Hard work pays off as in-form Viljoen takes early lead

Finishes of 19^th, 15^th and 12^th so far in the Rise-Up Series have probably done a disservice to how well MJ Viljoen has been hitting the ball, but on Wednesday the Bloemfontein golfer put it all together with his putting and was able to post the really low score he has been threatening for a while.

Viljoen shot a marvellous eight-under-par 64 to claim a two-shot lead after the first round of the Vodacom Championship Unlocked at ERPM Golf Club in Boksburg, and he said afterwards that recent hard work on his putting had paid off.

“It was lovely, a good day with nice weather in the morning, and I’m very happy with how I played. A couple of things that I have been working on came together nicely,” said Viljoen, whose solitary Sunshine Tour win came three years ago at the Sun Fish River Challenge.

“In the last two years I’ve done a lot of work on my swing, getting it right technically, and maybe I neglected my putting a bit. I was just average on the greens and I’ve been working on getting the ball in the hole more.

“It took a bit of time to figure the greens out, and I don’t want to give the secret away, but then I could trust where the ball was going to go.

“I’ve played really well from tee-to-green lately and if I had made a few more 10-footers I would have won some trophies, but now that I’ve got used to my new swing and given time to that, being able to figure out my putting has helped a lot.”

Viljoen in action in the opening round at ERPM Golf Club. Picture: Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images

Viljoen dropped just one shot in the first round, on the par-four eighth (his penultimate hole), and his nine birdies held at bay a group of four golfers on six-under-par – Jake Redman, the in-form Danie van Tonder, Neil Schietekat and rookie Paul Boshoff.

Jacques Blaauw and Coert Groenewald were on five-under-par 67 and waiting in the parlour to try and snatch the lead in Thursday’s penultimate round, with a large group of five golfers behind them on four-under – the exciting young Thriston Lawrence, veteran Keith Horne, Lyle Rowe, Dylan Mostert and current order of merit leader Darren Fichardt.

Whether Viljoen would let them in, however, remained to be seen because he was certainly hungry to win again and felt right at home at the 117-year-old ERPM Golf Club, an old-fashioned parklands course.

“I grew up playing a lot here for Ekurhuleni Juniors and it was great to get something going today,” he said.

“It’s quite a tight course so I wouldn’t say you feel so comfortable, but being able to hit the ball in the right places makes it easier. If you can control the ball well then you can get a nice score here.”

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