RIPPING IT

Danie van Tonder’s renewed perspective is helping him face new challenges. Ken Borland

Danie van Tonder says it feels marvellous to be based back in South Africa again, but the challenge of making it on an overseas Tour still appeals to him, and the 33-year-old is thinking about perhaps having a go at the Asian Tour and hopefully LIV Golf.

But what about a return to the DP World Tour and playing in Europe, the usual route to the top for South African golfers?

“Never again,” Van Tonder says emphatically. "What I mean is, I'll play for five weeks and come back home for six. I'll never play for long stretches again like I've done in the past."

The 2021 South African Open champion enjoyed a successful first full season on the DP World Tour that year, winning the Kenya Savannah Classic and finishing 75th on the Race to Dubai rankings with more than €340 000 in prize money for the season. Having also won five Sunshine Tour tournaments in the previous eight months, it seemed his career was heading to great heights.

But 2022 and 2023 were years of struggle for Van Tonder as he finished 125th and 117th respectively on the Order of Merit, resulting in him losing his DP World Tour card. For the self-taught golfer from Boksburg, the slog of campaigning in Europe was not for him.

That realisation was confirmed in August when he won the FNB Eswatini Challenge at Nkonyeni Lodge and Golf Estate, his first victory since his massive SA Open triumph at Gary Player Country Club in December 2021. Van Tonder’s two-stroke victory in Eswatini came after he had taken a long break from competitive action.

“It was great to win again, my previous title was the SA Open three years ago. So there was a bit of a drought, but I went through some big changes after being on the road for so long. It becomes a grind and you’re just not able to fix things in your game,” he says.

“I had six weeks at home before playing in Eswatini and that helped. I felt great coming into the tournament and I’m finally seeing the results of the work I’ve been able to put into my game.

“Playing week after week on the DP World Tour, you begin to get into bad habits and you try to fix them, but you don’t really have the time to make the changes you need to, or to improve your game. I won’t be doing that again, I need to take breaks.”

“I’m finally seeing the results of the work I’ve been able to put into my game”

FAVOURITE COURSES

• Carnoustie

• Leopard Creek

• Gary Player Country Club

• Glendower

• Serengeti

(“Nkonyeni is very close to the top 5 because it was fun to play,” he says.)

WHAT’S IN HIS BAG?

• Titleist TSR3 driver

• Titleist TSi 3-wood

• Titleist GT 5-wood

• Titleist CB irons 3-9

• Titleist Vokey SM10 wedge, gap-wedge and lob-wedge

• Scotty Cameron Futura MB putter

Van Tonder then sealed his comeback with a win at the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge at Kyalami Country Club in early September. After his 10th Sunshine Tour victory, the Serengeti Estates golfer said: “I’ve been playing well for a while, so it’s nice to be able to pluck the fruit from the tree, so to speak... the game is there.”

The LIV Tour is still the subject of much chat in Sunshine Tour locker rooms, especially since the Asian Tour sanctions the International Series, made up of 10 events, which provides a route to Greg Norman’s breakaway league.

Van Tonder is forthright in admitting that the LIV Tour has caught his eye.

“I like to take driver and hit it long and far and straight. That’s why if I do play overseas, I would prefer to be on the Asian Tour because I love the thought of playing LIV. I think they would enjoy me on that Tour, the way I play and my personality. I’m always aiming for a lot of birdies,” he says.

Playing LIV, which only has 14 events a year, would also allow Van Tonder to take those breaks from golf he needs to keep himself fresh. Plus each event is only played over three rounds and there’s a more relaxed dress code.

He is more of a traditionalist, though, when it comes to equipment and he says he is looking forward to the golf ball rollback that will come into force in 2028.

“I use the Titleist Pro V1 23X which everyone plays with. To use the older one would be a disadvantage because it goes shorter, but I will go back to it when the rollback happens because those are the distances we’ll be returning to. I’m looking forward to the change,” he says.

“I still have my old Titleist 620 CB irons and I waited eight months for my old putter to be refurbished. It kinda works so I stick with it.”

Which is typical of a golfer who may be idiosyncratic, but he is his own man and his record speaks for itself.

How does Van Tonder prepare before a round?

“Every day is different: sometimes I will do weights to get loose, on other days I will listen to music. I enjoy David Crowder’s music, pump-up music or a mix of everything.”