In the end, not even bogeys on nine and 18 could dampen the celebrations for MJ Viljoen on Friday as he cruised to his second Sunshine Tour title when he won the SunBet Challenge hosted by Wild Coast Sun.
Viljoen won his first title back in 2017 at another coastal course, Fish River Sun, and he came close again this year in the Kit Kat Group Pro-Am when he was runner-up. This week, opening rounds of five-under 65 and six-under 66 put him in pole position heading into the final round, and, despite a closing charge by Stephen Ferreira with a six-under 64, Viljoen’s two-under 68 was enough to give him a three-stroke margin over Ferreira and Pieter Moolman who finished on 10-under-par for the 54 holes.
Birdies by Viljoen on two, three and seven put him in the driving seat early on, and the bogeys which rounded out each of his nine were of little consequence. He made one more birdie on the homeward nine, and with Ferreira in the clubhouse earlier in the day and with Moolman making four bogeys in a roller-coaster closing nine, it was clear he was not going to be headed.
His win boosted him from ninth to fifth on the Sunshine Tour’s Luno Order of Merit, putting him in line for the best performance on that list of his career. He finished 10th on the 2019-20 list, and he’s now within a few more good performances of the top of that leaderboard which is occupied by Albert Venter.
Notable amongst finishers behind the top three players was rookie Martin Vorster. The former South African number one amateur pulled off his first top-10 on the Sunshine Tour with his fourth-place finish. He closed with a level-par 70 for nine-under to be one clear of another top amateur recently turned pro, Christiaan Burke. Burke shared fifth with a man who has won at the Wild Coast, Madalitso Muthiya of Zambia. It was also Burke’s first top-10 on the Sunshine Tour, as it was for another new pro Jordan Duminy with his share of seventh on seven-under.
For Viljoen, the win vindicated his decision to do some work with a new coach in search of renewing that drive which he showed in getting his first win five years ago. And the manner of the victory indicated he will be a contender for the rest of the season too.
