Young golfing sensation, Mbombela born and bred Thriston Lawrence’s lucrative golfing career recently culminated into the biggest win of his career – the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Stellenbosch.

The 22 year old’s (world number 261) win last weekend not only secured him the top order of merit spot in the Sunshine Tour, but also the biggest cash prize of his career as a pro thus far – R158 500.

In a closely contested final round, it came down to five players tightly contesting the top spot, but in the end he sealed a one-shot victory.
The former Laerskool and Hoërskool Nelspruit pupil is one of the most exciting talents to emerge form South Africa in recent years. This was first pro tournament win out of 39, but he did achieve ten top-10 finishes.

Trailing by five shots at the start of the final round, the Mbombela Golf Club representative had to dig deep to get himself into contention and he did just that.

While many had their money on Jean-Paul Strydom, JJ Senekal or Deon Germishuys, Lawrence was quietly going about his business around the Stellenbosch course.

Three birdies, an eagle and a bogey on the front nine was always going to be a solid start to any round, but coming home and gaining confidence after each shot, Lawrence birdied the 12th and made another eagle, this time on the par-five 14th to get to 15 under par for the tournament, a stroke ahead of Riekus Nortje, Germishuys, Strydom and Senekal.

“I’m quite speechless,” was the first thing he said after his round, “I was five shots back but I knew I was playing solidly all day. So, to get my first win is special.”

He has been playing solidly indeed this calendar year and that is proven by the three runner-up finishes he had before this all-important victory.

“This win means a lot to me because not everybody wins,” he said, “and to get that breakthrough is special. I’ve been knocking on the door for quite a long time now. But it’s all down to staying patient. I knew this is not a sprint but a marathon, there’s a lot of events and I’m playing well, so I stayed patient and got it done.”

His win moves him to the top of the current Order of Merit, dethroning JC Ritchie who was not in the field last week.