A majestic course record 11-under-par 61 from Zimbabwean Marc Cayeux saw him run away with the season-ending Vodacom Tour Championship at the par-72 Country Club layout on Sunday.
Going into the final round, a playoff looked the most likely scenario but Cayeux literally floored his opposition to end the tournament on 20-under par 268, a staggering six shots clear of South Africa’s Keith Horne who came home alone in second place.
Third spot was shared by defending champion Andrew McLardy and Nic Henning on 12-under, while Ulrich van den Berg, Justin Walters, Richard Sterne and Hendrik Buhrmann ended joint fifth at 11-under.
In winning, Cayeux became the first non-South African to capture this title, although it is his seventh victory on the Sunshine Tour. He walks off with a cheque of R317 000 and direct entry into the NEC Invitational at Akron, Ohio, in August. The money will certainly come in handy as he flies off to join the European Tour.
”I have to admit that I have been stressed out financially,” said Cayeux. ”I didn’t know how I was going to afford to travel on the European Tour. Now that problem is solved.”
Cayeux, though, was not surprised by his performance on Sunday.
”I’ve been waiting for a round like this for at least a year because I’ve been hitting the ball so well. But I suppose it’s all about self-belief and confidence.
”Right now, I am honoured to hold the course record on a course like this.”
His round comprised nine birdies — on holes one, three, six, nine, 10, 12, 13 15 and 16 — and a lone eagle on the par-five 18th. The final hole perhaps best summed up Cayeux’s remarkable round.
”I teed off with a five-shot lead and the tournament all but over. Keith Horne said to me that if I was going to mishit the shot, mishit it straight.”
And that is exactly what happened.
Cayeux took one hand off the club as he came down on the ball, saw it go straight and walked off the tee with a big smile on his face. He still reached the green in two and was left with a 25-footer for his eagle.
”I told Hendrik [Buhrmann] to play out. I had a feeling I was going to hole that putt. It was just one of those days.”
Asked whether it can get any better than this, Cayeux replied: ”I hope so but it certainly is the best it can be right now.”
The only time he really looked challenged on Sunday was at the turn when Van den Berg went to six-under and moved within one shot of Cayeux. But his birdies on 12 and 14, coupled with a drop by Van den Berg on 15, soon put paid to that.
Horne, who was overnight leader with Buhrmann, fired a three-under 69 and could have been more of a factor had he not started his round with a double bogey. Buhrmann started just as badly with bogeys on his first two holes and ended the round on par 72.
McLardy finished with three birdies to shoot a five-under 67, while Henning signed for a four-under 68.
Cayeux ended the Order of Merit in fifth place but nobody had a chance to get anywhere close to Charl Schwartzel, who earned more than R1,6-million. — Sapa