Vereeniging - England's Jeff Inglis put on a show at the Maccauvlei Golf Club on Wednesday, shooting a four-under-par 68 for a five-stroke victory in the R100 000 tournament presented by Stonehage.
“I’m over the moon. I thought it was a bit closer, because we couldn’t see leaderboards out there. In the end winning it by five is great,” he said.
It was the second Sunshine Big Easy Tour victory for Inglis, and a third win will secure a Sunshine Tour card for him. He was still keen to continue with the development tour, however, and said: “There is no recipe for winning, but three wins would be fantastic. What this tour has done is unbelievable, so going forward it would be nice continue to play on this tour – it’s just awesome out here.”
The 34-year-old’s first victory came at Big Easy Benoni in May, yet this week it was a different affair – his 68 matched the best round of the day and he finished five strokes clear of a five-way tie for second. Those sharing second place were Wynand Dingle, Daniel Hammond, Paul Bradshaw, PG van Zyl and Jared Harvey.
The field had to contend with snow during the first round, which caused a delay in play until Wednesday morning. Inglis was unphased by the break and confidently played his way to the win.
“I’ve never had a snowed-out round, but it makes for a good day of rest,” he chuckled. “We had to come out today and get some extra holes in, but it paid off.
“I battled on the front nine of my morning round, but on the back I went five-under, and that really kick-started my day. The second round just came right after that.”
The value of the victory was not lost on Inglis, who added: “Ever since that first win you feel like you can take it every week. Obviously that’s not going to happen, so every time you pull a win you have to take it with both hands.”
Dingle equalled Inglis’s 68 for round two, but an opening 75 - which he finished double-drop, drop, drop - was too much to overcome and he was left to share second.
Likewise Riekus Nortje, a two-time winner on the Big Easy Tour, shot four-under for his second round. The rookie finished in a share of seventh at level par.
Scores: (RSA unless otherwise specified):
138 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 70 68
143 - Wynand Dingle 75 68, Daniel Hammond 72 71, Paul Bradshaw 72 71, PG van Zyl 71 72, Jared Harvey 72 71
144 - Steven van Heerden 74 70, Riekus Nortje 76 68, Attie Schwartzel 71 73, Victor Lange (AMA) 69 75
145 - Martin du Toit 75 70, Thabang Simon 75 70
146 - Lean Boezaart 73 73, Juan Langeveld 76 70
147 - Francois Coetzee 76 71, Andre van Zyl 78 69, Teboho Sefatsa 79 68
148 - Henk Alberts 70 78, Pieter Moolman 74 74, Ryan Thompson 73 75, Morne Buys 74 74, Mikhail Tewary 77 71, Mark Fensham 75 73
149 - Jacquin Hess (AMA) 75 74, Ignatius Mketekete (ZIM) 78 71, Ross Wellington 72 77, Thabo Maseko 75 74
150 - John Bele 78 72, Makgetha Mazibuko 76 74, Steven Ferreira 76 74, Thanda Mavundla 78 72
151 - Michael du Toit 77 74, Patrick Spindler 77 74, Divan Gerber 79 72
152 - Vickesh Singh 77 75, Derick Petersen 75 77, Louis Calitz 76 76, Johan Bekker 78 74, Mark Williams 77 75
153 - Tristen Strydom (AMA) 81 72, Alpheus Kelapile 80 73, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 75 78, Sammy Daniels 79 74
154 - Nathan Waghorn 78 76, Albert Tsai 76 78
155 - Warren Holland 76 79, Coenie Stoop 81 74, Graham van der Merwe 77 78, Beyers Smith 83 72, Zuko Sangqu 79 76
157 - Willie Steyn 83 74, Brendan de Lange 84 73, Irvin Mazibuko 79 78, Drikus van der Walt 78 79, Blanche Lamprecht 78 79, Riaan de Bruyn 78 79
158 - Tyrone Ryan 80 78, Walter Els 79 79, Brett Liddle 82 76, Elvis Sithebe 82 76
159 - Michael Dreyer 80 79
160 - Wandile Gininda 84 76
161 - Coenie Bester 85 76
162 - Neo Thubisi 84 78
“I’m over the moon. I thought it was a bit closer, because we couldn’t see leaderboards out there. In the end winning it by five is great,” he said.
