England’s Joe Sullivan gifted himself the perfect birthday present, albeit a little late, when he clinched the Betway Big Easy Blue Label Invitational at Killarney Country Club on Wednesday.
Sullivan, who turned 23 on May 6, claimed his maiden Betway Big Easy Tour title in some spectacular fashion on Wednesday, defeating Tristan Leonard on the first hole of sudden-death after both players finished three-under in regulation.
Leonard opted to tee off first, landing his shot in the middle of the fairway, while Sullivan pushed his to the left of the fairway, where he had some trees and water to negotiate with. His second show was a thing of beauty, with the ball skipping across the water that guards the 18th green, landing 75 feet from the flag.
Leonard found the edge of the green with his second shot, necessitating a chip-in for birdie, which he missed.
Sullivan stood over his ball for his birdie-putt, read his line to perfection and drained the long putt to end the contest.
“As I said previously, I stick to my process,” said the Sussex native, Sullivan, when assessing his final round. “I have a process that goes into every week, but unfortunately, I can’t reveal what it is. The process is important to me, and it keeps me calm and in the moment.
“That play-off is one for the history books, for sure. It was not my best tee shot; down the left-hand side, I had 190 yards to the pin and decided to hit it right of the bunker. It, somehow, skipped across the water and onto the green, to 75 feet, and I holed it. I couldn’t complain about that one, the putter was hot this week.”
Having finished in a share of second in the last event, Sullivan admitted that he felt his time would come sooner rather than later.
“What a moment,” he remarked. “I’ve been grinding hard, and it felt like the win has been coming over the last couple of weeks, so it’s nice to finally get it done.”
Sullivan, still in his rookie season, joins fellow Englishman Harry Konig, veteran Ulrich Van Den Berg and member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, Lyle Pedro, in the winner’s category for this season, an achievement he hopes will help accelerate his pursuit of a Sunshine Tour card for next season.
“This is a great place for starting your professional career,” he said of this Sunshine Tour feeder circuit. “The competition is good, the golf courses are good, and everything is good. This is a great stepping stone in the right direction.
“This win is important because the more points I get, the easier it will be for me to finish inside the top 12 and get my Sunshine Tour card at the end of the year; that’s what we are all playing for here. I’m just happy that I can get the points early on in the season.”
With his win at Killarney, Sullivan has now climbed to the summit of the Order of Merit. The top 12 players at the end of the season will earn their Sunshine Tour playing privileges for next season.
The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s feeder circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els among other patrons.
Scores
207 - Tristan Leonard 68 71 68, Joe Sullivan 67 69 71
208 - Makhetha Mazibuko 69 72 67, Keelan van Wyk 70 70 68, Haydn Porteous 70 65 73
209 - Ulrich van den Berg 71 71 67, Luke Joy 70 66 73
210 - Jason Froneman 70 71 69, Austin Cherichella 70 69 71, Karabo Mokoena 70 68 72, Thabiso Ngcobo 68 68 74
211 - Andre De Decker 70 71 70, Leon Visser 68 71 72, Matthew Rushton 71 67 73
212 - Johnathan Ackerman 71 70 71, Slade Pickering 71 64 77
213 - John-George Pringle 72 70 71, Travis Procter 73 69 71, Merrick Bremner 70 71 72
214 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi 71 72 71, Louis Liebenberg 74 68 72, James Pennington 70 72 72, Therion Nel 74 68 72, Brandon-Jude Rennie 72 68 74
215 - Ruben Van Der Berg 70 73 72
217 - Dillon Germshuys 72 70 75, Thanda Mavundla 72 69 76
219 - Lwazi Gqira 73 70 76
220 - Jacques Van der Merwe 76 67 77
221 - Reece Mc Kain 71 72 78
222 - Keagan Crosbie 70 73 79, Keelan Africa 68 71 83
223 - Jason Broomhead 71 72 80
Missed the cut:-
144 - Ryan Fricker 73 71, Janko van der Merwe 70 74
145 - Kian Coetzer 68 77, Brandon Pieters 72 73, Siyanda Mwandla 75 70, Vaughn van Deventer 76 69, Travis Ladner 73 72, Richard Joubert 75 70, Tyrone Ryan 76 69
146 - Matt Millar 74 72, Gary Kemp 73 73, Peter Karmis 70 76, Hayden Garcia 76 70, Jastice Mashego 68 78, Regan Steyn 75 71
147 - Sentanio Minnie 76 71, Ryan Tipping 74 73, Tiago Jorge Swart 75 72, Jaden Deltel 75 72, Shaheed Patel 74 73, LB Boshoff 73 74, Philip Geerts 78 69, Tiger Adams 77 70
148 - Haydn Driver 78 70, David Amm 74 74, Teboho Sefatsa 72 76, Steven Le Roux 74 74, Jungwi Lee 74 74, Andrew Williamson 73 75, Andre Van Zyl 77 71, Matthew Dennis 75 73, Wade Jacobs 72 76
149 - Nicholas Lavarone 69 80, Liam Ross 71 78, Jarryd Elliott 77 72, Jan-Hendrik Nieuwoudt 76 73, Mark Maart 73 76, Kyle Kistensamy 73 76, Shaunak Rama 77 72, Carl Mwale 76 73, Tylor Phillips 78 71, Leon van der Walt 75 74, Lyle Pedro 74 75
150 - Basil Wright Jr 75 75, DK Kim 75 75, Oliver Goldhill 72 78, Jonathan Waschefort 72 78, Brandon Gildenhuys 73 77, Wandre Snyman 75 75, Mitch Phigeland 78 72
151 - Joshua Koekemoer 74 77, Nicko Venter 75 76, Nick Beart 80 71, Adam Breen 78 73
152 - Johnty Darvall 71 81, Josh Hirsch 79 73, Gevone Skopelitis 77 75, Matthew Bennett 77 75, Khanya Mkhize 82 70
153 - Sean Howell 76 77, Allister de Kock 76 77, Lance Ellerbeck 75 78, Mandla Dlamini Jnr 78 75, Ivan Mare 75 78
154 - Slenda Sithebe 74 80, Tumelo Molloyi 78 76
155 - Dean Ralphs 79 76
156 - Jabulane Mabilane 76 80, Warrick Moonieyan 78 78, Siebert Wiid 77 79
157 - Jarryd Govender 76 81
158 - David Waschefort 76 82, Austin Mashego 76 82, Richard Kruger 78 80
159 - John Bele 81 78, Darren Neyt 80 79, Tristin Galant 80 79
162 - Christiaan Pretorius 77 85
163 - Nkosikhona Dilla 83 80
WDN - Drikus Joubert 77 WDN, Alphius Kelapile 83 WDN, Shaydon Johnson 81 WDN, Evance Vukeya 79 WDN, M-Jay Xaba 78 RTD, Gareth Willing RTD, Ricco Motsa RTD, Mohammed Saloojee RTD