Marcel Steyn Scholtz was seven shots off the lead heading into the final round of the Betway Big Easy Tour’s second tournament held at Modderfontein Golf Club, but overturned that deficit in style to claim a three-shot victory for his maiden title.
In a drama-filled final round on the challenging Modderfontein track, it was Scholtz who stole the show.
Following opening rounds of 73 and 68, the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate player was some way off Keenan Davidse who was 10-under after 36 holes.
The 30-year-old Scholtz produced one of the finest front nine performances the Big Easy Tour has ever had; a blemish-free nine-under-par 27.
Eagles on the par-five first and the par-four second holes were followed by four birdies on the trot as Scholtz overtook Davidse after his first six holes.
He made two important pars on seven and eight to keep the scorecard clean and then birdied the ninth to turn in 27 and with the lead.
Marcel is on fire🔥#GreatnessBeginsHere #betwaybigeasytour pic.twitter.com/LqHLU5ER7h
— Big Easy Tour (@bigeasytourgolf) July 18, 2024
“I was hitting the ball really well on the front nine,” Scholtz said. “I lost a bit of momentum on the back nine but I feel like I kept it nicely together. I kept the ball in play and I gave myself good opportunities and just kept the ball rolling on the greens.”
THIRD ON ORDER OF MERIT
He followed that birdie up with further gains as he birdied the 10th to get his total to 13-under-par.
With the chasing pack coming in strong and led by young gun, Yurav Premlal, Scholtz knew any mistake could and would be costly.
He kept things tight from there on, making eight pars one after the other to see the job done.
There you have it, folks!
— Big Easy Tour (@bigeasytourgolf) July 18, 2024
Marcel Steyn Scholtz claims a come-from-behind 3-stroke victory at @ModderGolfClub
Congratulations, Marcel!#betwaybigeasytour #GreatnessBeginsHere pic.twitter.com/yqoPVuyRa5
“This is my second professional win; the first was a one-day Blue Label event last year, which was nice,” Scholtz said.
“But this one is even sweeter. As you know the Big Easy is a way to the Sunshine Tour, so this win is very important. One of my goals this year is to win three Big Easy Tour events and ultimately win the Order of Merit. So, I’m very stoked and thankful for this win.”
While Scholtz’s goal may seem a little lofty to some, the man himself will feel relieved that his first of three targeted wins is already in the bag.
And now that he is third on the Order of Merit thanks to his dominant triumph on Thursday, Scholtz will be further motivated to strive for the summit of those rankings.
It is still quite early in the season but a good start has never hurt anybody. The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s developmental circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els among others.
SCORES:
203 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 73 68 62
206 - Yurav Premlall 66 71 69
207 - Keenan Davidse 67 67 73
210 - Philip Geerts 73 70 67
211 - Warwick Purchase 72 69 70, Vaughn van Deventer 70 70 71
212 - Nikhil Rama 72 71 69, Jacquin Hess 69 71 72
213 - Werner Deyzel 73 71 69
214 - Francois Van der Walt 67 73 74, Andrew Williamson 71 69 74
215 - Andre De Decker 70 74 71
216 - Andrew McLardy 77 68 71, Thanda Mavundla 69 75 72
217 - Karabo Mokoena 73 72 72, Leon Vorster 76 69 72, Gerhard Trytsman 77 68 72, Samuel Simpson 73 71 73, Ryan Tipping 71 72 74, Gerard du Plooy 74 69 74, Eric Wowor 67 73 77
218 - Slenda Sithebe 73 72 73, Stals Swart 74 68 76, Paul Boshoff 74 67 77
219 - Tyron Davidowitz 71 68 80
220 - James Kamte 73 70 77
221 - Kayle Wykes 70 75 76
222 - Thabiso Ngcobo 72 73 77, Eugene Du Plessis 73 71 78
224 - Letsoso Letsai 74 71 79
225 - Steven Le Roux 71 74 80, Makhetha Mazibuko 69 74 82
227 - Michael Kok 71 74 82
MISSED THE CUT:
146 - Graham van der Merwe 75 71, Joe Knox 74 72, Amilkar Bhana 73 73, Christopher Long 74 72, Otto Van Buynder 74 72, Ulrich van den Berg 74 72, Mutahi Kibugu 74 72, Christiaan Heyman 70 76, Sentanio Minnie 77 69
147 - Harry Konig 75 72, Kyle McClatchie 71 76, Terence Boardman 71 76, Oliver Goldhill 76 71, Gary Kemp 72 75, Mike Maile 77 70, Reece Mc Kain 75 72, Travis Ladner 74 73, Carlo Heunis 77 70
148 - Nicholaus Frade 75 73, Jaden Deltel 74 74, Thabang Simon 76 72, Allister de Kock 74 74, Jastice Mashego 72 76, Dylan O'Leary 74 74, Xander Basson 74 74, Leon Visser 74 74
149 - James Pennington 75 74, Trevor Mahoney 76 73, Drikus Joubert 73 76, Franklin Manchest 73 76, Matthew Rushton 73 76, Simon du Plooy 75 74, Regan Steyn 74 75
150 - Luke Trocado 78 72, Ruan Groenewald 75 75, Henning du Plooy 76 74, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 74 76
151 - Lyle Pedro 74 77, Slade Pickering 75 76, Louis Liebenberg 74 77, Judd Sundelson 71 80, Therion Nel 77 74
152 - Luke Mayo 77 75, Erhard Lambrechts 77 75, Fabrizio De Abreu 76 76, Jonathan Waschefort 79 73, Shalan Govender 74 78, Sabelo Xolani Majola 78 74, Tiger Adams 78 74, Njoroge Kibugu 78 74, Alphius Kelapile 78 74
153 - CJ Levey 81 72, Aneurin Gounden 79 74, Heinrich Bruiners 79 74, Jason Froneman 79 74, Eben Spangenberg 80 73, Janko van der Merwe 79 74
154 - Malan Potgieter 75 79, Jules Helary 75 79, Tyrone Ryan 79 75, Jabulane Mabilane 78 76, John Bele 78 76, Teboho Sefatsa 80 74, Tumelo Molloyi 75 79, Lwazi Gqira 78 76, Khanya Mkhize 74 80
155 - Kyle Kistensamy 80 75, Richard Kruger 77 78, Ace Andile Adam 78 77, Umar Davids 76 79, Ruan de Smidt 77 78, Irvin Mazibuko 76 79
156 - Dehan Joubert 78 78, Shaydon Johnson 88 68, Jordan Burnand 72 84
157 - Jordan Duminy 81 76
158 - Toto Thimba Jnr 75 83
160 - Brandon Moodley 83 77
161 - Carlos Losper 86 75, Mark Maart 82 79
173 - Llewellyn Leibrandt 84 89
175 - Jonathan Williams 88 87
WDN - Christian Kriek 79 WDN WDN, Johan Theron 85 WDN WDN, Keelan van Wyk RTD RTD RTD, Siyanda Mwandla 72 RTD RTD, Keelan Africa DSQ DSQ DSQ