Michael Palmer won the IGT Tour’s Jeandre Fourie Classic at Ruimsig Country Club this week.
This is Palmer’s maiden win and he pledged his first winner’s cheque to the Jeander Fourie Fund.
The overnight leader claimed a seven stroke victory after he produced a watertight final round eight-under-par64.
This is his first win in three starts at the IGT Tour.
Palmer’s winning total of 19-under-par 197 also equalled the 54-hole record, set by Sunshine Tour professional Michael Anthony in the season’s first Summer Swing event at Centurion Country Club just two weeks ago.
“This week has been about Jeandre Fourie, the young player who broke his back on the weekend in a freak zip-line accident. He went under the knife on Tuesday and the prognosis is very good. Like so many of us on Tour, though, Jeandre doesn’t have medical aid,” said Palmer.
Jeandre Fourie is an IGT Tour player who fractured his C6 vertebrae in a zip-line accident on the weekend.
He was transported to the Trauma Unit at Millpark Hospital, where he underwent surgery to save his spine on Tuesday.
The cost of the surgery is R500 000 as Fourie does not have medical aid.
The IGT Tour organisers sold ribbons to help raise funds for Jeandre while everyone who finished ‘in the money’ (received cash prizes) this week pledged five percent of their earnings.
Palmer took the lead with an opening six under 66 to and added a 67 to lead by two strokes from amateur David Ashley heading into the final round.
The 25-year-old, who dropped just two strokes in 36 holes, remained unshakeable and produced the kind of disciplined golf that marked his progress in the first two rounds.
He sealed his maiden victory by draining a birdie putt on hole 18.
FINAL RESULT
197 – Michael Palmer (RSA) 66 67 64
204 – David Ashley (AM) (RSA) 69 66 69
208 – Naithen Moore (RSA) 70 71 67, Bryn Flanagan (RSA) 70 71 67, Conway Kunneke (RSA) 72 67 69
209 – Duane Keun (RSA) 69 70 70
211 – Cliff Howes (RSA) 74 69 68, Herman Minnie (RSA) 75 68 68, Gareth Akers (AM) (RSA) 71 70 70
213 – Danie Pretorius (RSA) 71 73 69, Christiaan Pretorius (RSA) 75 69 69
214 – Gideon Pienaar (RSA) 74 69 71, Simon Kruger (AM) (RSA) 68 75 71
215 – Phillip Kruse (AM) (RSA) 75 72 68, Matthew Kiewitz (AM) (RSA) 72 75 68
216 – Matthew Adams (AM) (RSA) 76 71 69
217 – Carlos Arroyo (AM) (RSA) 73 77 67, Arno Bartholoma (GER) 74 72 71
218 – Christopher Van der Merwe (AM) (RSA) 75 72 71
219 – Wayne Stroebel (RSA) 72 73 74, TJ Bekker (RSA) 76 67 76
220 – Brad Diffenthal (RSA) 75 71 74, CJ Levey (AM) (RSA) 71 75 74
221 – Niel Meyer (RSA) 72 77 72
222 – Jason Diab (RSA) 76 72 74, Jacques de Villiers (RSA) 80 74 68
224 – Dwayne Coetzee (RSA) 76 74 74, Siphiwe Siphayi (AM) (RSA) 75 77 72
225 – Joubert Van Eeden (AM) (RSA) 76 73 76, Shaun van Tonder (RSA) 79 70 76, Dylan O’Leary (RSA) 75 74 76, Pierre Viviers (RSA) 75 77 73, Neal Hauptfleisch (AM) (RSA) 79 76 70
226 – Tung- nan Lin (AM) (TWN) 75 72 79, Craig Dreyer (RSA) 77 74 75
227 – Werner Lourens (AM) (RSA) 79 75 73, Rhoan Gardiner (RSA) 81 75 71
228 – Marc Van Deventer (AM) (RSA) 77 74 77, Lourens Du Plessis (RSA) 75 77 76, Ryan Wingrove (AM) (RSA) 77 75 76, Wianco Cronje (AM) (RSA) 81 76 71
229 – Justin Levy (NLD) 79 75 75, Derryn Mitri (AM) (RSA) 80 76 73
230 – Daniel Joubert (AM) (RSA) 74 79 77
232 – Hanbo Lee (RSA) 72 78 82, Devan Payne (AM) (RSA) 80 76 76, Matthew Vogel (RSA) 78 79 75
234 – Jason Ackerman (AM) (RSA) 77 79 78, Paul Cuningham (RSA) 78 79 77, Duan Nagel (AM) (RSA) 80 77 77
WDN – Pedro August (RSA) 75 80 WDN
Donations for Jeandre Fourie can be made to the IGT Tour:
IGTGolf
First National Bank / Cheque Account
Account Number: 62298177893 / Branch code: 251141
Swift code: FIRNZAJJ
