He’s worked his butt off for this, and Daniel van Tonder goes into the Sunshine Tour’s Serengeti Playoffs at Serengeti Estates this week with the top spot on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by the Courier Guy on the line.
He’s finished second twice: In 2014, he was leading until a poor share of 55th in the final event, the South African Open Championship, cost him the top spot, and in the 2019-20 season, he finished in a share of 10th at the Tour Championship at Serengeti in the season-closer.
On Thursday, he will tee off in his 26th tournament of the season, and, with three victories under his belt, he still has to fight off challenges from Shaun Norris and Dylan Naidoo for the top spot on the Order of Merit. Norris has played just seven tournaments, and Naidoo 15, but big victories in DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournaments for both have given them a huge leg-up on the rankings.
Van Tonder has had 13 top-10 finishes to go with his three wins, and two of those top-10s were runner-up finishes where he came so close to yet more silverware.
It’s been a long and successful career for Van Tonder on the Sunshine Tour since he first hit the circuit in 2012 and won the Rookie of the Year title form his 20th-place finish on the Order of Merit that year. He finished 26th in 2013, and that was the lowest he’s ever been on the national season rankings.
He’s won just a single title in a tournament sanctioned by the DP World Tour, when he took the South African Open in 2023 at Sun City, and, despite being on the European circuit for a few years, has been unable to make a breakthrough there despite seeming to have all the tools.
After losing his card on that tour at the end of last season, he recommitted himself to playing at home, where topping the Order of Merit not only gets him back on to the DP World Tour, but also into the Open Championship. And in winning two events here co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour, he has all but sewn up his spot on the bigger circuit next year already.
While one more win on the Challenge Tour will see him promoted immediately, Van Tonder is not one to do things by half-measures. He will be gunning for the Order of Merit in South Africa too, and he knows a win – or at very least a podium finish – will give him one more push towards that goal.
With his attacking mindset – he’s made 361 birdies this season, as well as 23 eagles to top those lists on tour – he’s going to be a handful for Norris and Naidoo.
But they will both fight hard, and this week’s tournament, as well as next week’s DNi Tour Championship, will be compelling viewing as the three of them fight it out.
