Welshman Rhys Enoch overcame a weather delay and an onslaught of low scoring in the final round of the Sunshine Tour and European Challenge Tour co-sanctioned SDC Open to claim a two-stroke victory at Zebula Golf Estate and Spa on Sunday.
Enoch started the final round one shot behind the leaders and made three straight birdies from the first on his way to a 66 and a winning total of 24 under par.
It was an emotional triumph for Enoch who dedicated the victory to the passing of his father’s best friend on the Friday of the tournament. It’s also a win that comes after a difficult past two years of injury for Enoch.
“I had an operation on my left shoulder in April 2022 and I’ve just had a few niggles. I was trying to improve and didn’t quite have the control I needed. But I’m now a bit more settled with what I’m doing and I feel like I’ve stepped up a level, which is nice,” said Enoch.
Immediate reaction from our champion @RhysEnoch1 🗣️ #SDCOpen | #GreatnessBeginsHere | #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/YajkGBOXyJ
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 4, 2024
It was a thrilling final round of some incredible scoring and a weather delay.
Englishman Joshua Berry turned in 29 and was 11 under before the delay and seemingly on track for a 59.
A bogey on the restart cost him that honour, but he still signed for a remarkable 61 to finish on 17 under overall.
Deon Germishuys and Martin Rohwer then came surging up the leaderboard and both signed for rounds of 64 to share second place on 22 under par.
But as he rolled in a birdie putt on the last to win, Enoch says he felt an immense sense of relief.
The moment @RhysEnoch1 won the 2024 #SDCOpen #GreatnessBeginsHere | #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/UsZbhqDKf7
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 4, 2024
“It’s been three years since I last won and you keep asking when it will happen again. I’m just so happy to be playing the golf I know I can play again.”
Enoch also wins a four-night stay for two in the Presidential Suite at QWABI Private Game Reserve valued at R150 000 and including accommodation, private dining, drinks, game drives and a signature spa treatment for two.
The Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour now move to Cape Town for this week’s Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open at Royal Cape Golf Club.
FINAL SCORES:
264 - Rhys Enoch 66 66 66 66
266 - Martin Rohwer 69 67 66 64, Deon Germishuys 67 69 66 64
268 - Dylan Naidoo 71 64 69 64
269 - Chris Paisley 65 70 66 68, George Bloor 69 67 65 68
270 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 72 68 67 63, Ryan Van Velzen 69 66 69 66, Curtis Knipes 68 66 69 67, Jamie Rutherford 71 65 66 68, Wilco Nienaber 64 69 64 73
271 - Stuart Krog 71 69 64 67, Lyle Rowe 68 72 63 68, Joshua Berry 70 66 74 61, Angel Ayora 65 69 67 70
272 - Pieter Moolman 68 69 69 66, Alexander Levy 64 68 69 71, Gerhard Pepler 70 64 67 71, Jbe Kruger 67 67 67 71, Louis Albertse 67 65 65 75
274 - Aron Zemmer 70 70 66 68, Luke Jerling 69 71 68 66
275 - Dylan Mostert 73 66 68 68, Neil Schietekat 69 69 68 69, Malcolm Mitchell 65 69 71 70, Daniel Young 69 67 69 70, Keenan Davidse 74 66 65 70, Benjamin Follett-Smith 66 69 69 71, Sean Bradley 71 68 65 71
276 - John Parry 69 69 68 70, Nikhil Rama 70 70 65 71, Lee Slattery 68 71 69 68, Jean Hugo 67 70 71 68, Robin Sciot-Siegrist 70 67 67 72, Robin Roussel 69 69 72 66
277 - Niklas Regner 69 68 69 71, Herman Loubser 72 67 68 70, Kyle Barker 66 72 68 71, Jonathan Broomhead 70 69 69 69, Wynand Dingle 70 69 69 69, Daniel van Tonder 74 64 71 68, Gary Hurley 68 68 68 73
278 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 70 68 71, Keith Horne 70 66 71 71, Gregorio De Leo 69 70 71 68
279 - Anthony Michael 70 70 67 72, Ross Mcgowan 70 67 69 73, Martin Vorster 68 71 67 73, Philipp Katich 68 67 72 72, Rupert Kaminski 68 72 69 70, Oliver Farr 72 67 71 69
280 - Christoffer Bring 70 70 67 73, Hayden Hopewell 70 68 71 71, Willie Olivier 70 68 71 71, Sam Hutsby 71 68 73 68
281 - CJ du Plessis 71 69 71 70, Lars van Meijel 65 73 74 69
282 - Joel Moscatel 72 66 69 75, Matthew Spacey 66 71 70 75, Ben Schmidt 72 68 68 74, Tom Shadbolt 65 74 71 72, Justin Walters 71 69 74 68, Martin Couvra 71 69 75 67
283 - Craig Howie 73 67 66 77, Makhetha Mazibuko 69 71 73 70
284 - Quim Vidal 71 65 74 74, Danie Van Niekerk 71 69 72 72
285 - David Langley 68 71 69 77, Hamish Brown 68 70 74 73