Shootout at Bluff National: Lucky Luke and the wallet-less ace
There was some drama coming down the home straight.
THOSE of a certain age may remember the cartoon character Lucky Luke… you know, the cowboy with nerves of steel, foiling outlaws and able to shoot faster than his own shadow.
There’s no doubt ‘young gun’ Luke Mayo (17) of Mount Edgecombe Country Club seems destined for bigger things, as evidenced by the defence of the KwaZulu-Natal Invitational at Bluff National Park last Sunday.
While every golfer needs a little luck here and there Mayo probably has the talent to go some places in his career.
For example, at the recent SA Amateur at Humewood Golf Club, he qualified for the main draw via a play-off and then knocked out leading qualifier Chris Woollam (Gowrie Farm).
The players were six and five under par respectively when the game finished on the last hole, with Mayo winning 1-up.
Unfortunately he was knocked out in the next round.
At Bluff, Mayo scored 68 and 73 to win by two from Derek Scullard (Cathedral Peak Golf Club). He almost derailed his chances with a double bogey on the 17th hole.
“That made things interesting going down the last,” he said. In the end he knocked in a five-foot putt for par not knowing who had posted what up ahead.
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Ironically “Scully” had also double-bogeyed the 17th en route to an afternoon 67. “Could have been 65,” he said ruefully.
Still, it was quite an improvement on his morning round of 76. “Had a pie and chips for lunch, been told to pick up some weight. Still, I’m happy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mayo was elated with his win. “I think I may have to sign up for membership at Bluff,” he joked.
His start was solid if unspectacular. He was level par after 14 holes and then chipped in for eagle on the 15th, following it up with two more birdies.
“My putting was solid throughout the day, probably because I just got a new putter. Also, there are a lot of dog-leg holes which seem to suit my eye,” he said.
Bradley Davison (Royal Durban Golf Club) produced a superb return to tournament golf after more than a year since his last one.
“No one is more surprised than me. Chipped and putted my way around,” he said.
Gitesh Maharaj (Maidstone Golf Club) provided one of the highlights of the day, holing out on the 16th with a 9-iron. The ball actually pitched in the hole.
His mates (and others) were hoping for a free ‘dop’ but Maharaj was wallet-less.
“In the morning I decided to wear longs instead of shorts and left my wallet in the shorts. Will make it up to the boys at Sakabula,” he said, in reference to the Midlands Open on March 12.
He followed up the ace in ignominious fashion. “Very next hole I hit that lucky yellow ball in the water,” he laughed.
Leading scores:
141 Luke Mayo (Mount Edgecombe) 68 73
143 Derek Scullard (Cathedral Peak) 76 67
144 Siyanda Mwandla (Mount Edgecombe) 75 69
144 Bradley Davison (Royal Durban) 73 71
144 Nikhil Gopal (Victoria CC) 72 72
145 Jonathan Broomhead (Durban CC) 72 73
146 Jens Hillermann (Noodsberg CC) 75 71
146 David Brown (Mount Edgecombe) 69 77
147 Dave Watson (Kloof CC) 73 74
147 Graham Fabricius (Port Shepstone) 71 76
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