In a bold stride towards elevating his professional golf career, the Fortress Rookie of the Year winner Altin van der Merwe compete on the Sunshine Tour in the upcoming season with aspirations firmly set on securing a spot in the top three positions of the Order of Merit.
He won the Sunshine Tour Qualifying School in the 2022/23 season and ranks among the top amateurs in the world. The Rookie of the Year award has earned the 28-year-old Van der Merwe a handsome prize purse of R200,000.
"I am thrilled to have been awarded the Fortress Rookie of the Year prize. I was behind Kyle de Beer on form for most of the season, but after my good finish at the SDC Open at the Zebula Golf Estate and Spa in January I went into the lead," said Van der Merwe
"I managed to retain a hefty lead through the remainder of the season.
"I am very lucky to have had such a great first season on tour because I know some rookies get off to a rough start and don’t adapt well.
"Thankfully I adapt well to the tour life, travels and pressures. I am pleased with how I handled everything.
"The cash bonus of R200 000 from Fortress is a pretty good deposit for the little one coming!"
As of May, the hard work starts and he aims to make an impact on the Southern African Tour.
"I will play on the Sunshine Tour next season and aim for the top three Order of Merit spots to qualify for a Europe card or a Challenge card the year. This will help me to raise my game to a higher level and play on even bigger tours," said the rookie.
"From May this year, I will be pretty busy!"
Van der Merwe's caddy, his wife Minette, has been a driving force in his career over the past few months.
"My wife got onto the bag about four or five months ago and has been caddying for me ever since," said Van der Merwe.
"She left her job so that we could be together on tour after we married a year ago.
"She was a good golfer too – a scratch golfer at the end of high school and was capped for the South African Girls B squad.
"She gave it up though and decided to pursue the dream with me. In all honesty, she loves watching me compete more than her competing as she didn’t like the pressures that came with playing.
"She handles the pressure well from the sideline and her golf knowledge is tops.
"She is more about managing me and knows my personality and my emotions and she handles that on the course as best she can. She cleans the clubs and ball from time to time too!"
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