Ken Borland

When Charl Schwartzel walked off the 13th green at Glendower Golf Club on Sunday after his second successive birdie, he was enjoying a four-shot lead in the South African Open, his dream of a first national open title looking a near-certainty.

But  a disastrous finish that saw Schwartzel bogey both the par-threes coming in and rack up a double-bogey at 16 meant he was embroiled in a playoff with Andy Sullivan, and when the Englishman fashioned a superb approach shot from the rough and then sank a pressure 12-foot winning putt on the 18^th, the local favourite’s dream had become a nightmare.

Sullivan admitted afterwards that he was just about to leave Glendower to head for the airport and his flight to Dubai when Schwartzel began unravelling, his final-round 74 leaving him on 11-under for the tournament.

“I was nearly ready to go and I didn’t see Charl do what he did. I was reflecting on the week and thinking ‘yeah, second is good for the first tournament of the year’, but the unbelievable happened,” Sullivan said.

He went to warm-up again on the driving range, but his tee-shot in the playoff was way left and in trouble in the rough, behind the low branches of a tree. Schwartzel, however, had been ropey all day off the tee and with his irons, and he had earlier sent his playoff drive way right, even further from the fairway than Sullivan’s.

The 28-year-old from the English midlands town of Nuneaton produced a superb stroke, setting up his maiden European Tour win, as he left his second a mere 12 feet from the hole.

“I thought I was in trouble because to miss the fairway right is better on that hole, it’s a lot clearer. But I thought ‘it’s all about what I can do’ and I didn’t allow Charl’s position to have any influence on what I did.

“I only had 131 metres to the pin, but I had low branches in front of me so I had to hit a low nine-iron to keep under those. I was aiming at the grandstand and trying to cut it back, and I hit it perfectly. I thought I’d still be 20 feet from the flag, but instead I was 12 feet and pin-high,” Sullivan said.

He said it was “without a doubt” one of the best shots he has ever played, and he made it count by ramming in the putt for birdie and becoming the first English winner of the SA Open since Tommy Horton in 1970.

The man who famously won a trip into space for a hole-in-one at the KLM Open last September said he would be celebrating and “milking it for all its worth” till he was seeing space.

The enormity of his achievement, coming to the lairs of Schwartzel, Els and Grace and claiming their title, was starting to sink in for Sullivan when he spoke to the media about an hour after sinking the winning putt.

“South Africans are so good on their home turf, to beat guys like Charl, Branden and Ernie here is just unbelievable. I’ve dreamt about winning a tournament since I was a little boy and what a championship, one of the oldest in golf and with all that history, to win. To think that my name will be on that trophy forever … “

Life is great on and off the course for Sullivan, who celebrated the birth of his daughter Ruby in late 2013 and has now converted a promising 2014 season into a maiden European Tour title.

Sullivan started the final round eight behind Schwartzel and knew he had to go low to have any chance. But he was only one-under through the front nine, before a stellar four-under-par back nine, including an eagle on the short par-four 12^th catapulted him into contention.

He chipped in on 12 and was able to make birdies on the par-four 10^th and 16^th holes to earn himself R2.2 million.

Fellow Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick began the day five off the lead in second place, but the young rookie faded to a 73 on Sunday, but will still cart off just over R400 000 for his impressive efforts.

 http://citizen.co.za/305273/schwartzel-sullivan-showdown/

There was probably no more deserving winner of the South African Open at Glendower Golf Club yesterday than Englishman Andy Sullivan, who claimed his maiden European Tour title in a thrilling playoff with Charl Schwartzel.

Sullivan was a cheerful, chirpy presence throughout the tournament, even on a bad third day when he tumbled down the leaderboard, but he also played the most consistent golf over the four days, finishing on 11-under–par after rounds of 66, 70, 74 and 67.

Schwartzel’s implosion in the closing holes, wasting a four-shot lead with a bogey on the par-three 14^th after finding the greenside bunker; a double-bogey on 16 after driving into a bunker, flying the green and then three-putting; and then a bogey on the par-three 17^th after an awful tee-shot, meant the SA Open had its first playoff since Scotsman Richie Ramsay won at Pearl Valley in 2009.

Schwartzel had been ropey all day off the tee and with his irons, but had scrambled well as he putted superbly from distance. He produced another poor drive in the playoff, going way right of the fairway. Sullivan was left of the fairway, but not as far away, although the Englishman said afterwards that he felt he had a tougher approach shot than the South African.

Sullivan was in cloying grass, with the low branches of a tree obstructing his way to the green, but the jovial 28-year-old was able to make something of a bad situation with a tremendous shot worthy of an SA Open winner.

“I only had 131 metres to the pin, but I had low branches in front of me so I had to hit a nine-iron to keep under those. I was aiming at the grandstand and trying to cut it back, and I hit it perfectly. I thought I’d still be 20 feet from the flag, but instead I was 12 feet and pin-high, it’s without a doubt one of the best shots I’ve ever hit,” Sullivan said.

He still had to make an awkward, curling putt as Schwartzel played a superb third shot to within a couple of feet of the hole, but Sullivan showed his mettle by ramming the winning putt home.

“I’ve never been that nervous over a putt before, I was literally shaking. You never know in golf, but the unbelievable happened and I’m going to really enjoy it and milk it for everything,” the likeable lad from the English midlands town of Nuneaton said.

