By Michael Vlismas.
Caption: Estiaan Conradie. Photo Credit: Shaun Roy/Sunshine Tour.
Sun City, North West – Married life agrees with Estiaan Conradie, who a month after his wedding is sharing the lead after the first round of the Blu Label Unlimited Challenge at the Lost City Golf Course.
Conradie and fellow South African Tyran Snyders both collected 17 points under the modified stableford scoring system being used for this tournament, giving them a two-point lead over England’s Joe Sullivan.
Conradie was first in the clubhouse on Wednesday.
“I’m happy with those 17 points. I couldn’t have really asked for a better start than that. It’s a good position to be in,” he said.
“It was a good round. There was just the one bogey on the par five, which is not really what you want to do, especially with this format. I’m glad I could bounce back after that quickly. Overall, it was a good round. I gave myself lots of birdie opportunities and made lots of putts,” Conradie added.
The unique format of this tournament invites an aggressive approach, and Conradie certainly enjoyed this.
“It’s a nice format. It’s a bit different and a nice change. I’m enjoying it. Trying to be as aggressive as you can is important, especially in this tournament. You need to be aggressive and give yourself as many birdie opportunities as you can, because you need birdies to make the points.”
Snyders joined him later in the day with a round that included and eagle on the fourth hole.
And behind them, Ricky Hendler had a solid start with his 12 points in a tournament where he finished second in 2024, and at a venue he always enjoys.
“That was an amazing week in 2024. It always gives me a good vibe coming here, and I always enjoy coming to Sun City. The format of this tournament allows you to play more freely and be more aggressive.”
Zimbabwe’s Stuart Krog kept the hole-in-one trend on the Sunshine Tour going for a second week in succession when he aced the par-three 15th, earning himself 100 000 SkyBucks courtesy of Fly Airlink and also joining the Airlink Aces Shoot-Out at the end of the season.