Richie O’Donovan’s closing 71 saw the Lucan native post +5 overall and take a T29 finish at the Sunshine Tour’s Vodacom Origins of Golf KwaZulu-Natal at Wild Coast Sun Country Club in Port Edward.
The Wild Coast lived up to its name as strong winds were the order of the week, making scoring extremely difficult and just five of the 121-man field finished the week in red figures.
O’Donovan’s level-par second round was his best of the week after three double bogeys proved costly on day one, and though slightly calmer conditions awaited in the final round, two birdies were offset by three bogeys, but it was still his best finish since his season-opening T8 finish at the Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge.
Pieter Moolman’s strategy on the final day was to try and create as many opportunities for himself to net birdies, and the Benoni Lake golfer succeeded admirably as he fired a sensational 64 to get into a playoff with Ethan Smith, which Moolman won.
The 32-year-old began the final round six shots behind on four-over, following a 68 in the weather-delayed second round. He was so far behind Hennie O’Kennedy on two-under that he began his last round on the 10th hole, and a wonderful start saw him birdie four of the five holes from the 11th.
He went out in a stunning 31 strokes, and although Moolman’s back nine (from the first) featured a couple of bogeys, at the first and eighth holes, he still collected four birdies to come home in two-under, his 64 being the low round of the tournament.
Smith, meanwhile, also made a brilliant start with three birdies from the first hole, quickly overhauling O’Kennedy, who had been one stroke ahead of him. The 25-year-old from Paarl bogeyed the 18th hole however, forcing him into the playoff.
Moolman added to his birdie count in the sudden-death decider as he made a three on the 305m par-four first hole, while Smith could only make par.
“I’ve been hitting the ball well enough all week to have better scores, and it finally came with a 31 on my front nine,” Moolman said after his second Sunshine Tour win. “I just tried to give myself chances and capitalise on them as much as possible.
“And then in the playoff, Ethan went first and hit a really good tee shot. I was between clubs, depending on what he had done, so I hit driver and was short of the greenside bunker. Considering the not-so-great lie I had, I actually hit a really good chip to four feet. Ethan’s chip went past the hole and then he almost holed his putt.
“But I like the layout here at the Wild Coast, I fancy this golf course and I’ve been quite consistently good on it. I was very chuffed with today. I’ve been close a few times since my first win last year, and I could have won more. But ask any golfer, we’re just very happy to be contending and I can’t really complain about my game,” Moolman said.
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