Trevor Immelman became only the seventh golfer in the history of the South African Airways Open to defend his title successfully as he played his way to a convincing three-stroke victory at Erinvale Golf Club on Sunday.
Immelman closed with a 67, including a bogey at the last, to finish on 12 under par 276.
He is the first player since Gary Player in 1976-77 to defend his title successfully, and the seventh behind Laurie Waters, AG Gray, George Fotheringham, Sid Brews, Bobby Locke and Player.
”Those are big shoes to fill,” Immelman said after claiming his fifth professional victory and his second on the European Tour.
Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth and Englishman Steve Webster shared second on nine under par 279.
Wearing his traditional final-round black pants and lime-green shirt, Immelman started the final round two strokes behind the joint overnight leaders, Craig Lile and Anders Hansen.
After a bogey at the second, Immelman began his charge with four birdies for an outward nine of 33.
As both Lile and Hansen struggled to make anything happen in their rounds, Immelman surged ahead with birdies at the 10th, 13th and 16th holes to give himself an unassailable four-stroke lead playing the 18th, and afford him a bogey at the last.
”I hope the championship is here for the end of time,” Immelman said of the decision not to rotate the SA Open this year but to keep it at Erinvale, a course Immelman has played since he was 15, again.
”I definitely feel I am a better player this year than I was last year. I’ve gotten stronger and have more control over my game, and my timing has improved dramatically.”
Both Hansen and Lile finished dismally. Hansen carded successive sevens at the par-five 16th and par-four 17th to finish at five under, while Lile’s championship ended with an eight at the 17th and a five at the last for a total of four under par.
The Sunshine Tour moves to Johannesburg this week for the Dunhill Championship at the Houghton Golf Club, the second of the two tournaments co-sanctioned with the European Tour. — Sapa