German Challenge powered by VcG

Remember the name Jovan Rebula. He’s the nephew of Ernie Els, winner of the 2018 Amateur Championship, a standout collegiate golfer, and one the brightest talents to emerge from South Africa in recent times. It’s an all South African affair, as JC Ritchie romps to victory in Germany, bagging his first title outside of the African continent.

Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] It’s been a whirlwind few weeks on the hotel planner tour. We’ve stopped off in Spain, in France, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, and checked out Czecha. Now midway through our European swing, we’re in Bavaria for the fifth edition of the German challenge powered by VCG with Vittles backer Golf Club on hosting duties once again. It’s a course steeped in history. The horses of Bavarian royalty were once bred on the land that now houses this championship layout. And speaking of thoroughb breadads, we’re spending time this week with a player boasting an impressive pedigree who’s starting to make a name for himself. The pronunciation straight from the horse’s mouth. Uh yes, it’s a Yan Rebula. It’s something that I’ve gotten used to to be honest. I mean, I spent 5 years in America doing the whole college system and I you kind of think in South Africa people butchering your name it’s bad. But yes, in America I heard a couple of couple of good ones. So if you keep repeating people how to correct it the whole time, you’re going to get tired of it. So you kind of just kind of just go with it a little bit. Well, thanks for clearing that up, Yoan. So let’s dive in to the background story. I think I was about five, six or seven or something in that ballpark. Uh you know, kind of just started swinging a golf club around and that’s kind of where my love for the game started. Watching quite a bit of golf and just yeah, just really enjoyed it. My dad coming from Serbia, you know, golf’s not really a big sport in Serbia. So he was a tennis coach when he came over down to South Africa. He was coaching tennis and my grandfather used to coach tennis quite a bit and my dad used to help out as a youngster. So yeah, tennis was kind of his thing uh that he kind of spent most of his attention to and then yeah like I said my grandfather was the one that you know kind of just took me under his wing a little bit and he really enjoyed our bonding and so did I. You know that’s was our way to bond pretty well. But I think my love for the game of golf has just kind of taken over. Um, and that was kind of the bigger attraction to me than than what tennis was. And Raula was also able to lean on a rather well-known relative during his formative years. So my uncle is Ernie else. I don’t think I really need to say too much about him. It’s really cool to have someone like that in in your corner, you know, to be able to pick up the phone and give a call whenever you need some advice and stuff like that. and you know he’s very invested into my career as well which is quite cool. So he’s honestly I don’t think if we were related I think he would have still been a guy that I would have you know idolized and I guess I don’t need to say much about his career at all. I think everyone knows already all the videos that I’ve watched him growing up kind of emulated into my actions, I guess. Kind of just watching how he does things. And like I said, that’s how I wanted to do things. And um I I guess I’ll take it as a compliment. Rabula has forged his own path and already notched up a few achievements that his famous uncle was never able to like winning the amateur championship. Rabula triumphed at Royal Abedine in 2018, becoming the first South African to do so since Bobby Cole in 1966. I guess it was kind of a changing point in my career. Feels like it’s been ages ago now and kind of washed away a little bit. You know, it was kind of a crazy week. Obviously traveling with all the South African guys. We usually go golf, you know, gives us the opportunity to play there every year. It was just totally surreal. Obviously, there’s a lot of cool things that come with that, you know, so I got to experience the the whole thing and yeah, I would say it was kind of a little bit of a wraparound in my career, which has been cool. [Music] A successful stint at college with Ourn set him up well to turn professional in May 2021. However, he didn’t get the sort of start he was hoping for. It was my second event in we drove to Louisville, Kentucky, and uh got out of the car and really couldn’t stand up after that. had a pretty bad back injury and uh that ended up being a seventh seven-month process of not being able to play golf at all. Had that chance to, you know, do well in those eight events that the form tour form tour was going on. And, you know, you never know what can happen then. You can have a great eight events and get your cornf or so. Yeah, I was really just back to square one um you know, with no real status or anything and had to kind of build my way up to where I am today. [Music] Fit and healthy again, Rabula is relishing his first full season on the Hotel Planet Tour. The uh Sunshine Tour has got exchange spots with a hotel planet tour. Was fortunate enough to have a great start in the beginning of the year. So yeah, I don’t really have any category right now. I’m just kind of playing week to week and uh yeah, just kind of trying to play myself into as many events as I can and hopefully be able to have a DP World Card by the end of Mayora. in. Thanks, boy. Thank you. Enjoyed it, dude. That was like a Yeah. Yeah. We’ll see you tomorrow. Absolutely. So, to Thursday afternoon and day one of the German challenge powered by VCG, where after making nine out of 11 cuts and