Thriston Lawrence cautioned overnight that his three-shot lead going into the final round of the SunBet Challenge Time Square Casino event at Wingate Park Country Club would not be immune to threat, but he did not see any significant challenges on the last day as he cruised to a five-shot victory in the R2 million Sunshine Tour tournament on Friday.
And it’s not as if the rest of the field produced mediocre golf either.
Lawrence was just once again pure class as he fired a five-under-par 67 to take him to 20-under for the 54 holes.
The moment @ThristonL won his 4th Sunshine Tour trophy. 🏆 #SunBetChallenge #SunBetChallengeTimeSquare #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/oJ4kcZTO9r
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) August 23, 2024
The exciting 26-year-old Dylan Naidoo matched that 67 to finish second on 15-under-par, with Yurav Premlall third on 13-under after a 71 on Friday, both making powerful statements as members of the Sunshine Tour's Papwa Sewgolum Class for historically disadvantaged golfers.
Ryan van Velzen, the 2023/24 winner of the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, produced the low round of the day, a 66 that took him into a share of fourth place on 12-under with Michael Hollick (69) and Neil Schietekat (71).
Jacques Blaauw, who was tied for second with Premlall after the second round, struggled off the tee on Friday and shot a 73 that left him on 11-under-par, tied for seventh with George Coetzee (70) and Werner Deyzel (70).
Lawrence settled any nerves right from the outset as he birdied the first two holes, and then went out in four-under 31 as he also birdied the fifth and ninth holes.
The world number 76 then birdied the 11th and 13th holes to stretch his lead to a mighty seven shots, and he could afford a bogey on the par-three 14th before cruising home with pars.
The @SunbetSA challenge hosted by @timesquareza champion Thriston Lawrence shares his thoughts after his 4th Sunshine Tour victory 🗣️ 🤳 🏆 #SunBetChallenge #SunBetChallengeTimeSquare #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/myaB0gJnkE
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) August 23, 2024
'DREAM START'
“It was definitely a dream start, but from the third to the eighth there was a wind change which made it tricky. But I just had to stay composed and hit my numbers. It was a good driving day, everything pretty much went where I wanted,” Lawrence said.
Even though Lawrence has a hunk of professional titles, he said his fourth Sunshine Tour win was still very special, coming in his first competitive round since injuring his back during his fourth-place finish in the Open Championship last month.
“It’s awesome, every victory is still insane to pull off. I haven’t won a normal Sunshine Tour event since 2019, and I haven’t had a win anywhere since last year, so this is nice. You never know when you’re going to win again, so I am very grateful. I will always support this tour because it gave me my start.
“It’s been a great week and to win just before I go back overseas is really nice for the confidence. No matter how much you lead by, it’s always a cool feeling on the 18th green because you don’t want to mess up. I’m proud of my patience because the greens were tricky. My game feels great and my body feels amazing.
“But it’s back to the drawing board on Monday. I still have a job to do on the DP World Tour, I’m trying to get one of the 10 cards for the PGA Tour. Then I’ll be back for Africa’s Major [Nedbank Golf Challenge] and Leopard Creek [Alfred Dunhill Championship]. I’ve always wanted to win both of those, so hopefully I win one this year,” Lawrence, currently sixth on the Race to Dubai, said.
