Palmer steals the show

Bryanston golfer Michael Palmer surprised everyone when he came from behind and took the IGT Tour’s CA Academy Classic on 20 May.

Palmer played two superb shots that was his saving grace on the 18th hole at Wingate Park Country Club and it forced a three-way play-off between him and two fellow professionals Paul de Beer and Bryn Flanagan, he hit a long drive down the fairway of the 18th hole, followed by a perfect iron shot and he landed a six-foot putt to end off the round with an eagle and this sealed his victory.

He said, “This is quite possibly the best victory of my career, because it never looked possible, the entire round was one long test of patience and endurance and I am walking away from this tournament with a lot more confidence and experience.

He played an excellent first round with 66 shots followed by a second round of 70 but de Beer fought back in the third round when Palmer got a bogey at the 7th hole and dropped a couple of shots.

De Beer explained, “I was hitting my drives slightly off line and I didn’t hit my irons straight either and all my putts seemed to finish just short or long. I realised that trying to find a fix was not an option, so I attempted to calm myself and to stay patient and in the moment throughout the round.”

Palmer said, “I knew I needed to pull off the best two shots of the day to have a chance and somehow I did it. The pin was tucked at the back of the green behind the slope and I landed the ball in exactly the right spot – it bounced short of the slope and rolled up to six feet.”

This was his third consecutive win in a row and he won both the Jeandre Fourie Classic and the RAW Golf School Classic a couple of weeks ago.

He concluded, “It’s great to know that I can throw patience into the growing arsenal because it’s the most important ‘club’ to have in the bag.”