Meet one of the newest members of the Challenge Tour, Slovenian Žan Luka Štirn. We trace his journey, from first picking up a club at the age of 2, to graduating from the Pro Golf tour last year, to now this maiden season on the Challenge Tour.
We then take to the skies with Kyle Barker to get an aerial perspective of our host venue this week Humewood Golf Club.
And Björn Åkesson wins for the first time on the Challenge Tour at the NMB Championship.
This is one of sports great Proving Grounds a gateway to Glory brilliant 30 tournaments spanning 19 countries along the way a chance to expand Horizons and Sample life on tour W what you doing finish the season in the top 20 on the road to mayorca rankings and secure
A golden ticket to the Deep B World Tour this is the challenge tour so far on our South African swing we got up close and personal with one of the big five to see places like this kind of what you need to do you need to go see
The world and ground a champion in the bush and the perfect start to the 2024 road to mayorca reached New Heights in the mother City Sports like this is just amazing it gives you energy and welcomed a familiar face back into the Winner’s Circle what a way to win your second
Title on the challenge tour Mikel Lindberg the 31-year-old is the Baines whiskey Cape Town open Champion it was game set and match on the Garden Route oh that’s off the side come and we etched a new name onto an iconic trophy David retto was the 2024 Dimension data pram
Champion and so to the final chapter of our South African story event number four in the rainbow Nation the NMB Championship a new week and new possibilities ahead for the class of 2024 as they tackle South Africa’s only true lyx course at hwood golf club up for the challenge a fresh-faced
Youngster from a country not known for producing professional golfers perfect is that like action or something my name is Johan lashan I come from Slovenia I’m 26 years old I’ve been playing golf for 24 years and this is my first year on the challenge tour Slovenia is already a small country
And we only have about seven golf courses so as you can imagine there’s also not very many players it’s growing but it’s it’s definitely not one of the main sports I came here via Pro Golf Tour so last year was my second year playing on
The Pro Golf Tour where I last year I got my two victories there and I ultimately finished in the top five which granted me a 12b category here on the challenge tour for this year the Pro Golf Tour is one of four official satellite tours providing a gateway to
The challenge tour through its order of Merit it’s a pathway walked by many before including Marcel seam a progolf and challenge tour graduate who’s gone on to win five times on the DP World Tour it’s exciting I’ve played a lot of amateur golf before and I was in at
Arkansas State playing collegia golf for 5 years and there’s a lot of players here that I have either played with or against in college or in my amateur years so I already know a few guys and I’m I’m going to get to know a lot more guys along the
Season yo what’s up that’s a familiar swing hey how’s it going good and you well there we go we’re uh here on the challenge tour now is your first event yeah first event this year and you uh first one as well yeah nice so how do
You like it here it’s great a little wind little windy yeah little bit just a little bit but no it’s it’s awesome how’s your golf game right now you’re ready we’ll see we’ll see tomorrow yeah you feeling good yeah feeling good yeah I’m just ready to get the season
Going again yeah yeah get back to competing and it’s time for play some tournaments yeah what’s up Jules oh hey Z how’s it it’s been a while good to see you good to see you how are you good good challenge your last year I saw that was
What you finished second or third on the up store was it uh two years ago yeah finished second on up store so played last year my first year as a pro on challenge T what would you say it was pretty good yeah it was a good experience going from H store and first
Year as a pro on challenge T pretty good finished 50 year so improve the category a bit I saw you you played really well last year congrats we met um we actually went to school together in the US we went to Arkansas State University so I
Got there my junior year cuz I went to previous School different school before and we spent the last three years together like that uh like junior senior and then one extra with Co the co year so we had roommate we were in the same apartment so we know each other for
Pretty good like that all right Z I’m going to head out sounds good play well this week good luck good luck have fun foran seeing old friends and former teammates has brought about much needed familiarity but having his father on the back is also a pretty useful asset for your challenge tour
Debut it’s very special it’s something that you know you work all your life towards and to be here with my dad playing our first Challenger event is is awesome golf is not a sport that you just get into it by your you know by yourself so there’s got to be either a
Parent or a good friend of yours to somebody that sort of introduces you to the game and in my case it was my dad when he was two years uh he started with uh with some plastic uh uh clubs okay it was a game but he decided