SCORES:
196 - Thriston Lawrence 62 67 67
201 - Dylan Naidoo 70 64 67
203 - Yurav Premlall 66 66 71
204 - Ryan Van Velzen 68 70 66, Michael Hollick 69 66 69, Neil Schietekat 69 64 71
205 - George Coetzee 64 71 70, Werner Deyzel 67 68 70, Jacques Blaauw 62 70 73
208 - Vaughn van Deventer 71 67 70, Luke Brown 70 67 71
209 - Jonathan Broomhead 72 67 70, James Mack 67 72 70, Rourke van der Spuy 70 67 72
210 - Gregory Mckay 72 69 69
211 - Makhetha Mazibuko 69 71 71, LB Boshoff 70 70 71
212 - Heinrich Bruiners 71 71 70, Therion Nel 69 73 70, Gerhard Pepler 70 72 70, Louis Albertse 72 69 71, Danie Van Niekerk 69 72 71, Lyle Rowe 71 69 72, Jean Hugo 71 68 73, Christiaan Burke 71 68 73, Ricky Hendler 71 68 73, Stefan Wears-Taylor 68 69 75
213 - MJ Viljoen 72 69 72, Ethan Smith 70 71 72, Kyle De Beer 68 68 77
214 - Ruan Conradie 70 71 73, Kyle McClatchie 72 69 73, Stals Swart 68 73 73, Doug McGuigan 70 69 75, Darren Fichardt 70 69 75, Graham van der Merwe 69 69 76
215 - Altin van der Merwe 72 70 73, Keagan Thomas 70 71 74, Dan Erickson 72 69 74, Keegan Mclachlan 69 70 76, Jacques P de Villiers 71 67 77
216 - Jake Redman 67 73 76, Quintin Wilsnach 66 74 76, Kyle Barker 71 69 76, Wynand Dingle 70 69 77
217 - Jason Roets 70 72 75, Luke Jerling 77 64 76, Hennie O'Kennedy 71 70 76, Rupert Kaminski 70 70 77, Franklin Manchest 68 72 77
218 - Samuel Simpson 71 70 77
219 - Joe Long 69 70 80
220 - Jacob Oakley 72 70 78, Jaco Ahlers 68 74 78
222 - Hennie Otto 70 72 80
225 - Jabulane Mabilane 73 69 83
MISSED THE CUT:-
143 - Toto Thimba Jnr 75 68, Fredrik From 72 71, Andre De Decker 73 70, Christiaan Basson 73 70, Allister de Kock 72 71, Hayden Griffiths 75 68
144 - Gary Kemp 72 72, Conner Mackenzie 69 75, Jovan Rebula 73 71, Nikhil Rama 71 73, Keenan Davidse 74 70, Malcolm Mitchell 73 71, Daniel van Tonder 71 73, Jbe Kruger 72 72
145 - Craig Ross 71 74, Gerard du Plooy 74 71, Leon Vorster 74 71, Jacquin Hess 75 70, DK Kim 73 72, Estiaan Conradie 72 73, Dayne Moore 71 74
146 - Ruan Korb 74 72, Herman Loubser 72 74, Combrinck Smit 73 73, Brandon Gildenhuys 76 70, Keelan van Wyk 76 70, Sentanio Minnie 74 72, Brandon Pieters 75 71, Ruan de Smidt 75 71, Martin Rohwer 71 75, Matthew Spacey 69 77, Rhys West 75 71, Thanda Mavundla 77 69
147 - Njoroge Kibugu 72 75, Otto Van Buynder 72 75, Trevor Mahoney 74 73, Simon du Plooy 75 72, Travis Ladner 73 74, Jordan Duminy 70 77, Callum Mowat 77 70, Regan Steyn 74 73
148 - Brandon Meads 76 72, Stuart Krog 75 73, Jean-Paul Strydom 71 77
149 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi 75 74, Tumelo Molloyi 76 73, Irvin Mazibuko 76 73, Thabiso Ngcobo 76 73
150 - Robson Chinhoi 77 73, Ruan Groenewald 74 76, Albert Venter 74 76, CJ du Plessis 75 75, Stephen Ferreira 74 76
151 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 73 78, Haydn Porteous 81 70, Mike Maile 75 76, Dylan O'Leary 77 74, Tristin Galant 79 72, Lyle Pedro 73 78, Jared Harvey 76 75
152 - Thabang Simon 79 73, Terence Boardman 78 74, Steven Le Roux 75 77, Pierre Pellegrin 74 78, Christian Kriek 78 74
153 - Adam Breen 76 77, Jaco Van Zyl 75 78, Nick Cunningham 75 78, Merrick Bremner 75 78
154 - Mohammad Rauf Mandhu 79 75
155 - Ronald Rugumayo 75 80, Andrew Williamson 77 78
157 - Umar Davids 76 81, Slenda Sithebe 76 81
164 - Jastice Mashego 79 85
WDN - James Hart du Preez 73 WDN WDN