Maiden win for Max in Mediclinic Invitational

Austria’s Max Steinlechner claimed his maiden Sunshine Tour title with a one-shot victory in the Mediclinic Invitational at the Heron Banks Golf and River Resort on Sunday.

In a thrilling final-round duel with SA’s Daniel van Tonder, Steinlechner left it to the final hole to make the birdie he needed to win on 24 under par with a closing 66.

“I’m very grateful for getting an invite this week from the Sunshine Tour. This is my first professional win and I want to thank my sponsors and all the people involved,” he said.

The Austrian and Van Tonder were tied for the lead on 23 under par playing the par-four 18th before Steinlechner made the birdie that secured him the title.

Van Tonder parred the hole for a 66 of his own to finish second on 23 under par. Jonathan Broomhead and Jacques Blaauw shared third on 19 under par, while Yurav Premlall’s share of fifth place earned him his second top 10 in his past four Sunshine Tour events.

Steinlechner started the final round one shot ahead of Van Tonder and the two of them went head-to-head as they both opened with birdies and kept the pressure on each other.

When Steinlechner made bogey on the par-four 16th it enabled Van Tonder to draw level with him, before the Austrian sealed the win on the final hole.

Steinlechner joins the paid ranks after leaving North Carolina State University in 2023 as Austria’s top-ranked amateur.

It has also given him the perfect preparation for the HotelPlanner Tour (formerly European Challenge Tour), co-sanctioned tournaments on the Sunshine Tour, beginning with this week’s SDC Open at Zebula Country Club, northwest of Bela-Bela, from January 23 to 26.

While denied a victory, Van Tonder’s performance keeps him on track for his stated goal of catching Shaun Norris at the top of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit and reclaiming the No 1 spot he has held for a large part of this season.