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Mooinooi - Defeat in a tournament in June inspired Neil Schietekat to his maiden Sunshine Tour victory on Saturday when he won the Platinum Classic at Mooinooi Golf Club by three strokes.
He closed with a four-under-par 68 for a 54-hole total of 15-under-par total of 201 to hold off Jaco Ahlers, whose three-under 69 saw him finish on 204. James Kamte was third after a closing 70 put him on 205 for the R500 000 tournament.
“Not winning never really bothered me,” said Schietekat, “until I came second at the Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at Simola. I told myself I should have won that one, and I started to take steps to fix things.
“I’ve been working hard on the mental side of things, and that makes a big difference. I won’t tell you what goes on in my head, but it’s some strange stuff, I can tell you,” he added.
A string of 11 cuts made - the best such stretch of his career - with two top-10 finishes, including that second place at Simola, shows he has stepped things up a gear, and the eventual ease of his victory confirmed that.
An eagle early on in his opening nine holes propelled Schietekat clear of his pursuers, and birdies on seven, eight and nine gave him a comfortable cushion on a cold, blustery day.
The eagle came on the 404-metre par-four third, and, while it was a little fortunate, it was enough to give him the confidence to play conservatively all the way home, as he parred his way around the second nine to cruise to his win - and not even the bogey on 18 could mute his celebration.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said with one breath, and, “It hasn’t really hit me yet,” with the next.
That closing string of pars threatened to make things difficult for him. “I was getting tense, because I was hitting great shots, but not making any putts,” he said.
“Some of those putts were big swingers, moving two or three feet, because I was ending up on the wrong side of the holes.”
And while he was not making the gap between himself and his pursuers any bigger, the reality was that no-one was able to claw back any of the five strokes he picked up in the opening nine.
“I was worried about the experienced guys ahead of me,” he said, “but, by the time I reached 17 and 18, I was pretty sure I’d done enough.
“I’d used driver all week on 17, but I took my two-iron out, laid up with a five-iron and took my two putts on the green for par. And, on 18, I got careless with the tee-shot. I knew I’d won, and I didn’t go through my normal pre-shot routine. But the bogey was no problem.”
The careful build-up to success means Schietekat is looking forward to the Sunshine Tour’s summer events, where careers can be made and burnished.
“Maybe the floodgates will open now,” he said.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
201 - Neil Schietekat 65 68 68
204 - Jaco Ahlers 65 70 69
205 - James Kamte 68 67 70
206 - Vaughn Groenewald 66 69 71
207 - Michael Hollick 64 70 73, Jacques Kruyswijk 67 65 75
208 - Ockie Strydom 70 69 69, Louis de Jager 67 68 73, Riekus Nortje 70 65 73, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 70 65 73
209 - Christiaan Basson 70 71 68, Attie Schwartzel 69 69 71, Morne Buys 67 71 71, Bradford Vaughan 69 68 72, Teboho Sefatsa 69 66 74, Danie van Tonder 69 66 74, Doug McGuigan 65 69 75
212 - Mark Williams 74 67 71, Dean O'Riley 73 64 75, Tyrone Ferreira 66 71 75
213 - Dean Burmester 68 71 74, PH McIntyre 71 67 75, Jean Hugo 66 69 78
214 - Allan Versfeld 69 71 74, Ulrich van den Berg 68 67 79
216 - Grant Muller 69 73 74, Johan Bekker 71 70 75, Beyers Smith 72 68 76, Wallie Coetsee 67 71 78, Andrew Curlewis 69 68 79
217 - Theunis Spangenberg 72 67 78, Charl Coetzee 69 70 78
218 - Heinrich Bruiners 70 69 79, Titch Moore 67 70 81
219 - Toto Thimba (Jnr) 74 67 78, Bryce Easton 63 75 81
220 - Mark Murless 69 70 81
221 - Warren Abery 70 72 79
222 - JJ Senekal 69 73 80
223 - Jacques Blaauw 70 72 81
225 - Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 68 73 84
RTD - Divan van den Heever 68 72 RTD
He closed with a four-under-par 68 for a 54-hole total of 15-under-par total of 201 to hold off Jaco Ahlers, whose three-under 69 saw him finish on 204. James Kamte was third after a closing 70 put him on 205 for the R500 000 tournament.
