MARCUS PRIOR, Lusaka | Monday 3.30pm.
JAMES Loughnane, the Cape Town professional who plays under the Irish flag, won the R500000 Zambia Open for the second time in three years after clawing his way past overnight leader Bradford Vaughan at the very last hole of the tournament.
Loughnane finished on 18 under-par after a fourth sub-70 round in a row, with Vaughan a further stroke behind and Justin Hobday on his own in third on 15 under after an astonishing eleven under-par 62.
The title was decided at the par-5 eighteenth, with Loughnane and Vaughan locked together, as they were for much of the tournament. Vaughan was always struggling after pushing his drive right into the trees and then hitting his third shot fat, the ball falling well short of the putting surface. With Loughnane six inches away in four, Vaughan knew he had to hole his ten foot par putt. He struck it well and even though it clipped the hole, it refused to drop.
The two players came to the back nine seperated by two shots, but for the second day in succession Loughnane fought his way back. By the time he chipped in for birdie at the short sixteenth, he was back on level terms. “That chip on sixteen was absolutely crucial”, Loughnane said afterwards. “I said to my caddie as we sized it up that perhaps we were due one and so it proved. I can’t help feeling that someone up there was looking out for me today.”
Loughnane’s win is further proof, if any were needed, that he relishes returning to the country of his birth. “I just seem to get it right in Zambia”, he said. “In four appearances here I’ve finished 1st, 11th, 2nd and now first again. You’re looking at half my career earnings coming here in Zambia!”
A disconsolate Vaughan was sober in defeat. “I’ve had two bogeys in the last two days and one of them came at the last hole today”, he said with a wry grin. “James was like a little fox terrier out there – I just couldn’t shake him off. But losing out like this only makes me more determined to come back and prove myself again.” — AFP