Simon plans ahead following Vusi Ngubeni triumph

Thabang Simon couldn’t hide his happiness following his hard-fought victory in last week’s Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament, which guaranteed him and 12 others playing privileges in the upcoming season of the Sunshine Tour.

The Soweto Country Club player had it all to do in the final round as Thanda Mavundla, Thabiso Ngcobo, and Slenda Sithebe, among others, were piling on the pressure. In the end, however, his final-round 69 took his tournament total to 17-under and handed him a one-stroke win over Mavundla.

“It was very tough, I’m telling you,” said Simon. “The guys wanted to win it too but I stayed focused and reminded myself that I know what’s my number. I told myself that I needed to get it to 18-under and I’ll be okay, but 17-under is still fine with me. But I am so happy to finally get it done. It’s been a long time since I won at ERPM.

“This is a very important week for most of us here and it was always going to be tough. But, I always play the golf course rather than playing a man. It was important to keep fighting and playing good shots because that gave me opportunities and I was able to take advantage of some.”

At 49, Simon is no youngster and is fully aware of this. He admits that he still has enough in him to compete at the highest level but knows he will have to start thinking about the senior circuit at some point soon.

“This win means a lot to me because I’m close to being a senior now; I’m one minute close,” he says with loud laugher. “Now, here comes the Vusi Ngubeni title, just before these youngsters start thinking I’m done. My goal is to keep my Sunshine Tour card this season and see if I can’t compete for a couple of years but after that, I will definitely think about going into the seniors. I’ll be 50 next year, so I might as well start thinking about that path.

“I had a look at the entry list before we came here and some of these guys are really young. But, what impressed me the most is just the strength of this year’s Vusi field. I told my friend it was going to be a tough one and we needed to prepare well. The guys here are really good, and the youngsters are exceptional too. It’s really good competition and I’m looking forward to the Sunshine Tour. We will then see from there if we can try the seniors.”

Along with Simon, Mavundla, Sithebe and Ngcobo, here are the other players who secured their Sunshine Tour statuses for next season.

Scores:
271 - Thabang Simon 67 67 68 69
272 - Thanda Mavundla 70 67 68 67
274 - Thabiso Ngcobo 71 69 66 68
276 - Slenda Sithebe 68 68 68 72
277 - Jastice Mashego 73 65 70 69, Teboho Sefatsa 74 68 66 69
278 - Lyle Pedro 71 74 66 67, Jabulane Mabilane 67 71 70 70
279 - Kayle Wykes 73 67 72 67
280 - Sentanio Minnie 72 73 68 67, Tristin Galant 68 73 68 71, Trevor Mahoney 69 73 67 71
281 - Irvin Mazibuko 70 70 72 69, Mike Maile 71 69 72 69
282 - Wade Jacobs 73 70 71 68, Siyanda Mwandla 73 68 72 69, Lincon Denzy Cele 75 67 70 70
283 - Tumelo Molloyi 74 72 67 70, Shaydon Johnson 72 71 71 69, Keelan Africa 73 72 70 68, Lwazi Gqira 71 70 69 73
284 - Jacquin Hess 71 68 74 71, James Kamte 71 72 70 71, Aneurin Gounden 70 73 69 72, Sipho Bujela 71 71 68 74, Richard Kruger 67 68 72 77
285 - Dwayne Basson 73 69 72 71, Sabelo Xolani Majola 70 75 71 69, Brandon Moodley 73 73 70 69, Umar Davids 72 72 74 67
286 - Letsoso Letsai 71 72 71 72, Steven Le Roux 73 73 70 70
287 - Jonathan Williams 71 71 71 74
288 - Khanya Mkhize 73 70 70 75, Adriel Poonan 68 67 75 78, Lindani Ndwandwe 74 71 72 71, Karabo Mokoena 75 70 72 71
289 - Ace Andile Adam 75 70 70 74
290 - Siphiwe Siphayi 76 69 72 73
291 - John Bele 75 71 69 76, Sibusiso Magagula 69 74 74 74, Mark Maart 70 73 74 74
293 - Hayden Garcia 68 69 78 78
294 - Shalan Govender 74 71 75 74
295 - Llewellyn Leibrandt 78 65 75 77, Carlos Losper 72 73 74 76, Kael Strydom 73 71 76 75
296 - Alee Solomon 76 69 72 79, Ricco Motsa 72 74 76 74, Jarryd Govender 72 73 78 73
301 - Boeta Nasie 71 73 79 78
RTD - Terence Mogapi 72 69 76 RTD