Nicolai Kristensen is looking to build on a strong start to the 2022 Road to Mallorca when he tees it up in this week’s Mangaung Open, which will be played across Bloemfontein Golf Club and Schoeman Park Golf Club.
The 29-year-old finished in a tie for fourth at the season opening Dimension Data Pro-Am and a tie for 18th at last week’s Jonsson Workwear Open, which included an eight under par third round of 64 and currently sits in sixth position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
The Dane is relishing his time in South Africa as he prepares to tee it up in the fourth of seven consecutive co-sanctioned tournaments between the Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour at the start of the 2022 season.
“I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “The weather is a bit different to what it is back home so to get some sun and play in just a polo shirt is quite nice. I’ve never been to Durban or Bloemfontein but the people are really friendly and I love it.
“Last week was strange for me,” he added. “I played in the final group on Sunday which was good but I never had the feeling that I was striking the ball how I wanted to, however my short game and putting was good and helped me a lot.
“The course this week looks quite European. The balls go some much further than last week due to the altitude and I have some work to do to figure out my numbers.”
Kristensen believes life on Tour provides both memorable and challenging moments and described his eventful journey to Bloemfontein after his car tyre suffered a puncture.
“I drove to Bloemfontein on Sunday after the final round,” said Kristensen. “We decided to head to Bloemfontein and not stop but we got a puncture on the way. Luckily, we had a reserve tyre and we were able to change it and eventually arrived at 1:30am, it was a long trip.”
The Mangaung Open will take place from Thursday 3 – Sunday 6 March at Bloemfontein Golf Club and Schoeman Park Golf Club. The first round will begin at 7am local time and Kristensen will tee it up at 7:33am alongside South African duo MJ Viljoen and Justin Walters.