Actually when he was uh I think 13 years old he said he he came to me and said well that um I would like to play golf It’s My Life And since then he he actually um trained um a lot I’ll stick to golf it’s like um all
Other events uh but yeah challenge tour is of course specially it was our and his goal for all these years and um yeah I hope uh it will be successful thank you very much my son thank you I prefer golf yeah n i Slovenia ah perfect and first on the tea
Representing Slovenia Jean lucason it didn’t take long for him to get into the swing of things starting on the 10th Hall he opened with backtack birdies yeah after another gain on the 15th hole it must have all seemed rather simple for the 26-year-old however he failed to
Capitalize on the par 5 17th and an opportunity went to begging here on 18 to still out in 34 blows and three under par an excellent first nine tally it wasn’t all plain sailing though as backtack Bogies on the third and fourth holes threatened to derail his round others might have allowed those
Mistakes to get the better of them not Shan though he showed plenty of maturity to bounce back with two more birdes on six and seven he closed with back-to-back pars signing for an opening three the par 69 it was fantastic it was everything that I ever you know dreamed off of more
It was it was it was great you know especially having my dad on the bag was fantastic and indeed he should be pleased with his efforts three under par good enough for a share of 54th Place someway off the pace though set early on by Martin CRA a sensational start for the young
Frenchman with a first round 61 the question now with scoring so good would Stan be able to shift gear and card a really low one in round two there we go getting ready for round two not too windy right now but I think it’ll get pretty hectic here in a couple
Hours so should be interesting and with that Stan was off he signaled his intentions early on with a fine approach to the first the bird e duly converted the Slovenian one under after one and four under for the tournament things cooled slightly thereafter patience required as five pars followed he reeled off another
Birdie on the par five sth hole and hit one close here on nine delightful iron play from Shan the birdie took him to three under for the day six under in total and now very much in the hunt as he stro towards the 10th hole he added another red number to the
Card at the par 5 11th but ran into trouble on 13 a double bogey brought Stan Crashing Down to Earth again a pivotal moment but much like round one where he had to become adversity he was more than up to the challenge he birded the 15th and 17th
Holes to erase the mistake made on 13 then came a grandstand finish with this longrange effort finding the bottom of the cup seven birdes and one double drop then in a round of 67 two better than a day before not only a first cut made for
Stan but at 8 under par and tied 17th he was also in with a shout heading into the weekend you know obviously you come here wanting to do good and then to actually do it and and to shoot low numbers and then ultimately to make the cut is
Fantastic looking forward to the weekend for sure very nice don’t go anywhere as after the break we take to the skies with Kyle Barker yeah look at that wow magic and we’ll see who clinch the final trophy of our South African swing we’ll see you soon welcome back to the challenge tour
We’re on the east coast of the rainbow Nation for the final event of our South African swing the NMB Championship it’s a stunning stretch of Coastline and there’s surely no better way to take it all in that from the air I’ll take any opportunity that I can
Get to go have a bit of fun um get some adrenaline pumping I’m a little bit nervous to go in the heli I’ve been in one before Heights do get the better of me but uh I’ll get over it how’s the C Mark nice to meet you K
Be your pilot this evening we got some beautiful weather for a lovely flight and I’m looking forward to taking you to the golf course oh lovely I absolutely calm way it’s going to be unreal probably we doing oh wow here we go is unbelievable yes what a beautiful city how beautiful is that
We’re basically up upside down yeah look at that wow magic yeah that is Magic I think we should hop out CH and I can practice my bunker shot look at that sunet F there’s the golf course I see it yep there she com awwesome yes what a beautiful Golf Course nor we
Get a little bit of trouble if we find this L over the court so it’s quite a treg this is insane this is the only true Lynx golf course in South Africa really yeah my C you better be reading the green what a beautiful clubhouse as
Well so now now that we up here I can see whole 9 there’s actually way more space than uh than it looks from down there so I’m definitely get to hit drive on this hole we’re going to land on ho 18 spway going to be insane look at this right down the faway
That was insane I can’t believe it that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done really and the views from up there was just you know to have another a different perspective on on where we are and uh you know for this week’s tournament wow
