The sun finally shines on Ruan Groenewald
Ruan Groenewald, a 25-year-old golfer from Mbombela, has finally reached the ultimate goal for a budding professional in South Africa - his Sunshine Tour eligibility card.
Born in Pretoria, Groenewald attended Laerskool Duiwelskloof until Grade Six when his family moved to Mbombela. He completed his primary school career by attending Laerskool Nelspruit for his Grade Seven year. He then went on to attend Hoërskool Nelspruit, from which he matriculated in 2017.
Groenewald hails from a golfing family. His father, Charl, was professional golfer, but he sadly passed away in 2008 when Ruan was only nine. He was already an avid golfer by this age, though, as he had started hitting golf balls as young as four years old.
Other golfers in his family include long-time Sunshine Tour players Vaughn Groenewald and Wallie Coetsee, so it was perhaps only a matter of when, not if, Ruan would be the next golfer in his family to make the cut.
Ruan began pursuing golf seriously after a very special victory, winning the White River Open in 2016. It was his first win as an amateur and ignited a spark in him that has failed to fade since. “My father won the White River Open in 2002, so it was a real full circle moment and very special to me to win it too,” he said.
The win helped him realise that a career in golf is exactly what he wanted to follow. An avid rugby player and athlete, by 17 years old, Ruan had ditched all other sports and began focusing solely on golf. Two years later, in 2018, he turned professional when he was only 19.
Ruan then joined the now defunct
IGT Challenge Tour, where he plied his trade for two years before the Covid-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt.
He spent one more year on the
IGT Challenge Tour before it ceased operation. Soon thereafter, the Bushveld Tour was started, which Ruan joined.
After one year on the Bushveld Tour, he earned his Big Easy Tour card - the professional tour one step below the Sunshine Tour - for the 2023/24 season. This opened up a world of possibilities for him, granting him eligibility to take part in Sunshine Tour Qualifying
School events.
This quick rise for Ruan paid off, as he has been in fine form this season, playing both the Bushveld Tour and Big Easy Tour events in 2023/24. A streak of six top 10 finishes on the Bushveld Tour was followed by a win in the Race to Q-School Series #13 event at Heron Banks Golf Club in early April.
Three weeks later and he returned to the tee boxes at Heron Banks for the Sunshine Tour Qualifying School final armed with confidence. “The win three weeks prior helped give me a lot more confidence on the course. I was able to attack the course, and I didn’t have to worry about simply managing it,” he said.
The top 20 golfers at the end of the fourth round of the tournament would qualify to receive Sunshine Tour cards. Ruan did not simply scrape by, though, finishing tied eighth on seven under par.
While he was confident throughout the week, the nerves did get to him a bit. “The pressure at Q-School compared to the event three weeks before was immense,” he recalls. “The last nine holes were really nerve-racking. I was really nipping in the last stretch.”
His success now grants him a Sunshine Tour card for the 2024/25 season, which kicks off on May 9.
“My first event will be the Kit
Kat Cash and Carry Pro-am at Irene Golf Club from May 23 to 26,” he confirmed. Ruan also has lofty goals for the upcoming season. “My goal is to play in all of the co-sanctioned events this season, to have a great season and give myself a shot at the Rookie of the Year Award.”