Naicker doubles up with golfing feast at Waterkloof
Naicker intends to play the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School in March next year and says the Race to Q-School Series is vital to his preparation
DAMIAN Naicker served up a feast of birdies at Waterkloof Golf Club to secure his second IGT Tour title this season at the Race to Q-School #2 on October 12.
Naicker began the final round three strokes behind rookie Kyle Barker and dropped further back when he stumbled out of the blocks with a bogey start.
The 27-year-old Modderfontein golfer responded to the early blip with a birdie at the second and systematically began to hunt down Barker with further gains at six, nine, 10, 12 and 14.
Going down the stretch, he kicked it into high gear and fired a trio of birdies over the closing holes for a blistering eight-under-par 64 and a winning total of 16-under-par 200.
Gauteng amateur David McIntyre was equally impressive with a flawless 65 and finished four shots back in sole second, while Barker shared third with Ekurhuleni amateur Kyle McClatchie after the duo posted rounds of 72 and 69 respectively.
Naicker has notched a handful of top 10 finishes since his breakthrough victory on the country’s premier development Tour at the Zwartkops Match Play in June.
He was pleased as punch to follow a tie for sixth in the first Race to Q-School event with another visit to the winner’s circle.
“I had a great match play record as an amateur and it’s a format I’ve always excelled at, but after the win at Zwartkops I had a bunch of close calls, and the doubts started setting in. You wonder if you have what it takes to win a stroke play event, so to close this out is huge for me.
Naicker said the bogey start was unexpected, but it didn’t throw him off his game.
“One thing that I’ve learned this season from playing with the Sunshine Tour pros is that they walk off the bogeys, because there are still holes out there to play,” he said.
Naicker intends to play the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School in March next year and says the Race to Q-School Series is vital to his preparation.
“It’s great when you win, because you win your entry into your next event,” he said. “If you finish in the top five at the end of the series, the IGT Tour refunds your Q-School entry fee and you’re straight into final stage.
“Having incentives like that is great, because it pushes you to take your game to the next level. There are still 16 events and I hope to lift a few more trophies before March.”
