Prinsloo victorious

GOLFING NEWS - Even though he’d built up a good lead going into the final round, Jaco Prinsloo wasn’t able to relax and enjoy himself on his way to his maiden Sunshine Tour victory which he claimed by a single stroke in the Vodacom Origins of Golf final at Simola Golf and Country Estate.

He made three birdies and bogeys each in his final round of level par, in stark contrast to his opening pair of eight-under 64s, but his 16-under-par overnight total was enough to give him the edge over perennial runner-up Ockie Strydom.

“Relieved, I guess is the word,” laughed Prinsloo afterwards. “It was a tough day out there. I was very nervous. I hit decent shots but I was always so scared to make a mistake, and I knew the guys were going to be gunning for me.”

Besides Strydom, who left his charge a little late with four birdies in the final seven holes – including three in a row down the final stretch – he had to keep a wary eye on Doug McGuigan, who had already won two Origins tournaments this season. McGuigan carded a three-under-par 69 to finish two off the pace. But for three bogeys largely brought about by swirling winds which picked up during the latter part of the final round, McGuigan could have made it three titles for the season.

Prinsloo was only too aware of the threat posed by Strydom and McGuigan, and tried to keep his attention on his own play. “I didn’t look at the leaderboards until the 15th,” he said. “With three holes left, I wanted to know if I should push or just play solidly for the last couple of holes. At that point, Doug was just one behind me, so I knew there was no room for mistakes. But luckily I finished with three pars.

Sixth first-time winner
“And I’m good mates with Ockie. He’s come second so many times this season. But I wished I could feel like he does going into a final round in the leading group, because he’s been there so often this year.”

It looked as if Prinsloo was going to run away with things as he started fast. “I got off to a good start with a birdie, a par and another birdie,” he said. “I felt good, but then a couple of dropped shots crept in, so it kind of levelled the playing field again. But it was good to start with a birdie and be calm for a while at least.”

He became the sixth first-time winner on the Sunshine Tour this season, and, in doing so, he played his way into the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the end of the month. It’s the first of the big summer tournaments on the Sunshine Tour schedule, and he’s thrilled to be going there. “It hasn’t sunk in yet that I get to play Mauritius, but it’s going to be lovely to go there and play in a tri-sanctioned event just before the Joburg Open, which is also tri-sanctioned now,” he said.

There was some consolation for Strydom, as he too will be flying to the Indian Ocean island to play, but the sting of finishing second for the sixth time this season cannot be easy to bear.

For Prinsloo, the relief of winning after nearly losing such a big lead was just as palpable.

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