a recent season’s best third place finish in Austria, Rabula was looking to build on a promising first half of the campaign. Regula playing alongside the winner of that event, Max Steinchner, as well as Tiger Christensen, Rabula endured a steady but frustrating start. Teeing off at the 10th and with scoring conditions looking favorable, the 27year-old just couldn’t take advantage. It would prove to be the story of the day. Opening up with seven consecutive pars, he then dropped a shot on 17 to see him go out in 37 one over par. [Music] Rabulo would finally get his round going at the second hole, his 11th. Another solid approach. But this time the ball would find the bottom of the cup to return him to level par. However, he would give it straight back at the next. The putter misbehaving again. Frustration clear to see. Playing alongside Rabula, Germany’s Tiger Christensen produced the shot of the day. Hauling out for Eagle at the ninth on his way to an opening 69. That would be three off the lead held by Thomas Bessa and Julian K, the experienced Frenchman twice a past winner on the Hotel Planetour. For Abulla though, it proved a struggle. He would have to settle for an opening 73. A long way off the lead with work to be done to make the weekend. I feel like I just didn’t start the ball well on the lines today. So, I guess that does make it quite tricky, you know, if you’re not starting the ball where you exactly want to. So, I’ll have a little session now and, you know, kind of go through my setup and just see if everything’s still square away and, you know, we’re going from there. It’s another day tomorrow and um yeah, we’re looking for some good vibes tomorrow. So early Friday morning and the task was straightforward for Rabula. Improvement required after that opening 73 and bird is needed to extend his stay in Germany. But as with his first round, the opening holes returned frustration rather than shots gained. Decent iron play wasn’t being rewarded. Several putts failed to drop. [Music] Then after seven consecutive pars, the flat stick finally warmed up. Birdie and Rabula was back to level par, but with the cut mark projected to be three under, he needed plenty more on the back nine. Meanwhile, another South African was making waves at the top of the leaderboard. JC Richie was looking for his fifth career Hotel Planetour title and the 31-year-old sat at sixth in the rankings followed up an opening 67 with a second round 66 that included 10 birdies. [Music] Two further gains and six pars saw Rabula arrive at the par 518th on two under for the tournament knowing that a further birdie would guarantee a weekend extension. Deciding against going for the green in two, Rabula left himself a tricky third shot in. Still a chance, albeit an outside one. But when his birdie putt ran agonizingly past, reality dawned. An improved second round of 69 would see him fall just one short of the cut line. So obviously no one complains about a bogey free round, you know, um especially on a golf course like this once again. So yeah, kind of just really knew my game is in a good place and good enough to do it, you I still feel like if I put I can just warm up a little bit more like it could be a really low round um around the corner. So, but yeah, very pleased with the way that I played today. Coming up, we’ll take a trip down memory lane with a recent Hotel Planetour graduate and we’ll find out who rose to the challenge in Germany. We’ll see you after the break. [Music] Welcome back to the Hotel Planet Tour. Halfway through the 18th event of the campaign, the German Challenge powered by VCG. Just five shots separated the top 10 players heading into the weekend with the English quartet of Lewis, Barry, Paisley, and Rutherford among those chasing South African JC Richie who was hunting down his first win of the season after wrecking up four top 10 finishes. with the key stories on day three. Kit Alexander Josh Berry got off to a lovely start with this birdie at the par five opening hole and he would go on to add three more red numbers in a bogey free 68. Good stuff from the man who sits fifth on the road to Morca. Two-time DP World Tour winner Tom Lewis also took advantage of the first. His third shot span all the way back towards the hole. He would knock that in for Birdie, but it was a roller coaster front line of three birdies and three bogeies. Julian Ken went birdie bogey on the first couple of holes and he picked up a shot at the third after this super shot into a tucked pin. He picked up two more shots at 15 and 18 in a 69. South Africa’s JC Richie dropped a shot at the second, but he bounced straight back with this birdie putt at the third to regain a share of the lead at 11 under par. [Music] Oan Giamondi has two top fives in his last three starts and he was continuing his good form in Germany. The 20-year-old made one of his six birdies following this approach at eight and he signed for a 69. [Music] Richie had another bogey at the sixth, but he kicked into top gear and took the solo lead with three birdies in a row from the eighth. This was the putt that ignited that run on eight. [Music] Third bogey of the day came for Richie at 11. But once again, the four-time Hotel Planetour winner responded really well and released this one up the green at the 12th. [Music] [Applause] That set up yet another birdie chance [Music] [Applause] and he rolled it in to double his lead to two shots. Yep. Christian Anderson has been playing some brilliant golf on the third tier Nordic League this season. He brought that to the Hotel Planet as he made a birdie at the last after this delicate wedge to shoot a superb 65 to climb to minus 13. Filipo Chelli also finished in style. [Applause] this