Rourke van der Spuy kept the door firmly closed on multiple Sunshine Tour winners Hennie Otto and Louis de Jager as another inspired putting display saw him shoot 69 in the final round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City to claim a three-stroke victory in the first event of the SunBet Series.
De Jager, who has won five times on tour, and Otto, who has a whopping 13 Sunshine Tour titles plus three on the European Tour, were Van der Spuy’s company in the final three-ball, breathing down his neck just one stroke behind the 32-year-old.
But Van der Spuy was unfazed, leading from start-to-finish in the final round. He made an early statement with birdies on the second and third holes, and even back-to-back bogeys on six and seven did not derail him. Birdies on the 10th and 11th holes put him back in command, and he sealed the deal with a fine approach into the middle of the 17th green and a 25-foot birdie putt.
“It was just about spot-on in terms of our planning. My coach Shaun Coetzee and I said we would go for a score in the 60s, on a tough course like this that felt like it would be good enough,” a delighted Van der Spuy said.
“Something under-par was our target and I’m very proud to have broken 70. I had control of my game, even when Louis went on a good run on the back nine. That birdie on 17 was my most clutch putt of the day.
“I’ve been very good on the greens all week and my only slip-up was a three-putt on seven, but that was a very long putt.
“I’ve always thought, why not lead and be the frontrunner, even one shot counts at the end of the day,” Van der Spuy said.
It’s been four years between celebrations for the Durban Country Club golfer, whose previous Sunshine Tour wins were at the Mopani Redpath Zambia Open in 2018 and the Fish River Sun Challenge in 2015.
Making the occasion even more special was to be able to beat Otto, who finished in a tie for third, four shots back, after a level-par 72 on Friday.
“Playing with Hennie was a wonderful feeling because growing up, and when I started at the bottom of the Sunshine Tour, I looked up to him as a mentor. He is such an accomplished and successful golfer, and Louis as well. Today I realised some childhood dreams,” Van der Spuy said.
Ockie Strydom fired a 68, the low round of the day, to finish in a tie for fifth on three-under-par with JJ Senekal (71) and the in-form Louis Albertse (72).
De Jager finished in second place on his own, on five-under-par, after making 71 in the final round. But he did give Van der Spuy some cause for concern on the back nine as he collected three birdies.
But not even that could distract Van der Spuy from his goal.
FINAL SCORES
208 - Rourke van der Spuy 68 71 69
211 - Louis de Jager 72 68 71
212 - Jaco Prinsloo 70 71 71, Hennie Otto 71 69 72
213 - Ockie Strydom 74 71 68, JJ Senekal 73 69 71, Louis Albertse 71 70 72
214 - Jaco Van Zyl 74 70 70
215 - Jacques P de Villiers 70 73 72, Alex Haindl 71 71 73, Kyle Barker 70 70 75
216 - Dylan Mostert 75 68 73, Lyle Rowe 70 73 73, Stefan Wears-Taylor 72 69 75
217 - Martin Rohwer 73 72 72, Ryan Van Velzen 73 74 70, Joe Long 75 72 70, Dan Erickson 71 71 75, Harry Konig 69 72 76, Dylan Naidoo 74 74 69
218 - Keagan Thomas 73 71 74, Hennie O'Kennedy 75 73 70
219 - MJ Viljoen 69 77 73, Heinrich Bruiners 75 70 74, Herman Loubser 75 73 71
220 - Kyle McClatchie 74 72 74, Matias Calderon 72 75 73, Matthew Spacey 73 74 73, Christiaan Basson 72 72 76
221 - Michael Kok 72 73 76, James Pennington 73 73 75, Nikhil Rama 73 74 74, Madalitso Muthiya 75 69 77, Divan van den Heever 76 72 73
222 - Clinton Grobler 76 71 75, CJ du Plessis 72 76 74, Callum Mowat 67 73 82
223 - Jean Hugo 73 73 77, Adam Breen 71 76 76, Riekus Nortje 77 70 76
224 - Quintin Wilsnach 72 74 78, Jacquin Hess 73 73 78, Andre De Decker 75 73 76
225 - Peter Karmis 72 71 82
227 - Andre Van Dyk 73 75 79
229 - Lindani Ndwandwe 72 74 83
232 - Aneurin Gounden 74 74 84