Ken Borland

Andy Sullivan is the sole master of golf in Johannesburg after the Englishman added the Joburg Open title on Sunday to his victory seven weeks ago in the South African Open at Glendower.

In a thrilling final day at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington, Sullivan fired a brilliant six-under-par 66 on the testing East Course to finish on 17-under-par, two strokes ahead of fellow Englishmen Anthony Wall and David Howell, Ireland’s Kevin Phelan and South Africans Wallie Coetsee and Jaco van Zyl.

A playoff looked the most likely conclusion to the day as a handful of golfers jockeyed for the lead, which changed hands several times on the final day, but it was Sullivan who ended alone on top, a comfortable winner having made the putts that mattered most. Overnight leader Coetsee was two shots ahead at the start of the final round, but Sunday was just not his day as he posted a one-under-par 71 and had to settle for one of the bridesmaid’s positions on 15-under.

Phelan and Van Zyl both matched Sullivan’s 66, but the Irishman could only collect two birdies on the back nine after going out in a superb 32. Van Zyl came agonisingly close to eagle on the 18th hole, but his birdie left him with a blemish-free round and an outstanding return to top form after double knee surgery last year.

Wall claimed a share of the lead with back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14, but made crucial lapses on the 15^th and 18^th holes.

On 15 his approach slid off the green into the reeds surrounding the dam in front of the putting surface, leading to a bogey, while his drive on the final hole went under the trees on the left, forcing him to settle for par when he really needed at least a birdie to put pressure on Sullivan.

Howell also made two crucial errors in the closing holes, driving into the water on 14 which led to bogey, and then missing a vital five-foot birdie putt on 15. The former Ryder Cup player and top-10 golfer parred his way in for a 69, failing to add to his four birdies on the front nine.

Sullivan smiled his way through the tense closing stages of the co-sanctioned European Tour/Sunshine Tour event and he believes one of the main reasons for his dramatic rise up the world rankings has been the perspective given to him by his daughter’s birth 18 months ago.

“It’s been a long, hard slog for me and it took me a long time to realise that the best way to play golf is to enjoy it. My little girl Ruby put that into perspective for me, when I see my daughter’s little face at the end of the day, golf doesn’t matter so much. She doesn’t know whether you’ve played good or bad golf.

“I felt really good down the stretch at Glendower and even better today. There wasn’t any pressure, I was very relaxed and it was just me and ‘Macca’ [caddy Sean McDonagh] having a laugh, a Saturday afternoon stroll on the golf course,” the 28-year-old Sullivan said.

Sullivan began the day three shots off the pace and, after the disappointment of only making par on the par-five first hole – eight of the top-10 made birdie or better there on Sunday – he was able to make birdie on the daunting, long par-three second after a superb tee-shot.

He added further birdies to his cart on the fourth and sixth holes, and then snatched the lead with successive birdies as he reached the turn.

But an approach shot into the water on the signature 11^th hole threatened to bring him to his knees, except Sullivan kept his cool and nailed a 25-foot putt that limited the damage to just one dropped shot.

Sullivan picked up just two more birdies after that, on the 15^th and 18^th holes, but the size of the task proved too much for all his challengers.

The birdie on 18 was accompanied by a sigh of relief because Sullivan left his eagle putt eight feet short of the hole, leaving him with a crucial tester.

“I knew if I got a birdie on the last I’d have a really good chance of winning, but I left myself with a bit more than I would have liked,” he admitted.

Although the man from the English midlands strikes a happy-go-lucky demeanour on the course, he never does anything silly and solid, tee-to-green golf and making the putts that mattered is what earned him his second European Tour title.

“I don’t know what it is about playing in Johannesburg, but I just feel really relaxed here. I wish I could play here every week. Maybe it’s because the wine is unbelievably cheap here, which is great,” Sullivan joked.

Being in contention is what Sullivan thrives on and he said he would love to “bottle the unbelievable emotions every time I’m in contention”.

The man from the English midlands also grabbed one of the three places on offer for the Open Championship in July at the Old Course at St Andrew’s, the home of golf.

The other two spots went to Wall and Howell, on the basis of the tie-breaker that relied on the highest-ranked golfers on the world rankings that finished in the top three at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington.

http://citizen.co.za/336123/sullivan-adds-joburg-open-title-to-his-victory/

Englishman Andy Sullivan said he would be happy to play all his golf in Johannesburg after he added the Joburg Open title on Sunday to the South African Open he won seven weeks ago at Glendower, the 28-year-old sealing a two-shot triumph with a brilliant 66.

Sullivan won the national open in a dramatic playoff with Charl Schwartzel, impressing with his happy demeanour despite the tension down the stretch, and yesterday he was once again relaxed as he dropped just one shot in making up a three-shot deficit.

“I’ve been working hard with my coach and psychologist, but enjoying myself too. Every time I’m in contention, I wish I could bottle those emotions, it’s an unbelievable feeling and I seem to thrive on it.

“I wish I could play in Johannesburg every week! I felt really good down the stretch at Glendower and even better today. There wasn’t any pressure, I was very relaxed and it was just me and ‘Macca’ [caddy Sean McDonagh] having a laugh, a Saturday afternoon stroll on the golf course,” Sullivan said after his second European Tour title.

There were a handful of golfers in contention in the final round, with the lead changing hands several times, but the most serious challenges came from fellow Englishmen Anthony Wall and David Howell.

But both made a couple of crucial errors in the closing holes.

Wall bogeyed 15 after his approach slid off the green into the reeds surrounding the dam in front of the putting surface, while his drive on the final hole went under the trees on the left, forcing him to settle for par when he really needed at least a birdie to put pressure on Sullivan.

Howell sent his drive into the water on 14 which led to bogey, and then missed a crucial five-foot birdie putt on 15.

