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Randpark Blog

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Wilco and his fantastic 439-yard Joburg Open drive

by | Nov 20, 2020

CALL it simply ‘The 439 Drive’ and perhaps, in terms of great moments in South Africa sport, it will be remembered as gloriously outrageous as was ‘The 438 Game’ when South Africa’s cricketers scored a mammoth 438 runs to beat Australia’s daunting 434 total to win the 2006 ODI at the Wanderers to clinch the series for the home side.

On Thursday in the first round of golf’s Joburg Open at Randpark, Wilco Nienaber hit a monster – unbelievable actually – 439-yard drive on the 597-yard, par-5 fourth hole on the club’s Firethorn course.  He then found the green with no more than a gap wedge and made birdie on his way to an eight-under-par 63 and a share of the lead with fellow South African Shaun Norris.

“I guess it was a decent drive,” said Nienaber with massive understatement.  The 20-year-old this year tops the long driving stats on the European Tour, which the 1-million euros Joburg Open is part of. And as the saying goes about long hitters – when he hits the ball, it stays hit.

“Wilco is a massive talent and to hit a golf ball that far, 439 yards, is absolutely mind-numbing,” said awe-struck former top playing professional Tony Johnstone, commentating for SuperSport. Three hundred yards is a big drive, 400 yards astounding. But 439 yards is, well, freakish, just like ‘Th 438 Game’ was freakish.

And Nienaber wasn’t exactly a slouch off the tee-box at the 381-yard par-4 ninth hole, his final hole of the day, when his drive easily made the green before rolling just over the putting surface from where he was able to two-putt for a closing birdie.

America’s booming big hitter Bryson DeChambeau, the US Open champion, tops the long driving stats on the PGA Tour with a 337-yard average.

So how does Wilco compare? Well, taken to the nearest yard, his average is also 337 yards. And the young South African pro hits that far with what seems to be far less effort than when fast-swinging DeChambeau winds up.

Teeing off in the morning Nienaber had one eagle, nine birdies and three bogeys in his round (and on top of this he missed a three or four what looked like very makeable putts) while the 38-year-old Norris was bogey free with six birdies and an eagle. So Norris too was in top form.

American Johannes Veerman is one shot off the pace on 64, with SA-based Brazilian Adilson da Silva, Welshman Rhys Enoch, England’s Richard McEvoy, Benjamin Follett-Smith of Zimbabwe and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain bracketed on six-under-par 65.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, fighting jet-lag and undergoing covid tests after flying in from Augusta after making the cut at the Masters, got his round to five-under at one stage but, maybe running out of steam, dropped shots at 17 and 18 en route to a three-under 68.

Randpark pair Anthony Michael and Riekus Nortje have work to do to make the cut after both opening with two-over-par 73s.

Written by Randpark member Grant Winter.

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