MJ Daffue eagled the last to claim an emotional victory in the NTT DATA Pro-Am at Fancourt on Sunday.
The South African closed with a 69 to win a tense final round on 16 under par 200.
Ireland’s Max Kennedy, American Hunter Logan, South Africa’s Bryce Easton and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent all took second place on 12 under par.
It was a remarkable victory for Daffue, who returned to South Africa recently to play his way back into form after a frustrating past two years of injuries and surgeries.
“I’ve always dreamt of having my son run onto the 18th green after a win, and to be honest there was a time when I wondered if it would ever happen. But today it did,” said an emotional Daffue, who was playing on an invitation in this event.
Equally significant is that this victory earns him a place in the upcoming Investec South African Open at Stellenbosch Golf Club in two weeks’ time, which he wasn’t exempt for until this victory.
FINAL ROUND SCORES
200 - MJ Daffue 67 64 69
204 - Max Kennedy 65 70 69
204 - Hunter Logan 66 67 71, Bryce Easton 66 65 73, Kieran Vincent 66 65 73
205 - Sam Hutsby 71 65 69
205 - Jaco Ahlers 67 69 69, Deon Germishuys 66 67 72
206 - Luke Brown 69 69 68
206 - Hennie Otto 69 67 70, James Meyer De Beco 71 65 70, Benjamin Follett-Smith 60 74 72
207 - Calum Fyfe 68 69 70
207 - Hamish Brown 68 69 70, JJ Senekal 63 73 71, Justin Walters 69 66 72, Casey Jarvis 66 68 73
208 - Callum Tarren 70 68 70
208 - Yannik Paul 68 71 69, Wilco Nienaber 69 69 70, Pieter Moolman 71 66 71, Gerhard Pepler 65 72 71, Christiaan Burke 71 68 69, Jaco Prinsloo 69 70 69, Eddie Pepperell 67 68 73, Louis Albertse 66 68 74
209 - Liam Nolan 69 69 71
209 - Ryan Lumsden 70 68 71, MJ Viljoen 66 72 71, Tapio Pulkkanen 69 70 70, Gary Hurley 66 70 73
210 - Conor Purcell 68 70 72
210 - David Horsey 70 68 72, Pierre Viallaneix 72 67 71, Bjorn Akesson 67 70 73, Mike Toorop 70 69 71, Albert Boneta 70 67 73, Sebastian Friedrichsen 71 68 71, Lukas Nemecz 68 66 76, Matthew Baldwin 69 71 70, Jack McDonald 70 70 70, Santiago Tarrio 69 71 70
211 - Jean-Paul Strydom 69 70 72
211 - Will Enefer 69 71 71
212 - Baard Skogen 68 70 74
212 - Adri Arnaus 67 69 76, Matthew Southgate 67 73 72
213 - Alfie Plant 68 71 74
213 - Ernie Els 69 67 77, Neil Schietekat 70 70 73, Alexander Knappe 69 66 78, Clement Sordet 70 70 73, Jeppe Kristian Andersen 69 71 73, Lucas Vacarisas 68 72 73
214 - Maxence Giboudot 71 67 76
214 - Callan Barrow 67 72 75, Dan Erickson 67 72 75, Altin van der Merwe 71 68 75, Borja Virto 67 73 74, Rowan Lester 70 70 74
215 - Nick Carlson 70 68 77
215 - Ryan Van Velzen 68 71 76, Ruan Korb 73 66 76, Filip Mruzek 71 69 75, Julien Quesne 67 73 75
218 - Herman Loubser 69 71 78
219 - Luis Carrera 72 68 79
230 - Shaun Norris 71 69 90