Sullivan started the day eight shots behind Schwartzel and knew he had to go low. But he only had two birdies and a bogey in his cart by the turn, before chipping in for eagle on the short par-four 12^th. Another birdie on the 16^th lifted him into second and he admitted that he was about to leave the course to head off to the airport for his flight to Dubai when the world number 31 began unravelling.

Schwartzel was brought to his knees by the double-bogey on 16 and was fortunate to only drop one shot at the next hole as his first putt from 60 feet finished less than a metre from the hole, and he was able to regroup enough to par the last hole, despite having to two-putt from 80 feet.

His first putt was another gem, leaving him with just a tiddler for par and a place in the playoff.

Young Matthew Fitzpatrick, who was in the final group with Schwartzel, was out of contention after finding the bog on the 13^th. A triple-bogey eight was the result, but England’s St George’s Cross was still flying high over Glendower thanks to Sullivan.

The four franchises in Sunfoil Series action from today are all disappointingly depleted due to the withdrawal of the Proteas and the South Africa A squad, but the bizhub Highveld Lions are targeting this weekend as a crucial time in their quest for their first four-day title.

The Lions are second on the log, just 2.72 points behind the Titans, who are not in action this weekend, and victory over the Nashua Cape Cobras in Potchefstroom will put them in prime position as the competition nears the halfway mark.

Lions coach Geoff Toyana is missing seven frontline players, but most of the replacements are well-versed in franchise cricket and he is aiming high against the defending champions.

“It’s always tough missing players, but I’m happy with the depth we have and we still have quite an experienced top six. This is a big game for us, it will define our season this competition. We beat the Cobras at Newlands in our last game, so our confidence is high and I just hope our skills match that,” Toyana told The Citizen yesterday.

Gulam Bodi, Dale Deeb, Vusi Mazibuko, Pumelela Matshikwe, Sean Jamison and Devon Conway are the players called up by the Lions, while the Cobras also have a host of players excluded by national commitments or injury.

Cobras coach Paul Adams has, however, been able to call on players from his RamSlam T20 Challenge winning team like Sybrand Engelbrecht, Dane Paterson, Lizaad Williams and George Linde, while much is expected of two players from the Western Province side – batsman Keegan Petersen and all-rounder Shaheen Khan.

Adams said he is looking for more partnerships from his top-order batsmen as the Cobras aim for their first win in their third match this season.

The Dolphins have made a strong start to the competition with 27.08 points from two games and they travel to East London to take on the struggling Warriors.

The Warriors have probably been the least affected by national call-ups with just Simon Harmer and Wayne Parnell unavailable and the Eastern Cape side have called up Border off-spinner Gionne Koopman, while the pace bowling duties will be in the hands of Andrew Birch, Basheer Walters and Aya Gqamane.

The healthy covering of grass on the Buffalo Park pitch will test the Dolphins, who have lost three key batsmen in Morne van Wyk, David Miller and Khaya Zondo, while bowling spearhead Kyle Abbott is also unavailable.

Englishman Danny Willett’s impressive triumph at the Nedbank Golf Challenge over the weekend means it is now seven years since a South African won the prestigious title at Sun City, and tournament director Alastair Roper has an interesting theory why.

Trevor Immelman won the 2007 Nedbank Golf Challenge by one stroke from Justin Rose but since then the best South African finishes have been runners-up slots for Tim Clark (2010) and Charl Schwartzel (2012).

This year it was a trio of Englishmen – Willett, Ross Fisher and Luke Donald – who dominated at the Gary Player Country Club.

Sun City is obviously one of the favourite tourist destinations of South Africans and, being at the end of the year, there is a general holiday vibe around the complex. The South Africans in the field inevitably have an entourage of friends and family joining them at the tournament.

“It’s a pity none of the South Africans showed up, it would have been really nice if Charl or Louis [Oosthuizen] had been up there with the Englishmen on Sunday. Just generally, in the last 18 months/two years, South African performances on the world tours have been sub-standard, so it’s partly a form thing that none have won at Sun City.

“Maybe it’s just a lean period, but something else bothers me and that is that there may be too many distractions for the South African golfers. I remember for many years [8] Ernie Els was trying to win here and it bothered me the number of distractions he had.

“At the South African Open or the Alfred Dunhill, there’s not as much of a demand on their time. Here, all their friends want to be with them and they’re asking for tickets, for access and when they can have dinner together. A guy like Willett was here with his caddy, his wife and maybe one friend,” Roper told The Citizen on Monday.

Roper said the increase in the size of the field from 12 to 30 had led to a similar rise in interest in the tournament.

“I was always the biggest skeptic about going to 30, I was very confident that 12 was the right way to go. But last year it surprised me what a positive reaction we had from the sponsors and we’re getting that same feeling again. More players and more golf is what they want to see.”

That has translated into the number of corporate hospitality suites – the lifeblood of the tournament – rising to 35 and including a diversity of sponsors.

“We want a demand for those facilities, that’s key to the success of the tournament, it’s built around hospitality, and those sponsors continue to be happy. We’ve had more this year in terms of numbers of sponsors and it’s been a whole different bunch of sponsors as well,” Roper said.

The tournament director said there had been little change in the number of spectators attending the event, with just over 60 000 coming over the four days, while the reach of the Nedbank Golf Challenge on television – showcasing Sun City as a tourism destination – continues to grow.