Kathu – Maybe it was appropriate that Jaco van Zyl had to work so hard for victory in the Vodacom Business Origins of Golf event at Sishen Golf Club on Workers’ Day.
He had to hold off charges from Jean Hugo and Jbe’ Kruger, and, in the end, his five-under-par 67 in the final round was enough to secure the win.
“It all seemed to be going fine, and then Jean and Jbe’ charged and it was all very tense out there,” said Van Zyl.
Hugo, who fired a final round 62 in the previous event in the series at Gardener Ross Golf and Country Estate, seemed to be set on repeating the dose, and he turned in a superb seven-under 29 which included an ace on the 151-metre eighth with a nine-iron.
He dropped two shots coming home, but made four birdies to close with a 63 and just one shot short.
Kruger, who won last week in the Africom Zimbabwe Open with a final round of 65, repeated his performance with a seven-under-par round a course he played while he was a youngster learning the game to share second with Hugo.
Van Zyl started with a pair of birdies on the opening two holes, and he eagled the 472-metre par-five sixth to build up a good lead.
But he started to make things look difficult for himself as he battled to find a birdie again for the next seven holes.
“I was starting to pull my shots a little left off the tee, and that made things a bit of a struggle,” he said.
But he found enough in his game to make birdie on the 326-metre 14th when he drove just short of the green and that gave him enough of a cushion to close things out.
Hugo made the second of his bogeys on 17 when he pushed his tee shot right, while Kruger was hopelessly short of the green on 17 on a hole where birdie would have given him the psychological edge over a nervy Van Zyl.
Keith Horne also had his chances, also getting it to 15-under, but he found the bunker at the back left of the 17th, and his par putt lipped out and left him in fourth.
Theunis Spangeberg, who plays out of Sishen Golf Club, used all his local knowledge to fire and eight-under 64, which included two eagles – on two and six – to take fifth, and Ulrich van den Berg went nine-under to finish 12-under in sixth.
Final scores (RSA unless specified):
200 - Jaco Van Zyl 65 68 67
201 - Jean Hugo 68 70 63, Jbe' Kruger 70 66 65
202 - Keith Horne 68 68 66
203 - Theunis Spangenberg 70 69 64
204 - Ulrich van den Berg 68 73 63
205 - Neil Cheetham (ENG) 70 67 68, Charl Coetzee 67 67 71
206 - Alan McLean (SCO) 70 68 68, Justin Walters 72 70 64, Morne Buys 69 68 69, Grant Muller 67 69 70, Adilson da Silva (BRA) 69 66 71
207 - Andre Cruse 70 67 70, Chris Swanepoel 68 67 72
208 - Justin Harding 71 69 68, Lindani Ndwandwe 71 69 68, Clinton Whitelaw 73 65 70, Divan van den Heever 72 66 70, Oliver Bekker 69 73 66
209 - Jacques Blaauw 70 69 70, David Hewan 71 71 67
210 - Louis Moolman 69 71 70, Albert Pistorius 69 71 70, Johan du Buisson 69 72 69, Alex Haindl 68 70 72, Doug McGuigan 71 67 72, Teboho Sefatsa 71 71 68, Jake Redman 71 73 66
211 - Cameron Johnston 76 66 69, Colin Nel 70 67 74, Andre Ferreira 71 72 68, Irvin Mazibuko 73 71 67
212 - Des Terblanche 66 74 72, Omar Sandys 69 72 71, Bradford Vaughan 69 73 70, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 74 69 69
213 - Eugen Marugi 69 73 71, Willie van der Merwe 70 72 71
214 - Ryan Thompson 68 73 73, Dion Fourie 75 69 70
215 - Alan Michell 75 69 71
He had to hold off charges from Jean Hugo and Jbe’ Kruger, and, in the end, his five-under-par 67 in the final round was enough to secure the win.
“It all seemed to be going fine, and then Jean and Jbe’ charged and it was all very tense out there,” said Van Zyl.
Hugo, who fired a final round 62 in the previous event in the series at Gardener Ross Golf and Country Estate, seemed to be set on repeating the dose, and he turned in a superb seven-under 29 which included an ace on the 151-metre eighth with a nine-iron.
He dropped two shots coming home, but made four birdies to close with a 63 and just one shot short.
Kruger, who won last week in the Africom Zimbabwe Open with a final round of 65, repeated his performance with a seven-under-par round a course he played while he was a youngster learning the game to share second with Hugo.
Van Zyl started with a pair of birdies on the opening two holes, and he eagled the 472-metre par-five sixth to build up a good lead.
But he started to make things look difficult for himself as he battled to find a birdie again for the next seven holes.
“I was starting to pull my shots a little left off the tee, and that made things a bit of a struggle,” he said.
But he found enough in his game to make birdie on the 326-metre 14th when he drove just short of the green and that gave him enough of a cushion to close things out.
Hugo made the second of his bogeys on 17 when he pushed his tee shot right, while Kruger was hopelessly short of the green on 17 on a hole where birdie would have given him the psychological edge over a nervy Van Zyl.
Keith Horne also had his chances, also getting it to 15-under, but he found the bunker at the back left of the 17th, and his par putt lipped out and left him in fourth.
Theunis Spangeberg, who plays out of Sishen Golf Club, used all his local knowledge to fire and eight-under 64, which included two eagles – on two and six – to take fifth, and Ulrich van den Berg went nine-under to finish 12-under in sixth.
Final scores (RSA unless specified):
200 - Jaco Van Zyl 65 68 67
201 - Jean Hugo 68 70 63, Jbe' Kruger 70 66 65
202 - Keith Horne 68 68 66
203 - Theunis Spangenberg 70 69 64
204 - Ulrich van den Berg 68 73 63
205 - Neil Cheetham (ENG) 70 67 68, Charl Coetzee 67 67 71
206 - Alan McLean (SCO) 70 68 68, Justin Walters 72 70 64, Morne Buys 69 68 69, Grant Muller 67 69 70, Adilson da Silva (BRA) 69 66 71
207 - Andre Cruse 70 67 70, Chris Swanepoel 68 67 72
208 - Justin Harding 71 69 68, Lindani Ndwandwe 71 69 68, Clinton Whitelaw 73 65 70, Divan van den Heever 72 66 70, Oliver Bekker 69 73 66
209 - Jacques Blaauw 70 69 70, David Hewan 71 71 67
210 - Louis Moolman 69 71 70, Albert Pistorius 69 71 70, Johan du Buisson 69 72 69, Alex Haindl 68 70 72, Doug McGuigan 71 67 72, Teboho Sefatsa 71 71 68, Jake Redman 71 73 66
211 - Cameron Johnston 76 66 69, Colin Nel 70 67 74, Andre Ferreira 71 72 68, Irvin Mazibuko 73 71 67
212 - Des Terblanche 66 74 72, Omar Sandys 69 72 71, Bradford Vaughan 69 73 70, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 74 69 69
213 - Eugen Marugi 69 73 71, Willie van der Merwe 70 72 71
214 - Ryan Thompson 68 73 73, Dion Fourie 75 69 70
215 - Alan Michell 75 69 71