It was the second Sunshine Big Easy Tour victory for Inglis, and a third win will secure a Sunshine Tour card for him. He was still keen to continue with the development tour, however, and said: “There is no recipe for winning, but three wins would be fantastic. What this tour has done is unbelievable, so going forward it would be nice continue to play on this tour – it’s just awesome out here.”
The 34-year-old’s first victory came at Big Easy Benoni in May, yet this week it was a different affair – his 68 matched the best round of the day and he finished five strokes clear of a five-way tie for second. Those sharing second place were Wynand Dingle, Daniel Hammond, Paul Bradshaw, PG van Zyl and Jared Harvey.
The field had to contend with snow during the first round, which caused a delay in play until Wednesday morning. Inglis was unphased by the break and confidently played his way to the win.
“I’ve never had a snowed-out round, but it makes for a good day of rest,” he chuckled. “We had to come out today and get some extra holes in, but it paid off.
“I battled on the front nine of my morning round, but on the back I went five-under, and that really kick-started my day. The second round just came right after that.”
The value of the victory was not lost on Inglis, who added: “Ever since that first win you feel like you can take it every week. Obviously that’s not going to happen, so every time you pull a win you have to take it with both hands.”
Dingle equalled Inglis’s 68 for round two, but an opening 75 - which he finished double-drop, drop, drop - was too much to overcome and he was left to share second.
Likewise Riekus Nortje, a two-time winner on the Big Easy Tour, shot four-under for his second round. The rookie finished in a share of seventh at level par.
Scores: (RSA unless otherwise specified):
138 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 70 68
143 - Wynand Dingle 75 68, Daniel Hammond 72 71, Paul Bradshaw 72 71, PG van Zyl 71 72, Jared Harvey 72 71
144 - Steven van Heerden 74 70, Riekus Nortje 76 68, Attie Schwartzel 71 73, Victor Lange (AMA) 69 75
145 - Martin du Toit 75 70, Thabang Simon 75 70
146 - Lean Boezaart 73 73, Juan Langeveld 76 70
147 - Francois Coetzee 76 71, Andre van Zyl 78 69, Teboho Sefatsa 79 68
148 - Henk Alberts 70 78, Pieter Moolman 74 74, Ryan Thompson 73 75, Morne Buys 74 74, Mikhail Tewary 77 71, Mark Fensham 75 73
149 - Jacquin Hess (AMA) 75 74, Ignatius Mketekete (ZIM) 78 71, Ross Wellington 72 77, Thabo Maseko 75 74
150 - John Bele 78 72, Makgetha Mazibuko 76 74, Steven Ferreira 76 74, Thanda Mavundla 78 72
151 - Michael du Toit 77 74, Patrick Spindler 77 74, Divan Gerber 79 72
152 - Vickesh Singh 77 75, Derick Petersen 75 77, Louis Calitz 76 76, Johan Bekker 78 74, Mark Williams 77 75
153 - Tristen Strydom (AMA) 81 72, Alpheus Kelapile 80 73, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 75 78, Sammy Daniels 79 74
154 - Nathan Waghorn 78 76, Albert Tsai 76 78
155 - Warren Holland 76 79, Coenie Stoop 81 74, Graham van der Merwe 77 78, Beyers Smith 83 72, Zuko Sangqu 79 76
157 - Willie Steyn 83 74, Brendan de Lange 84 73, Irvin Mazibuko 79 78, Drikus van der Walt 78 79, Blanche Lamprecht 78 79, Riaan de Bruyn 78 79
158 - Tyrone Ryan 80 78, Walter Els 79 79, Brett Liddle 82 76, Elvis Sithebe 82 76
159 - Michael Dreyer 80 79
160 - Wandile Gininda 84 76
161 - Coenie Bester 85 76
162 - Neo Thubisi 84 78