Sullivan himself was holding a tenuous one-shot lead when he found the water with his approach shot on the par-four 11^th, but a brilliant 25-foot pressure putt saw him limit the damage to just a bogey.

The man from the English midlands then closed out a thrilling win with a top-class finish, birdies on 15 and 18 sealing victory.

There was a tense moment on 18 when he left his eagle putt eight feet short of the hole and was left with a tricky, and crucial, birdie putt.

“I knew if I got a birdie on the last I’d have a really good chance of winning, but I left myself with a bit more than I would have liked. But I did not believe my second win would come so quickly, I thought it was unbelievable to win the SA Open but this is even better,” a beaming Sullivan said.

Overnight leader Wallie Coetsee missed several birdie putts as he shot a one-under-par 71 and finished in the bunch of runners-up on 15-under – Wall, Howell, Ireland’s Kevin Phelan and fellow South African Jaco van Zyl.

The iron play of Coetsee was just not sharp enough to get him closer to the flags, and he also missed out on one of the entries to the Open Championship which went to Sullivan, Wall and Howell after the tie-breaker of world golf ranking had been applied.

“I’ve never played in a major championship before, so obviously that’s massive. It will also be nice to put a stop to the stick of my manager and caddy, who have both played in majors, and it’s at St Andrew’s, the home of golf, on top of that,” Sullivan said.

One of the biggest smiles in golf is only getting bigger.

Conrad Smith is a much-loved son of Wellington and a stalwart of the Hurricanes side for the last 12 years, and he believes the franchise finally has the right blend of players to challenge for the SuperRugby title.

Captain Smith has seen many disappointments in those dozen years of SuperRugby, with the Hurricanes making the playoffs four times but appearing in just one final – the 2006 clash with the Crusaders which they lost 19-12.

And the one thing Smith, who is bound for promotion candidates Pau after the World Cup, has learned from those experiences is that champion teams need to have grunt up front.

“You need to be a complete team if you’re going to go far in this competition and in the dozen seasons I’ve played with the Hurricanes, we’ve always had an impressive backline but we’ve still come up short.

“It’s because we haven’t always had the complete team, but now our forwards are really fronting up,” Smith said after his team beat the Bulls 17-13 at Loftus Versfeld, their pack leading the way in securing their second successive win in South Africa and ensuring a highly encouraging start to their SuperRugby campaign.

Against both the Bulls and the Lions last weekend, sides renowned for having abrasive forwards, the Hurricanes pack really got stuck in and dominated their opposition.

“Hats off to the forwards, they’ve really carried us through these first two games. There’s lots for us blokes in the backs to improve on,” Smith admitted.

Although the Hurricanes boasted TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett, Julian Savea, Ma’a Nonu, Smith and Corey Jane in their backline, it has been their work in the set-pieces and at the breakdowns that has highlighted their winning start to the season.

There has also been a noticeable improvement in the Hurricanes’ defence, with the Kiwis conceding just eight points against the Lions and 13 versus the Bulls.

“Our defence is something we have focused on, if we’re going to be there at the end of the competition, then defence is something you have to rely on. It’s what wins big games and we’ve been really encouraging there in the first two weeks. In the past the Bulls’ lineout drive has caused us real problems, and our defence of that was outstanding,” Smith said.

New Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd was delighted with the start, but was also cautious to not get carried away.

“We’re delighted with our start, especially winning at Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld, two bastions of the game over here, and we’re certainly happy with eight points.

“But we’re not overly happy with the way we played tonight and it’s a 16-round competition. Two wins is great, but we could lose the next two or three games,” Boyd said.

However, with a top-class backline waiting to click and a mobile, willing pack, the Hurricanes now have a match against the Force in Perth and then a bye, before a run of home games. They must be a decent bet to challenge strongly for the playoffs if they can maintain their current momentum.

Albie Morkel produced one of the great innings in a final as his phenomenal unbeaten century took the Unlimited Titans to a five-wicket win with 17 balls to spare over the Nashua Cape Cobras to claim the Momentum One-Day Cup title at Newlands last night.

Morkel finished with an exceptional 134 not out off just 103 balls, making his first List A century when it really counted. The powerful left-hander took his time to get settled, before he and fellow centurion Dean Elgar turned what looked like a procession for the Cobras into a horror defeat.

Richard Levi had scored 104 off 113 balls to lead the Cobras to a commanding 285 for eight after they chose to bat first and there seemed little hope of a Titans win when the visitors slumped to 60 for four in the 15^th over.

But Elgar (100) and Morkel added a magnificent, record-breaking 195 and even though Elgar’s 119-ball innings came to an end when he mistimed a pull off Rory Kleinveldt when 31 runs were still required, Morkel did not stand on ceremony and rushed the Titans home in a blaze of boundaries.

Morkel hit eight fours and seven sixes and seemed to succeed with every stroke he played; not only was he in the zone, but his reading of the match situation was superb and his ability to remain composed under pressure was impressive.

Elgar’s century was his second in succession after his match-winning effort in the playoff and the gritty left-hander has become a master of pacing a limited-overs innings.

Levi and Puttick put on 180 off 198 balls for the Cobras’ first wicket and the home side looked on course for well over 300.

But Tabraiz Shamsi produced a super display of controlled wrist-spin to slow their progress, trapping Levi leg-before as the Cobras scored just 115 runs in the last 20 overs.

Puttick was run out for 69 but there was little intent from the other Cobras’ batsmen before Dane Vilas lifted them to a competitive, if ultimately disappointing total with his 40 off 25 balls.

Kleinveldt and off-spinner Sybrand Engelbrecht dented the Titans’ ambitions with a couple of wickets each, but the brilliance of Morkel and Elgar gradually saw the Cobras’ confidence melt away.