No longer a rookie on the Sunshine Tour, Jono Broomhead has shaken things up as he looks to take his game to the next level. For starters, the former Durbanite has set up his home base in Serengeti Estates, which is as close to the golf course – and his coaching team – as one can get.

He’s also got a new addition on his golf bag in the form of girlfriend and Sunshine Ladies Tour professional Kaylan Boshoff. After three events to begin the new season, the changes appear to be paying off, with three top-10 finishes notched up.

“We have a good dynamic because she knows my game so well,” Broomhead explains. “As a professional, she understands tournament golf and while I still prefer to do all my own yardages, she is a great sounding board when it comes to shot selection.

“She only started on the bag this year, and we nearly won at Sun City a few weeks ago [Broomhead finished tie-third]. We have already had some great results and to be able to share this experience with her is very cool.

“Travelling is easier too. A lot of people don’t enjoy the travelling because they miss home, but now I have home with me, so I don’t have much to worry about.”

Now into his second year on the Sunshine Tour, having finished seventh on the Order of Merit last year, Broomhead admits to being a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to golf. Putting his studies first, the Durban Country Club golfer only really started taking amateur golf seriously once he had completed his degree, by which time he was into his twenties.

“My mother was more focused on me finishing school and my studies, and told me I had more than enough time to play golf when I was done,” he says. “I did a B Comm degree at Varsity College and only when I finished that did I give golf a proper go.”

A win at the 2021 KwaZulu-Natal Amateur, played at his home course of Durban Country Club, certainly altered Broomhead’s trajectory. More victories quickly followed and he rose rapidly to No 1 on the GolfRSA Amateur Ranking.

A win at the South African Stroke Play Championship at Randpark in 2022 earned him a call-up to the GolfRSA National Squad to compete in the United Kingdom, where Broomhead once again delivered on the big stage, winning the strokeplay qualifier for The Amateur Championship.

“I gave 2022 to amateur golf to see how far I could get as an amateur,” he says. “I got to No 1 and I was there for quite a while, which was cool.

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“All the exposure to tournament golf and different conditions, like links golf, helped prepare me for life as a pro. By the end of that year, I felt like it was my time to turn professional.”

Having eased through Qualifying School, Broomhead could barely have asked for a better start as a pro. After three rounds of his first professional tournament, the Zimbabwe Open, the rookie was within touching distance of a maiden win.

“It was an amazing experience,” he says. “I got myself into the final group on the last day. The front nine was going well and then, well, golf happened.”

Broomhead closed with a round of 77 and fell back into a tie for eighth. Still, he was able to draw on the positives of being in contention and pocketed a cheque for almost R40 000 in his first start.

“Being in that position helped me learn,” he says. “I had multiple chances to win, but I couldn’t get it done. The more you put yourself in that position, the more you learn what to do and what not to do. Obviously there will be times when things are out of your control, but it’s about learning to handle the pressure moments.”

Throughout a dream rookie season, Broomhead found himself in contention a number of times, racking up eight top-10s. At his final event, the Tour Championship, he managed to get over the line.

“Everything had been trending towards that win,” he says. “I had been playing well, and I knew I was in contention, but I hadn’t looked at a leaderboard. When I birdied the 17th I heard someone in the crowd – I think it was my dad – shout a little louder than they should have, so I suspected it was quite important.

“On the 18th, I hit my approach on to the front edge of the green and had quite a long putt. I said to my caddie Garrick, ‘If we three-putt, are we OK?’ He said it would be fine, so that really relaxed me. When I made that second putt for par, I was in shock. There was suddenly so much emotion and I wasn’t sure what to do.

“But having got that first win, it makes me want to be in that position more and more.”

More wins seem certain to be on the cards for one of South Africa’s hottest young prospects – and they will be even better having his girlfriend alongside him all the way.

IMAGES: TYRONE WINFIELD/SHAUN ROY/CARL FOURIE/SUNSHINE TOUR