Therion Nel carded a final-round 71 to claim a one-shot victory over Vaughn van Deventer on a total of 11-under-par at Benoni Country Club on Thursday.
Although he played well enough in the final round – especially on the back nine where he made three birdies and a solitary bogey – it was still a nervy final round for Nel as Van Deventer also charged for victory.
“This was a very up-and-down round,” noted Nel, who plays out of Bloemfontein Golf Club. “Truly speaking, I played solidly; just a few dumb mistakes. I had a three-putt on 14 after a couple of good holes and a birdie. I had a lot of momentum there but that broke it a little bit. So, there were one or two situations that got to me a bit, especially after that three-putt. But I finished strong; a birdie on the 18th. So, I’m very happy with how I played.”
Nel’s front nine was not bad either. He was one-over-par on that stretch and showed some big-match-temperament coming home.
“A win on this Tout gives you a lot of confidence; that you can compete and win against the best players in South Africa. This result certainly gives me that confidence now to say I can compete. I lost my Sunshine Tour card a couple of years back and the Big Easy Tour is one way of getting it back. There is a lot of work to be done and some important tournaments coming, so I will need some good results there to improve my chances of getting back to the Sunshine Tour.”
Such is the importance of the circuit to the players. The Altron Big Easy Tour does not only offer professional golfers an opportunity to compete at a high level and on some magnificent golf courses, it also provides a direct pathway to the Sunshine Tour.
THE FINAL BECKONS
As things stand, Nel is seventh on the Order of Merit with two events – The PlayOff at Irene Country Club and The Final at Blue Valley. The top 50 players on the Order of Merit will be eligible to play the PlayOff and from there, the top 30 will move on to play in The Final.
“It’s been a long road but there’s still a long road ahead,” Nel said, reflecting on where he lies on the standings. “But it’s always nice to see some results after a lot of hard work. I am just happy to be back in the winner’s circle. My last win was a few years back when the Big Easy was sanctioned elsewhere.
Current leader of the Order of Merit, Royal Cape Golf Club’s Samuel Simpson and Werner Deyzel finished in a share of third on eight-under-par 208. Paul Boshoff and Warwich Purchase tied fifth on seven-under while Eric Wowor finished solo seventh on six-under.
Gerhard Trytsman and members of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Wade Jacobs and Allister de Kock finished in a share of eighth on a tournament total of five-under-par 211.
SCORES:
205 - Therion Nel 70 64 71
206 - Vaughn van Deventer 69 65 72
208 - Samuel Simpson 71 70 67, Werner Deyzel 71 68 69
209 - Paul Boshoff 68 71 70, Warwick Purchase 69 67 73
210 - Eric Wowor 70 69 71
211 - Gerhard Trytsman 71 70 70, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 71 70 70, Wade Jacobs 70 72 69, Allister de Kock 69 70 72
212 - Regan Steyn 71 70 71, Kyle De Beer 69 69 74
213 - Steven Le Roux 74 67 72, Andre De Decker 67 73 73, Ricky Hendler 72 71 70, Travis Ladner 72 71 70
214 - Graham van der Merwe 70 72 72, Conner Mackenzie 71 69 74, LB Boshoff 69 70 75, Dayne Moore 71 72 71
215 - Pierre Pellegrin 70 71 74, Keelan van Wyk 70 72 73, Tyron Davidowitz 75 68 72
216 - Gerard du Plooy 72 69 75, Leon Vorster 67 75 74, Jastice Mashego 69 69 78, Coert Groenewald 72 71 73
217 - Makhetha Mazibuko 71 72 74
218 - Slade Pickering 73 69 76
219 - Ethan Smith 73 69 77
220 - Christopher Long 74 69 77
Missed the cut:-
144 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 72 72, Lyle Pedro 72 72, Jordan Duminy 74 70, Reece Mc Kain 71 73, Brandon-Jude Rennie 71 73, Caylum Boon 77 67, Brandon Pieters 73 71, Philip Geerts 71 73, Toto Thimba Jnr 71 73, Andrew McLardy 72 72, Karabo Mokoena 69 75, Leon Visser 73 71, Nicholaus Frade 72 72
145 - Matthew Rushton 71 74, Ruan Groenewald 70 75, Xander Basson 72 73, Noel Anderson 72 73, Heinrich Bruiners 72 73, Andre Van Dyk 71 74, Stals Swart 72 73, Thanda Mavundla 72 73
146 - Brandon Gildenhuys 77 69, Ryan Tipping 75 71, Harry Konig 73 73, Thabiso Ngcobo 70 76, Christian Kriek 74 72
147 - Willie Olivier 72 75, Keelan Africa 79 68, DK Kim 74 73, Jabulane Mabilane 72 75, Keegan Mclachlan 74 73, Luan Steenkamp 74 73
148 - Adriel Poonan 72 76, Jacquin Hess 75 73, Dylan O'Leary 72 76, Thabang Simon 72 76
149 - Carlos Laranja 75 74, Ruan de Smidt 75 74, CJ Levey 76 73, Umar Davids 74 75, Reinhardt Blaauw 74 75, Mandla Dlamini Jnr 76 73
150 - Aneurin Gounden 77 73, Jonathan Waschefort 76 74, Andrew Williamson 73 77, Tumelo Molloyi 74 76, Lindani Ndwandwe 73 77
151 - Henning du Plooy 71 80, Shalan Govender 74 77, Rigardt Albertse 76 75, Morne Buys 78 73, TJ Sandys 79 72
152 - Francois Van der Walt 81 71, Teboho Sefatsa 79 73, James Kamte 77 75, Chase Paton 75 77, Marthin Scheepers 75 77
154 - Carlo Heunis 76 78, Johan Theron 77 77, Lwazi Gqira 76 78
155 - Ricco Motsa 79 76
156 - Siphiwe Siphayi 83 73, Gerard Moodley 73 83, Alphius Kelapile 77 79
157 - Sabelo Xolani Majola 75 82, Jason Froneman 74 83, Sentanio Minnie 83 74, Omar Sandys 77 80, James Pennington 79 78
158 - Elliot Bradley 80 78
161 - Sandy Makume 80 81
163 - Adam Bassingthwaighte 81 82
165 - Brandon Moodley 85 80
167 - Darren Slingers 82 85
WDN - Shaheed Patel 85 WDN, Bradford Vaughan RTD RTD, Mark Maart DSQ DSQ