Maiden win for Moolman in Fortress Invitational playoff
Pieter Moolman claimed his maiden victory on the Sunshine Tour when he beat Jayden Schaper in a playoff to win the inaugural Fortress Invitational at Ebotse Links on Sunday.
Moolman started the final round with three shots behind Schaper. As he reached the final hole in regulation play, he was three-under for his round, having mixed five birdies with two bogeys, and looked like falling just short on 12-under-par as Schaper was already on 14-under-par.
But the 31-year-old Moolman hit an excellent drive and a superb approach shot on the par-five 18th to 10 feet from the hole and nailed the eagle putt to vault to 14-under.
Schaper then bogeyed the par-four 17th but made birdie at the last to force a playoff with an excellent up-and-down after short-siding himself.
Moolman again hit a brilliant second in the playoff, finishing just off the green after being in the semi-rough on a mound. He would chip and sink a four-foot putt for birdie, while Schaper was unfortunate that his approach shot took a hard first bounce and ran through the green. The 21-year-old then missed his 10-footer for birdie, handing Moolman the win.
“I’ve lost a few times in these situations, but I’ve played better golf a few times than I did today,” Moolman said. “So to get over the line is really special and it shows that it does not take a perfect performance to win. It’s more mental, about believing you can still put a score on the board if you’re playing average golf, when your swing is not really there. I just had to stay in the moment and commit to what I was doing, take it shot-for-shot.”
Schaper will look back on a level-par back nine, which featured bogeys at the par-three 11th and the penultimate hole, as having cost him, but he showed tremendous determination and character in birdieing the last hole to get into the playoff.
For Moolman, who like Schaper is based in Benoni and knows the Ebotse Links well, the win will give him great confidence heading into the big summer events. He has finished runner-up twice before this year, including at the Tour Championship at nearby Serengeti Estate.
“I’ve been playing solid golf for a while and I played solid enough the whole week, I was just trying to give myself opportunities, keep the ball in play and give myself a chance,” Moolman said.
“Finishing second at the Wild Coast a few weeks back, I made some mistakes down the back nine, but I learnt from that and how to stay strong. Now that I’ve won, you start believing you can win again and that you belong here. I’m looking forward to the summer events,” said Moolman, who will go down in Sunshine Tour history as the inaugural Fortress Invitational champion.
“Firstly, a huge congratulations to Pieter Moolman on his first win. The level of play has been brilliant. It’s been so impressive to watch the professionals shoot the low scores we have seen over the last three days on such a challenging course. Ebotse Links have been great hosts throughout the tournament and nothing has been too much trouble. We have thoroughly enjoyed our first year of sponsorship of the Fortress Invitational and helping to power growth in golf in South Africa,” said Steven Brown, CEO of Fortress Real Estate.
Although he finished fourth, two shots off the pace, Sean Bradley will remember the final round for a long time as he began with a double-bogey at the first hole, but then made a hole-in-one at the par-three eighth. He then rounded off his round with a massive eagle putt, from off the green, on the last hole, finishing with a 63 that put him right into contention.
American Dan Erickson claimed third place on 13-under, signing for a 67 after he could only make par on the last three holes.
FINAL SCORES
WN – Pieter Moolman, Jayden Schaper
-13 – Dan Erickson
-12 – Sean Bradley, Richard Joubert
-11 – Ruan Korb
-10 – Bradley Bawden
-9 – Ryan Van Velzen
-8 – Martin Rohwer, Hennie Otto, Makhetha Mazibuko
-7 – Andre Van Dyk, Fredrik From, Doug McGuigan, Keelan van Wyk, Clancy Waugh, Steve Surry, Kyle Barker
-6 – MJ Viljoen, Jean Hugo, Kyle De Beer, Heinrich Bruiners
-5 – Jonathan Broomhead, Neil Schietekat, Peter Karmis, Dylan Mostert, Jbe’ Kruger, Clinton Grobler, Quintin Wilsnach, Joe Long
-4 – Luke Jerling, Kyle McClatchie, Anthony Michael, Ockie Strydom
-3 – Wynand Dingle, Combrinck Smit, Nikhil Rama, Dylan Naidoo, Malcolm Mitchell, Jaco Prinsloo
-2 – Kevin Rhoderick, Luca Filippi, Vaughn van Deventer
-1 – Sean Cronje, Jacques Blaauw, Thabang Simon, Matthew Spacey, Toto Thimba Jnr, Ulrich van den Berg, Stephen Ferreira
Par – Keenan Davidse, Albert Venter, Martin Vorster
+2 – Madalitso Muthiya, Wallie Coetsee
+3 – Jaco Van Zyl, Adam Breen, Christiaan Basson
+5 – Christiaan Burke
+7 – Wade Jacobs
DSQ – Siyanda Mwandla
Missed the cut:-
Par – Callum Mowat, Keagan Thomas, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Merrick Bremner, Rhys West, Rourke van der Spuy, JJ Senekal
+1 – Adriel Poonan, Danie Van Niekerk, Jared Harvey, Riekus Nortje, James Kamte, Samuel Simpson, Harry Konig, Hennie O’Kennedy, Jake Redman, Louis Albertse, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Mandla Dlamini Jnr
+2 – Joshua Seale, Michael Kok, Ruan de Smidt, Michael Hollick, James Mack, Erhard Lambrechts, Clayton Mansfield
+3 – Divan van den Heever, Shaahid Mahmed, Therion Nel, Gerrit Foster, Gerard du Plooy
+4 – Brooklin Bailey, Keith Horne, Brody Harbinson, Aneurin Gounden
+5 – Chris Cannon, Rupert Kaminski, Herman Loubser, Jastice Mashego, Brandon-Jude Rennie, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Tumelo Molloyi, Irvin Mazibuko
+6 – Keelan Africa, James Pennington
+7 – Tristin Galant, Franklin Manchest, Brian Gondo, Leon Vorster, Steven Le Roux, Michael Palmer, Hayden Griffiths
+8 – Maverick Faber
+9 – Ruan Conradie, Paul Boshoff, Jordan Duminy, Lincon Denzy Cele
+10 – Lyle Rowe, Andre De Decker
+11 – Jovan Rebula, Estiaan Conradie, Henning du Plooy, Mutahi Kibugu
+14 – Sipho Bujela, Evance Vukeya
+23 – Gareth Sargent
WDN – Jacquin Hess
RTD – Yubin Jung, Dean O’Riley, Lwazi Gqira, Desvonde Botes, Thanda Mavundla, CJ du Plessis, Lindani Ndwandwe, Chris Swanepoel
DSQ – Dwayne Basson
