Rowe looking to exploit home advantage
Port Elizabeth local Lyle Rowe says he is heading into the final leg of the Sunshine Tour's Origins of Golf tournament full of confidence, with the knowledge that the event takes place at the St Francis Links course.
File picture: Lyle Rowe during day 3 of the Vodacom Origins of Golf from Parys Golf & Country Estate on September 13, 2013 in Free State, South Africa. Photo by Petri Oeschger/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images.
“I play the course twice or three times a month when I’m in town,” Rowe said on Tuesday.
Chasing a maiden victory in his professional career, which started in 2009, Rowe finished runner-up in his last outing on the tour, losing out to Andrew Curlewis on the first hole of a play-off in the Parys leg on September 13.
“It was a great confidence-booster,” Rowe said.
“I’d had a couple of good results in the tournaments before that a share of 12th at Langebaan and of 20th at the Wild Coast and they both came in windy conditions.
“It was windy in Parys, where the top six players were all coastal people, or people experienced in those conditions.”
While early weather forecasts are predicting light to moderate winds, Rowe said the effects of wind on a course like St Francis Links can’t be underestimated.
“It’s useful to know the predominant wind direction and there are places on the course where you can’t feel the wind, but it’s there when the ball gets in the air.
“It’s really important to know what clubs to hit.”
– Sapa
