Albert Venter won his second Sunshine Tour title at a canter on Friday, with his closing one-under-par 71 giving him a six-stroke margin of victory in the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square Casino at Wingate Park Country Club.

In windy conditions, it was a question of making sure there were no big numbers on your card, and Venter countered four bogeys with five birdies to keep his nose in front as it had been from the very beginning when he opened with a nine-under 63 in the first round.

“It was tough out there today with the wind,” said Venter. “But I told myself that I was starting the day level with everyone else, instead of five in front, and took things from there. Of course, I noticed that everyone else was battling to score well, but I couldn’t get caught up in what other people were doing. It would have made me look at stuff that wouldn’t have helped me.”

It is that maturity which has made him a two-time winner now, after his play-off victory in the FBC Zimbabwe Open in April, and it was a vindication of the work he has put in since that first win which makes the second so sweet from him.

“I’ve put in a lot of work with my coach at Grant Veenstra Golf, Keegan Beyers, and seeing that pay off like it has now is obviously pleasing,” he said. “Also, I have a guy on my bag now, Arno Muller, who has brought a lot to the party. I played a bit of amateur golf with him, and he has brought quite a presence with him, both on the course and in preparation. It really makes a difference.”

Those six strokes were the difference, of course, but it was also noticeable that in second was Ruan Korb, who won the title in the tournament in 2020, and in third was Estiaan Conradie, who is based at Wingate Park. With those players on pursuit, he was able to keep focused in difficult conditions and to get the job done – that spoke to good preparation.

The win has taken him within striking distance of the top of Luno Order of Merit leaderboard too, as he trails leader Louis de Jager by just less than four points. Rounding into form the way he is now, things look good for him as the big summer tournaments roll around.