Travis Ladner claimed a dramatic come-from-behind victory on the Altron Big Easy Tour after he shot a final-round 68 to total 12-under-par 204 and defeat close friend, Stals Swart, by two shots at Akasia Golf Club on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Ladner had posted similar scores in the first and second rounds of this 54-hole event and was just a shot behind overnight leader, Marthin Scheepers, going into the final round.
“It was a crazy finish out there,” said Ladner after he birdied the last for a two-stroke victory.
“It hasn’t really sunk in. I’m obviously gutted for Stals, one of my best mates. It sucks to see him finish like that but I’m chuffed with how I played this week and I’m happy to finally get it done.”
Travis Ladner wins the 5th Altron Big Easy Tour tournament at Akasia Golf Club 🏆#AltronBigEasyTour pic.twitter.com/dNDKIcwxhX
— Altron Big Easy Tour (@bigeasytourgolf) November 8, 2023
He started the final round with a birdie on the first hole but immediately gave that shot away on the second.
He steadied himself and made back-to-back pars before another birdie – this time on the par-five fifth.
Ladner made further gains on the seventh and eighth, birdieing both those holes.
But that joy was short-lived, too, as yet another bogey visited his card.
After the turn, Ladner, who plays out of Eagle Canyon Golf Estate, gave nothing away; making seven pars and a pair of birdies to seal his first title on any Sunshine Tour-sanctioned event.
The moment Travis Ladner won his first Altron Big Easy Tour title 🏆#AltronBigEasyTour pic.twitter.com/jm60dnjI1Z
— Altron Big Easy Tour (@bigeasytourgolf) November 8, 2023
“I played in the Sunshine Tour’s Origins of Golf event at Pezula last week and I missed the cut there.” he said, “So, I didn’t have any expectations this week. I met a good caddie; he offered to carry my bag and we got along and it was just easy with him on the bag. I mean, we didn’t hit into the bush once. We kept it in play the whole day. It was a good round.”
Soft-spoken and always focused, Ladner, who has had a couple of good rounds this season already, refuses to get carried away, even in the aftermath of a momentous victory.
“It’s obviously nice to win but I’m still going to stay patient and stay positive,” said Ladner.
“It’s nice to win now before we go to the co-sanctioned tournaments and their pre-qualifiers. Hopefully, this gives me a little bit of confidence. I know that if you stick to your processes, everything will fall into place and what’s meant to be, will be.”
Disappointing as Swart’s finish was – a double-bogey seven in the par-five 18th – the Sunshine Tour rookie should be proud of his effort this week. Minus that double on the last and the drop he made of the first hole, Swart’s final round here was just as solid.
Swart might not have won this week, but he will, certainly, be celebrating Ladner’s victory too.
LEADING FINAL SCORES
204 - Travis Ladner 68 68 68
206 - Stals Swart 70 68 68
208 - Jason Roets 71 69 68, Werner Deyzel 68 71 69
209 - Johan Theron 69 71 69, Ricky Hendler 71 67 71, Marthin Scheepers 71 64 74
210 - Philip Geerts 73 69 68, Andre De Decker 71 69 70, Dylan O'Leary 70 69 71, Harry Konig 68 71 71, Matthew Rushton 69 69 72, Warwick Purchase 73 70 67
211 - Paul Boshoff 73 69 69, Thabiso Ngcobo 70 72 69, Henning du Plooy 74 69 68, Dayne Moore 69 69 73
212 - Leon Vorster 70 71 71, Keelan Africa 68 74 70, Tumelo Molloyi 72 67 73, Ruan Groenewald 68 70 74, Fabrizio De Abreu 67 76 69
213 - Irvin Mazibuko 69 72 72, Carlo Heunis 71 71 71, Coert Groenewald 70 70 73, Jaden Deltel 73 70 70
214 - Ruan de Smidt 71 72 71
216 - Shaahid Mahmed 72 70 74, Alphius Kelapile 73 70 73
218 - Karabo Mokoena 73 70 75
223 - Sabelo Xolani Majola 69 74 80