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- South African golfer Thriston Lawrence held his nerve to win a playoff at the European Masters.
- Lawrence defeated Englishman Matt Wallace in the first playoff hole to capture his second DP World Tour title in his rookie season.
- Lawrence stated that he was proud of the way he performed as he cracked the top 100 of the world golf rankings.
South African golfer Thriston Lawrence could not be prouder to lift the European Masters title in his debut appearance at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland.
Heading into the final round, Lawrence had a three-shot lead and was two up with five holes to go until he bogeyed the 16th, which saw him level with Englishman Matt Wallace, who posted four-under on 18-under par.
The duo strode back to the 18th hole, where Lawrence tapped in for par as Wallace three-putted the playoff hole to hand the South African the famous red jacket awarded to the champion.
"All of the history around this tournament, looking at Seve (Ballesteros) there twice, 1977, 78, I wasn't even born yet. [It's] just crazy to see the history around this tournament. It's my first time here and it's probably one of my favourite weeks. Definitely coming back, it's been amazing," Lawrence said following his win on Sunday.
"In regulation, on 18, I wasn't nervous until I got to the green and [when I] hit an unbelievable putt from the front edge, [it] got me a little nervous. I left myself with a three-footer. Putting is not always my strength so just had to dig deep."
Lawrence became the first South African to win the event since Ernie Els took the title in 2003, and he joins the likes of Jeff Hawkes, Hugh Baiocchi, Dale Hayes, Harold Henning and Bobby Locke to win at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana.
It was Lawrence's second DP World Tour title after his win at last year's Covid-hit and weather-affected Joburg Open.
Lawrence, who is playing his rookie season in Europe, has had a stellar run on the DP World Tour so far as he sits ninth in the Tour's rankings for the 2021/22 season.
"A lot of talk after the Joburg Open [about] only winning a tournament over 36 holes. I think I've proved myself even before this win, having six top 10s. Not a lot of missed cuts," said Lawrence.
"It's a little extra having a four-round victory, hopefully, many more to come."
His win saw him break inside the Top 100 in the world golf rankings as he moved from 131 to a career-best 87th.
With his climb to ninth in the DP World Tour rankings, Lawrence has an opportunity to earn his PGA Tour card with the top 10 players on being awarded that honour.
"It's a dream come true. Growing up, I always wanted to be in the top 100 in the world, and to achieve it is quite emotional."
Lawrence, who is the country's most in-form golfer at the moment, has now potentially put himself in the hat for a possible captain's pick in Trevor Immelman's International team for next month's Presidents Cup.
The South African showed nerves of steel on Sunday as he overcame Wallace in his first playoff win, and bag a cool €340 000 (R5.7 million).
"A playoff is like a match-play feeling. I'm quite confident in match-play," said Lawrence.
"It's a whole different game, you can plan better because you know it's only against the guy next to you, so I was a little calmer. Hit it inside him on 18, unfortunate for him to miss his second putt, [it] would have been a nice finish to have a few more holes for the crowd, but I don't think I was capable of doing another hole. Just so pleased to get it done."
