Local Irene golfer seals State Mines triumph
A young Pretoria golfer who forfeited his Sunshine Tour card last year is determined to return to the top tournaments and his campaign is on track after his first victory in this year's Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour.
Jason Smith burst from the blocks with a trio of birdies and kept his foot on the pedal to win his first Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour title of the season at State Mines Country Club last week.
The Pretoria native, who began the final day three shots off the lead, fired a stunning five-under-par 67 to come from behind and triumph on 11-under 205.
A pay-day worth R10 500 boosted Smith to second in the 2019 Road to Sunshine Tour Rankings and he trails leader Matthew Spacey by less than R3 000.
The final round 67 also netted the Irene golfer a share of the low round honours with Jeremy Sharpe.
Sharpe burst through the field with five birdies and an eagle to tie for second on seven-under with Quintin Wilsnach and overnight leader Michael-James Steyn. The pair registered respective rounds of 70 and 74.
It was an action-packed final day, with Smith taking centre stage.
The 25-year-old Irene Country Club golfer pitched it close on the first and second holes and knocked in makeable short putts to get off to a roaring start.
“I wasn’t hitting it as close on the back nine as I’d done on the front, but I sunk some pretty long par putts and that was key to the round. That, and the mental side of it,” said Smith.
He explained that he was bitterly disappointed when I lost his Sunshine Tour card at the end of last season, but when he looked back, he detected a pattern.
“I would play really nicely for two rounds, and let myself down in the last round, because I let myself get distracted by what was happening around me. If someone made three birdies in a row, I’d be worrying about what I needed to do,” he explained.
So, the last couple of months has been all about the mental game for Smith.
“The swing is just the same as it was, but mentally I feel a lot better prepared. I didn’t even know what was happening with the rest of the field today. I saw the leader board after 10 quite by mistake because I walked into it, but after that I just kept my head down and stayed in the moment,” the champion at State Mines Country Club concluded.
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