- 14-time Sunshine Tour winner Jaco van Zyl is looking to regain confidence at this week's Gauteng Championship at Ebotse Links.
- Van Zyl makes no excuses for his lack of form and admits to gaining a lot of perspective during lockdown.
- The Olympian also confirmed that he won't be plying his trade overseas as he looks to spend more time with his young family.
Sunshine Tour veteran Jaco van Zyl is eager to get back into rhythm and regain some confidence at this week's Gauteng Championship in Benoni.
This week, the Sunshine Tour is at Ebotse Links Golf Course as 139 golfers will vie for a prize fund of R1 million.
For Van Zyl, this week is all about regaining that 2015/16 form that saw him once lie 49th in the World Golf Rankings.
In 2016, he captured his 14th Sunshine Tour title and went on to represent South Africa at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
However, Van Zyl soon struggled with injuries and getting back into the swing of things, and then the coronavirus pandemic struck.
The lockdown gave many a new perspective on life and for Van Zyl, it proved to be a significant career decision.
Speaking to Sport24, Van Zyl revealed that he will not be travelling overseas anymore.
"The older you get, the less fight you got, I guess. I'm just in a bit of crossroads but the game has been really good to me," said Van Zyl, who is now 578th on the World Golf Rankings.
"I've had a 22-year long career and I've played 15 years of international golf. I've kind of made peace and decided not to travel anymore from when lockdown started.
"People think it's glorious to travel most of the time but you miss out on a lot. I've got two boys, who are 11 and 13, who I barely get to see. It's a bit of a rat race. So, it's all about slowing down on things and enjoy the quality of life.
"Covid has given me a lot of time to sit down and reflect on what's important in life. I'd like to play for a couple more years and hopefully, take over a golf course somewhere or head pro somewhere."
His last triumph came in 2016 at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship when he edged Dean Burmester for the title.
Van Zyl made no excuses for his lack of form, stating that he has struggled with his game over the last few years.
"I haven't played decent golf in almost three years but obviously, it's been challenging," said the 42-year-old.
"My game has never been the same before lockdown, so I've been trying to figure things out. It is on the up but very indecisive on where, what and how going forward."
Van Zyl believes that confidence is the only thing preventing him from entering the winner circle again as he eyes a full Sunshine Tour schedule.
"It's more mentality, I've just been struggling to be in the moment and try and pitch up and give it your all," he said.
"I had a lot going on in my personal life over the last two-three years and my game doesn't seem to ease up. But I guess it's the same for everyone else, pushing personal issues aside and get to a point where you're actually happy but are you really happy?
"It is all about building confidence and I think once that confidence is there, I'll definitely be able to win again. But for now the biggest thing is the lack of confidence."
SuperSport will provide live coverage of the third and fourth round of the Gauteng Championship in Benoni. Broadcasting is scheduled to start at 12:00.
Featured Round 1 groupings:
07:20 - Martin Rohwer, Rourke van der Spuy, Thriston Lawrence
07:30 - Jaco Ahlers, Jean-Paul Strydom, Benjamin Follett-Smith
07:30* - Ockie Strydom, Alex Haindl, MJ Viljoen
12:00 - Toto Thimba Jnr, Michael Palmer, Jaco Prinsloo
12:10 - Hennie Otto, Jean Hugo, Ruan Conradie
12:10* - Jake Redman, James Kingston, Madalitso Muthiya
12:20 - Keith Horne, Jaco Van Zyl, Fredrik From
*10th hole