Mbombela’s Thriston Lawrence thrives at the European Open
In a season which is increasingly proving to be one of his best, Mbombela native Thriston Lawrence secured his third runner-up finish of 2024 DP World Tour season at the recent European Open.
Mbombela golf star Thriston Lawrence returned to the podium places at the recent European Open, finishing tied second to earn his third runner-up result of the season.
Held at the Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg, Germany, last week, the European Open was Lawrence’s 14th event on the DP World Tour for the season so far. The week started off rough for the 27-year-old Mbombela native, with a four-over-par round of 77 in the first round a far-from-ideal start.
A strong comeback in the second round meant Lawrence avoided missing the cut for a fourth time this season, with a six-under-par 67 catapulting him to -2 for the tournament. He was still a long way off the leaders, though, and had considerable ground to make up going into the weekend.
He carded a four-under round of 69 on moving day on Saturday to stand tied 14th and six shots off the leaders at -6. Conditions on the final day proved tough to say the least, as less than a quarter of the field shot under par in the fourth round. Luckily for Lawrence, the Mbombela Golf Club honorary life member was one of those golfers.
Lawrence had the lowest round of the day in round four, carding a five-under-par round of 68 to shoot up into tied second on -11 for the week. He rounded his week off with a brilliant second approach shot on the 18th hole to give himself a chance of an eagle.
Sadly he missed the putt, but still holed out for a birdie to end his tournament on a high note. The tied-second finish earned him valuable points in the Race to Dubai rankings, where he has now climbed up to the ninth spot.
Lawrence is currently on track for his most successful season on the DP World Tour yet. Only about halfway through the season, he already has six top-10 finishes, with his previous record being eight in 2022. One of the keys to his success this season has been his putting.
He ranks fourth on the tour for amount of putts per green in regulation and sixth on the tour for average putts per round. Lawrence is also seventh for average strokes per round at an average of 69.88, which is also his best average for a season so far.
Finally, Lawrence is also closing in on an important milestone on the DP World Tour. Having played in 93 DP World Tour tournaments so far, he is seven away from bringing up his century in only his third season on the tour as a fully fledged member.