“Not winning never really bothered me,” said Schietekat, “until I came second at the Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at Simola. I told myself I should have won that one, and I started to take steps to fix things.
“I’ve been working hard on the mental side of things, and that makes a big difference. I won’t tell you what goes on in my head, but it’s some strange stuff, I can tell you,” he added.
A string of 11 cuts made - the best such stretch of his career - with two top-10 finishes, including that second place at Simola, shows he has stepped things up a gear, and the eventual ease of his victory confirmed that.
An eagle early on in his opening nine holes propelled Schietekat clear of his pursuers, and birdies on seven, eight and nine gave him a comfortable cushion on a cold, blustery day.
The eagle came on the 404-metre par-four third, and, while it was a little fortunate, it was enough to give him the confidence to play conservatively all the way home, as he parred his way around the second nine to cruise to his win - and not even the bogey on 18 could mute his celebration.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said with one breath, and, “It hasn’t really hit me yet,” with the next.
That closing string of pars threatened to make things difficult for him. “I was getting tense, because I was hitting great shots, but not making any putts,” he said.
“Some of those putts were big swingers, moving two or three feet, because I was ending up on the wrong side of the holes.”
And while he was not making the gap between himself and his pursuers any bigger, the reality was that no-one was able to claw back any of the five strokes he picked up in the opening nine.
“I was worried about the experienced guys ahead of me,” he said, “but, by the time I reached 17 and 18, I was pretty sure I’d done enough.
“I’d used driver all week on 17, but I took my two-iron out, laid up with a five-iron and took my two putts on the green for par. And, on 18, I got careless with the tee-shot. I knew I’d won, and I didn’t go through my normal pre-shot routine. But the bogey was no problem.”
The careful build-up to success means Schietekat is looking forward to the Sunshine Tour’s summer events, where careers can be made and burnished.
“Maybe the floodgates will open now,” he said.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
201 - Neil Schietekat 65 68 68
204 - Jaco Ahlers 65 70 69
205 - James Kamte 68 67 70
206 - Vaughn Groenewald 66 69 71
207 - Michael Hollick 64 70 73, Jacques Kruyswijk 67 65 75
208 - Ockie Strydom 70 69 69, Louis de Jager 67 68 73, Riekus Nortje 70 65 73, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 70 65 73
209 - Christiaan Basson 70 71 68, Attie Schwartzel 69 69 71, Morne Buys 67 71 71, Bradford Vaughan 69 68 72, Teboho Sefatsa 69 66 74, Danie van Tonder 69 66 74, Doug McGuigan 65 69 75
212 - Mark Williams 74 67 71, Dean O'Riley 73 64 75, Tyrone Ferreira 66 71 75
213 - Dean Burmester 68 71 74, PH McIntyre 71 67 75, Jean Hugo 66 69 78
214 - Allan Versfeld 69 71 74, Ulrich van den Berg 68 67 79
216 - Grant Muller 69 73 74, Johan Bekker 71 70 75, Beyers Smith 72 68 76, Wallie Coetsee 67 71 78, Andrew Curlewis 69 68 79
217 - Theunis Spangenberg 72 67 78, Charl Coetzee 69 70 78
218 - Heinrich Bruiners 70 69 79, Titch Moore 67 70 81
219 - Toto Thimba (Jnr) 74 67 78, Bryce Easton 63 75 81
220 - Mark Murless 69 70 81
221 - Warren Abery 70 72 79
222 - JJ Senekal 69 73 80
223 - Jacques Blaauw 70 72 81
225 - Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 68 73 84
RTD - Divan van den Heever 68 72 RTD
