Karmis breaks new ground at Selborne Park

Pennington – Peter Karmis carded a final round 68 at Selborne Park Golf Club to claim his maiden title in the 15-year-old Vodacom Origins of Golf series on a total of 14-under-par 202 on Saturday.

Coming into the final round leading by two shots, Karmis opened his final round with three back-to-back birdies to set the tone. 

A bogey on the fifth hole threatened to set him back but two pars later, he made further gains on the eighth. Three more birdies on the back nine got onto his card but he dropped two more shots to sign for a 68.

“That has been the plan all along,” he said of his opening three holes, “but, I only achieved it today. The first three holes here, you can make birdies. I hit the right choice and gave myself chances for those birdies.”

His final round score followed opening rounds of 69 and 65, respectively, and while his four-shot victory may have seemed easy, Karmis admitted to challenges, especially on the homeward stretch.

“The back nine is a little bit more demanding,” he explained, “especially off the tee. But, the front nine, you can cruise around. And, today the wind was swirling a bit and it was difficult to judge the direction the ball is going to take and how the wind is going to affect it.”

Having come close to winning a few times already this season – he came third at the Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open, seventh at the Investec Royal Swazi Open and 11th at the inaugural KCB Karen Masters – he was pleased to finally win something this season. He won three times last season.

Jacques Blaauw, Garth Mulroy and the resurgent Neil Schietekat shared the second spot on 10-under while rookie Ruan Conradie shared fifth with Alex Haindl on nine-under.

Scores:

202 - Peter Karmis 69 65 68

206 - Jacques Blaauw 67 73 66, Garth Mulroy 69 71 66, Neil Schietekat 66 71 69

207 - Ruan Conradie 71 69 67, Alex Haindl 70 70 67

208 - Ockie Strydom 70 74 64, Daniel Greene 70 68 70

209 - Wynand Dingle 67 69 73

210 - Michael Palmer 72 71 67, Titch Moore 72 69 69, Andrew Curlewis 68 71 71

211 - Steve Surry 70 70 71, Colin Nel 70 68 73