We’re so lucky to be here time to hit some balls uh I hope my caddy brought the right clubs this is definitely the best wedge game session I’ve ever had I think I’ve almost holded a few shots there so I’m going to make sure my caddy gives me the right Club to this
Exact yardage and I’ll hit it in get in the hole shot definitely this is uh going to put me in the best mood um for this week I feel so relaxed and so excited for this wonderful tournament that was awesome let’s head back now over the 18 green where the winning
P will be made on Sunday afternoon going into the sunset beautiful beautiful yes the experience of a lifetime something Barker surely won’t forget in a hurry back on terror Firma now and back to the NMB Championship two rounds in they were two tied at the top in Keenan dzer and bejon
Auson Jonathan calwell was lurking just one off the pace with 18-hole leader Martin cou a further shot back in a tie for fourth the strong winds that were forecast for the weekend arrived in full force on Saturday morning as only 15 golfers were able to get their rounds underway before play was
Suspended a delay of almost 6 and 1/2 hours meant the league group with would only tee off just after 6:00 local time and the third round would almost certainly run into Sunday so taking us through the limited action kit Alexander first round leader Martin KRA was looking to kick on over the
Weekend and the 21-year-old Frenchman hit this beautiful Approach at the first he would convert for the birdie to move to 13 underpar the vely experiened Lee Slattery using that experience with this Nifty little bump and run here at the seventh that would set up a birdie for the two-time DP World Tour
Winner unfortunately fading light eventually brought about an end to proceedings with the lead group only through four holes Lee Slattery had moved into a share of the lead along with Hayden hopwell and Jonathan Caldwell with auson and CRA a further shot back play was scheduled to resume early
On Sunday morning for the conclusion of the third round but the final 18 hle set to take place immediately thereafter but all of this was dependent on the elements the final day dawned with conditions slightly better far from calm but at least playable as the field made
Their way back into position to resume round three be aasen just seen Keenan Davids are his playing partner birdie I 7th and he followed suit to join kou and Hopewell in the lead leas l was making a great run Eagle at 11 a birdie at 12 and Driver off the
Deck for his second shot here at 13 that tells you just how windy it was but what a stunner and the Englishman would convert this left to wrer for a superb birdie to take the outright lead at minus 18 the oi hope well had started well he
Was a couple under through the first eight birded nine as well but gave one back at 13 this a brilliant response the Eagle at 15 he was right in contention in the strengthening Breeze erson for his birdie at 15 and that moved him back into a share alongside Lee
Slattery unfortunately for Slattery he bogied 17 coupled with an orus and birdie at 16 he was two behind playing the last he did make this for par and that posted the clubhouse lead and the target of 17 under par well erson was in trouble at the final hole tugged his t-shot into the
Trees so this is fourth shot a nice one but it left work to do just for a bogey he would roll it in though for a third round of 68 and that would set him at 18 underpar in the clubhouse one ahead with one round to go but that wind was getting
Stronger yes the wind had indeed picked up significantly throughout the morning and by the time the third round was completed it was borderline unplayable play was suspended again and with time running out and conditions not improving a difficult decision had to be made round four was cancelled and the
Tournament decided over 54 holes leaving beon erson as the champion auson finished one shot clear of Englishman Lee Slattery Hayden Hopewell securing solo third place with 18-hole leader Martin C A further shot back in fourth incidentally you’ll recall our Slovenian new Yan lucasan prilia well he finished tied 36th but it
Was another Swedish success story a second victory in the past 3 weeks on South African soil it’s amazing um my first win on challenge Shore and uh hasn’t really sunk in yet to get a win here on challenge tour my first win will uh absolutely give me more confidence on the golf
Course so following the conclusion of our South African swing it’s Miguel Lindberg who leads the way on the road to mayorca rankings the swed assumed top spot with his victory in Cape Town and hasn’t let go a good week in the windy city sees Hayden hopwell up to 13th
While Jonathan Coldwell also made the most of a solid showing and Englishman George bla is sitting in the pivotal 20th position and with that our time in South Africa has come to an end it’s been a sensational start to the new season but there’s still more to come along the road to
Mayorca there’s now a twoe rest fite for the class of 20124 before it all begins again with back-to-back events in India so join us next time as the pursuit of promotion to the DP World Tour continues
