marked the first of 25 events on the 2020 Road to Mallorca, with the Challenge Tour’s first foray in South Africa beginning the race to secure the 20 European Tour cards up for grabs at the end of the season. With victory, JC Ritchie currently tops the Rankings with 35,718 points, a lead he will attempt to extend at the RAM Cape Town Open, which takes place from February 6-9. It is worth noting that for the last three years, the winner of the opening event has gone on to graduate at the end of the season.
