Local veteran seals memorable comeback as professional golfer
After an absence of more than two years due to health problems, Pretoria's Michiel Bothma could again experience the glory of victory in a professional golf tournament last week.
Veteran Pretoria golfer Michiel Bothma dismissed the theory that nice guys don’t win when he stormed to a three-shot victory in the IGT Challenge #3 at Kyalami Country Club last week.
In a professional career spanning 25 years, the soft-spoken, amicable ‘Mr Nice’ showed time and time again that he was made of sterner stuff with four titles on the Sunshine Tour, including two Telkom PGA Championships, and a Challenge Tour win.
But Bothma, nowadays linked to the Woodhill Country Club in the east of Pretoria, was forced to give up the game two years ago when circulation problems in his legs severely affected his balance.
After social game late last year, a friend convinced Bothma he was ready to make his return. With the European Senior Tour beckoning, the 45-year-old began competing on the country’s premier golf development circuit.
If there was any doubt about his desire and determination to return, he silenced his critics with a driven performance at Kyalami.
Six off the pace after a first round one-under-par 71, Bothma fired a 67 in the second round to start the final 18 one off the pace. It took him just four holes to catch leader DK Kim from South Korea.
He produced a pair of eagles, a trio of birdies and lone bogey en route to a seven-under-par 65 that sealed his three-shot triumph on three-under-par 203.
It was an emotional return to the winner’s circle for Bothma, whose last victory was the Barclays Kenya Open on the European Challenge Tour in 2011.
“I knew coming back that it would be a process of steps. Those who think you win right out of the blocks are clueless. That’s the exception to the rule. For most of us, it’s a long, hard grind and you have to do it in steps. Coming back, I started at the bottom. But this time around, I can do it on home soil. I don’t have to fork out thousands of Rands to compete abroad. We have a strong development Tour here,” said a satisfied Bothma after his performance.
Bothma said he is hitting the ball better than he ever did in his career and he is excited about the future.
“Once you taste that winning feeling, you just want it to go on and on. I’d like to win two or three more IGT’s and a couple on the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour. Then I’ll be ready to return to the Sunshine Tour. Right now, I’m just letting this positive feeling sink in,” Bothma concluded.
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