Ritchie rules the roost at Sunshine Tour event at Ebotse Links
The pros came out at Ebotse.
He held on grimly down the stretch, and when JC Ritchie made birdie on the 18th, it was enough for a tense one-stroke victory in the R800 000 Sun Carnival City Challenge at Ebotse Links on August 10.
The Sunshine Tour event took place from August 8 to 10 at the Benoni course and provided a stern test, particularly on Thursday when wind speeds were quite powerful.
Ritchie carded a final-round level-par 72 to edge clear of what was looking like a three-way tie between himself, Toto Thimba and Alex Haindl.
That final birdie was too much for Thimba, his playing partner, who had mounted a late charge with three birdies in the final six holes.
“Today was very stressful,” said a relieved Ritchie after winning his second Sunshine Tour title after his maiden win in last year’s Zimbabwe Open.
“It started off a lot calmer than I thought it would be. When I was two-under after eight holes, and then I just managed to keep it together after that.”
When he reached the ninth tee, he was five clear of the nearest opposition, and it seemed he would romp home.
A double-bogey six on the ninth saw the first signs of a crack in his serene façade, and Timba, Haindl, Pieter Moolman and Michael Palmer were all poised to take advantage should he have slipped further.
When Ritchie made birdie on 12, equilibrium seemed to have been restored, but bogeys on 14 and 16 soon brought all the pressure back.
“Toto was playing brilliant golf today, but he just wasn’t making putts,” said Ritchie.
“But, when he made birdie on 17 that really put the pressure on.
“When I holed my putt on 18 it was just brilliant for me because I had a feeling that Toto would miss his birdie putt.”
It was a tough putt for Ritchie – possibly much tougher than Thimba’s little nine-footer which slid away downhill and right.
“Even Stanley, my caddie, came to help,” laughed Ritchie.
“I told him all I could do was try and feel it.
“It was downwind, down off the slope from the right – everything was just running away from me.
“I can’t tell you where I hit it – I just know it went in the middle.”
For Ritchie, it was experience in losing which he felt helped him deal with the pressure, rather than memories of his victory.
“I think I learnt more from this year’s Zimbabwe Open, where I wasn’t able to defend my title,” he said.
“I was able to keep things together under pressure, just to control my emotions, to control what I was doing, keeping the ball in play, and trying to finish.”
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