Golf RSA’s Van der Merwe wins Mpumalanga Open
A few hundred players readied their clubs and steadied their putts at the Mbombela Golf Club for the three day long tournament.
After four gruelling rounds of golf, a new Mpumalanga Open champion was crowned on Sunday, September 3.
A few hundred players readied their clubs and steadied their putts at the Mbombela Golf Club from Friday, September 1.
Throughout the tournament, Belville Golf Club’s Altin van der Merwe proved just why he is the number-one ranked amateur golfer in the country. He started off his campaign in the top three with four under par, managing six birdies, 10 pars and two bogeys on the first 18 holes.
ALSO READ: Wonders of the universe explained at Mbombela school
The Capetonian moved into first position at the conclusion of the second day with a terrific six under par for the round. He bogeyed on the first, second and 12th and was the only player to land an eagle on the 14th hole. This brought his tally to 10 under par.
Van der Merwe seemed to lose some steam heading into the final day of the competition. Golfers played two rounds (39 holes) of golf on the day.
After the first 18, Van der Merwe was yet to pull out an ace from his sleeve. He put himself under pressure, playing pars on 12 out of the 18 holes, only managing five birdies and adding one bogey.
ALSO READ: Creativity abounds at Nelspruit Eisteddfod’s art section
Van der Merwe’s four under par set him back a bit, but lucky for him, he had already cemented his lead in the opening stages.
A weak final round by Van der Merwe saw his Golf RSA teammate, Fabrizio de Abreu (Woodhill Country Club), make up a lot of ground.
They both ended their campaign with 11 under par, with a gross of 262.
The two teammates went on to challenge each other in a play-off. Van der Merwe had the last say and dropped in the winning putt.
Other top 10 results:
• 3rd: Jordan Burnand, Ebotse Golf and Country Estate: 264
• 4th: Damian Osner, Simola Golf and Country Estate: 268
• 5th: Sean Paxton, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Rees Martin Emanuel, Country Club Johannesburg, and Luke Truter, Victoria Country Club: 269
• 8th: Dowoo Kim, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, and Christy Raper, Royal Oak Country Club: 270
• 10th: Ruben Jansen van Rensburg, Mooinooi Golf Club: 272.
