Caylum Boon rounded out a superb week at State Mines Golf Club on Thursday with his second successive nine-under-par 63 to reach 32-under for the 72 holes of the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School Stage One.
He went bogey-free in that final round, making an eagle on the short par-five 10th and seven birdies, and, added to his opening 66, his second round of 64 and his third round of 63, he finished 13 shots clear of runner-up David Wicks of England.
His performance represented a major step towards his goal of getting his Sunshine Tour card as he led 43 players who will move on to the Final Stage of Qualifying School which tees off at Heron Banks in just over a week on April 18.
It’s a little bit of a late step towards a pro career he has always dreamed of, and it based on an amateur career during which he won two national tournaments, winning the Eastern Province Stroke Play at Humewood in 2016 and successfully defending the title in 2017 when he shot a final round 65. Other accomplishments include finishing second in the SA Amateur Championship in 2017, representing the SAGA Junior Team at Challenge IPT (2015) and winning both the U19 IPT (2015) and the Men’s IPT (2016) with the Southern Cape team. He represented Southern Cape at all age group levels from U12 through U19 and at a senior level.
There were 13 amateurs amongst the 43 who will go on to Heron Banks, and they were led by Travis Ladner, who closed with a five-under 67 to reach 17-under. It was his third score of five-under for the week, and he had a two-under 70 in the third round.
