Louis Albertse cruised to a seven-stroke victory in the inaugural Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq, and with it claimed the R1 million cheque for first place at Royal Johannesburg on Sunday.
Albertse played incredibly composed golf over the weekend, culminating in his final round of 64 to win on 23 under par 265.
“It’s been an unbelievable week. Golf is hard and it’s nice when you put in the work to get the result,” said Albertse.
Sunshine Ladies Tour professional Casandra Alexander and Welsh professional Rhys Enoch shared second place on 16 under par with respective final rounds of 68.
GolfRSA star and reigning Africa Amateur champion Altin van der Merwe finished as the leading amateur on eight under par.
This tournament was a celebration of the champions on the Sunshine Tour, Sunshine Ladies Tour and within South African amateur golf, and Albertse emerged as the champion of champions with a performance that picks up where he ended last season, finishing third on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy with a win and nine top-10s.
“This game is so tough so the weeks that do go well you need to cherish and enjoy it. I’m extremely grateful. The performance has been great. The players in this tournament are all great and I knew what I needed to do. I didn’t put myself under too much pressure and I gave my putter a chance today. The R1 million is also welcome because golf is expensive.”
Alexander certainly impressed in her representation of South African women’s professional golf. Her 61 in the second round earned her the tournament lead going into the weekend and she did her best to push Albertse on the final day.
And as part of the showcase of the strength and depth throughout the South African golf fraternity, David Watts and Daniel Slabbert shared first place in the separate competition held for the South African Disabled Golf Association (SADGA).
Watts and Slabbert both finished on four over par. Watts signed for successive rounds of 74, while Slabbert posted rounds of 70 and 78.
“We are so excited at the outcome of this tournament. The fans and the players really supported the tournament. Our goal for this tournament was to create heroes for the next generation, and the support of Waterfall City and Attacq has been instrumental in this,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. – Michael Vlismas.
SCORES:
265 - Louis Albertse 65 68 68 64
272 - Casandra Alexander 70 61 73 68, Rhys Enoch 72 66 66 68
274 - Rupert Kaminski 70 67 68 69
275 - Gerhard Pepler 67 70 69 69, Kyle Barker 72 66 67 70
276 - Darren Fichardt 71 68 72 65, Nikhil Rama 70 69 68 69
277 - Jonathan Broomhead 74 70 66 67, Deon Germishuys 69 69 71 68, Ryan Van Velzen 70 68 68 71
279 - Hennie Otto 68 70 73 68
280 - CJ du Plessis 72 67 72 69, Jaco Ahlers 69 71 70 70, Altin van der Merwe 72 69 68 71, Tvesa Malik 69 72 68 71
282 - Neil Schietekat 71 70 69 72, Ivan Verster 67 71 69 75
283 - Cara Gorlei 74 67 73 69, Robin Williams 73 71 70 69
284 - Malcolm Mitchell 74 71 69 70
285 - Kylie Henry 67 76 74 68, Heinrich Bruiners 72 68 74 71, Bjorn Akesson 68 75 71 71, Pieter Moolman 71 70 71 73
286 - Robson Chinhoi 67 72 80 67, Peter Karmis 73 70 70 73
287 - Martin Rohwer 71 71 72 73
288 - Luca Filippi 73 72 73 70, Gabrielle Venter 72 68 76 72, Jbe Kruger 74 69 70 75
292 - Lejan Lewthwaite 77 74 72 69
294 - Leon Vorster 80 73 70 71
312 - Kesha Louw 85 78 73 76