magnificent hole out from the bunker for an eagle and the road to Morca number 13 completed a third round of 67. Tom Lewis’s turbulent round continued on the back nine. This at 15 was one of three birdies on the way home and mixed it with two more bogeies. So it was just a one underpar round despite notching six red numbers. But Richie took control of the tournament with a stunning back nine of just 30 strokes that featured seven burdens. This on 18 was the 31year-old’s 65th shot of the day and open a five shot advantage. A look at the leaderboard at the end of Saturday shows five of the top 15 ranked players in contention. Among them Filipochi and Josh Barry chasing runaway third round leader JC Richie. I don’t think too much. I’m doing my job really well. There’s a lot of good work paying off. So, um I just trust what I’m doing. Trust my game. Um trust that the work I’ve been doing will still be there tomorrow. And uh hopefully I won’t have to change too much. Just keep hitting the shots that I’m hitting and and let the butter do the talking. The German challenge has produced an impressive list of winners with two of the past four champions going on to win on the DP World Tour. Many believe next in line for similar success is last season’s champion, Raasmus Negard Peterson. 12 months ago, the Dne came charging through the pack. He was nine shots off the lead heading into the weekend before carding a flawless third round 67. The biggest move of the day was being made by the road to Morca number one. Raasmus Negard Pettison had four birdies in his first seven holes. He added to that total with another birdie at eight for the dame. He then reeled off nine birdies on his way to a final round 64 to clinch the title. The victory was his third of the season, gaining him automatic promotion to the DP World Tour. Since then, the 26-year-old has backed four top 10s on the big stage. He’s also dined out at the top table with a share of 12th at the US Open and remains in the hunt for a spot on Luke Donald’s Rider Cup team bound for New York. The sky really seems to be the limit for Near Guard Peterson. Yet another Hotel Planet graduate surely destined for top honors. But who might take a step closer to joining him on the DP World Tour next season by winning the German challenge powered by VCG? It promised to be an enthralling final day at Vittles Backer Golf Club. Josh Bry birdied the first hole for the fourth consecutive day courtesy of this accurate third shot. And the Kolkata challenge winner picked up another birdie at the fifth. Most players hit irons or fairway woods off the tea on one. But Riching had a bit of tree trouble after going with driver, but he shaped his second shot absolutely wonderfully to set up this eagle opportunity. A wonderful piece of shot making from the South African And he paid it off with the putt. An eagle at one. He was now 20 under par and leading by seven. [Music] Hotel Planettor rookie Clemon Sharmas picked up his third birdie of the day. Training this pup at seven. He was now five shots back at 14 underpar. There he dropped a shot at the sixth, [Music] but this beautifully judged approach at seven enabled him to bounce back with a birdie at the very next hole. Denmark’s Yep. Christian Anderson was two over par for the day playing in the final group. He did make this birdie at the ninth. Fortunately, he would go on to finish with a 74. Richie gave a stroke back at the sixth, but he got things moving in the right direction again by rolling this birdie putt home at nine for a six-shot lead at the turn. Philip Kate birdied the last following this excellent third shot into the par five that sealed his best hotel finish of the season. the closing 66 that lifted him to 15 under par. Tom Lewis only dropped one shot on Sunday. [Music] He found the heart of the green with his second shot at the par five 15th. He two putted for his sixth and final birdie in a 67 to finish tied second. Barry shared the runner-up spot with his compatriate thanks to a 68. The 20-year-old showed his class from the Greenside bunker at 15 for the birdie that took him to minus 16. But there was simply no stopping JC Richie as he cruised home on the back n picking up shots at 10, 13, and 15 before nearly holding his third shot at the last. [Music] and fittingly rolled in for the birdie four and a sublime eightshot win to clinch his fifth title on the Hotel Planetour and a first one outside his native South Africa. A look at the final leaderboard shows positive signs for the experienced duo of Eddie Prol and Tom Lewis. Josh Bry’s fine form continued, but out on top and by quite some way a super South African. The wins. The win’s super important. Not not just for the order of merit. Um, personally for me, just to be able to execute a win um, off the Africa continent, which is is a big one for me. So, confidence- wise, I think this does a lot for me. And then not obviously the order of merit is is big to to sort of secure one foot in the door for next year again. Um, that’s all we can ever dream of. [Music] The road to Morca rankings saw significant change after our week in Germany. Josh Bry climbed to the summit after his runners up finish. JC Richie moved from sixth to second and Fippochelli entered the top 10. Further down, Kiwi Sam Jones was a new name in the top 20, making steady progress from 23rd, whilst American Palmer Jackson dropped one place and now occupies 20th spot. And with that, we say Alida Zane to Germany with hearty congratulations to the tour’s latest winner, JC Richie. There’s a week off for the players to put their feet up now before heading to the Farm Food Scottish Challenge supported by the RNA where the pursuit of promotion to the DP World Tour continues.