Pepler ‘zones in’ on Irene lead

Stimpmeter · May 24, 2024, 6:45am

The bold and exciting approach of Gerhard Pepler and the controlled, clinical golf of Leon Vorster had the same outcome on Thursday as they both shot outstanding 65s in the first round of the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am at the beautiful rural setting of the Irene Country Club to share the lead on seven under par.

Both golfers began their rounds on the 10th hole and Vorster made a strong birdie-birdie start. The 27-year-old would collect further birdies on the par-four 15th and par-five 17th holes to reach the turn in a faultless four-under 32.

Pepler’s round made for vivid reading: He had birdied the 10th and then made three pars as he reached the 432m par-four 14th, which he triple-bogeyed for a seven having gone out-of-bounds off the tee.

He immediately rebounded by driving the 308m par-four 15th and sinking a 10-foot putt for eagle.

The representative of Mogol Golf Club in Lephalele (Ellisras) then sank a superb 20-foot downhill, double-breaking putt for birdie on the par-three 16th, before a tremendous drive on the par-five 17th left him with just 122m in and he hit a sand-wedge to 2.5m for another eagle.

A birdie at the par-four 18th meant Pepler was also out in 32.

The 24-year-old also started the front nine in rollercoaster fashion, going birdie-bogey-birdie, but he then settled down with a string of pars before finishing strong with birdies on the 8th and 9th holes.

“I must admit I was mentally tired after that stretch on the back nine,” Pepler said.

“On 14 my plan beforehand had been to hit a punchy, cut Driver but then on the tee-box I decided to take a two-iron and I hit it straight right into the cows. I just don’t like that hole, I always just see the out-of-bounds on the right and my 3rd was almost out-of-bounds again, but it hit a tree. I then chipped out and two-putted for the seven.

“So I was angry after that and I took my two-iron again on 15, it pitched front-edge and ran to 10 feet from the hole. I said to my caddie that we can still turn level par, but I guess I was just in the zone.

“After my bogey on the 2nd – my approach was probably my worst shot of the round, on to the road and into the hazard – I was just determined not to lose any more of what I had gained on the front nine.”

Vorster made a grand start to his back nine by birdieing the 1st and 2nd holes, and birdies on the 6th and 9th holes made up for a bogey on the par-three 4th hole.

The Parys Golf and Country Estate representative is not just using his triumph last month on the Altron Big Easy Tour as his door into the Sunshine Tour, but also carrying through the confidence he gained by winning the final of that feeder Tour at nearby Blue Valley Golf and Country Estate.

Stefan Wears-Taylor was one shot off the lead after shooting a 66. The Centurion Country Club golfer also began his round on the 10th and reached the turn in one under, but he would tear through the front-nine in five-under 31.

Martin Rohwer also finished on the front nine, and came home in 32 to join Wears-Taylor in the tie for second on six under par.

Photo: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour

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