Desvonde Botes

Desvonde Pierre Botes (born 2 November 1974) is a South African professional golfer.

Early life

Botes was born in Pretoria. After winning the South African Amateur Championship in 1991 at the age of 16 years and 5 months, 20 days younger than the record set by Ernie Els,

Professional career

In 1992, Botes turned professional. His first professional victory came in the Mercedes Benz Golf Challenge on the Southern Africa Tour in 1993.

Following further successes on the Southern Africa Tour, including the South African Masters in 1998, Botes attempted to qualify for the European Tour. He did not manage to gain full exemption in 1999, but returned the following year and was medalist at the European Tour Qualifying School less than a week after claiming his second Platinum Classic title in South Africa. He finished just outside the top 100 in the Order of Merit, with a best finish of 5th in the Benson & Hedges International Open.

Back problems in 2002 and 2003, meant Botes was unable to retain his place on the European Tour. He returned to South Africa and won the Parmalat Classic on his way to 3rd place on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. That promising form prompted another attempt at the European Tour Qualifying School. He claimed the last card for the 2004 season, but made only five cuts in the regular tour events, with a best finish of 9th, and failed to retain his playing privileges for the following season. Since then he has competed on the Sunshine Tour with limited success, although he has won several titles on the less competitive Winter Swing of the schedule.

Professional wins (14)

Sunshine Tour wins (12)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	15 Dec 1996	Zambia Open	−8 (68-70-70=208)	1 stroke	Neil Homann
2	5 Jul 1997	Bosveld Classic	−11 (66-72-67=205)	3 strokes	Darren Fichardt
3	18 Oct 1997	Vodacom Series (Western Cape)	−13 (69-66-68=203)	Playoff	Dean van Staden
4	17 Jan 1998	Platinum Classic	−17 (68-64-67=199)	3 strokes	Richard Kaplan, Hennie Walters
5	2 May 1998	Pietersburg Classic	−19 (62-67-68=197)	5 strokes	Sammy Daniels
6	14 Feb 1999	South African Masters	−19 (65-68-72-64=269)	1 stroke	Dean van Staden
7	25 Sep 1999	Vodacom Series (2) (Free State)	−10 (68-67-71=206)	1 stroke	Titch Moore
8	12 Nov 2000	Platinum Classic (2)	−14 (66-66-70=202)	1 stroke	Roger Wessels
9	27 Jun 2003	Parmalat Classic	−9 (68-69-70=207)	2 strokes	James Kingston
10	13 May 2005	Vodacom Origins of Golf at Pretoria	−14 (66-65-71=202)	Playoff	Jean Hugo
11	27 May 2005	Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Pezula	−18 (66-67-65=198)	6 strokes	Ian Hutchings
12	30 Sep 2006	Seekers Travel Pro-Am	−20 (67-62-67=196)	3 strokes	Alex Haindl

Sunshine Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1997	Vodacom Series (Western Cape)	Dean van Staden	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	2005	Vodacom Origins of Golf at Pretoria	Jean Hugo	Won with birdie on first extra hole

IGT Pro Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	26 Jan 2012	#1 IGT Summer Series	−18 (67-63-68=198)	5 strokes	Jean Hugo

Other wins (1)

• 1993 Mercedes Benz Golf Challenge

Playoff record

Asian PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1999	Nokia Singapore Open	Kenny Druce	Lost to par on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Note: Botes only played in The Open Championship.

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

External links

• Desvonde Botes at the Sunshine Tour official site
• Desvonde Botes at the European Tour official site