Moolman charges to Vodacom Origins victory
He went out in a stunning 31 strokes, and although Moolman’s back nine (from the first) featured a couple of bogeys, at the first and eighth holes, he still collected four birdies to come home in two-under, his 64 being the low round of the tournament.
Pieter Moolman’s strategy on the final day of the Vodacom Origins of Golf KwaZulu-Natal event at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club was to try and create as many opportunities for himself to net birdies, and the Benoni Lake golfer succeeded admirably as he fired a sensational 64 to get into a playoff with Ethan Smith, which Moolman won.
The 32-year-old Moolman began the final round six shots behind on four-over-par, following a 68 in the weather-delayed second round. He was so far behind Hennie O’Kennedy on two-under that he began his last round on the 10th hole, and a wonderful start saw him birdie four of the five holes from the 11th.
He went out in a stunning 31 strokes, and although Moolman’s back nine (from the first) featured a couple of bogeys, at the first and eighth holes, he still collected four birdies to come home in two-under, his 64 being the low round of the tournament.
Smith, meanwhile, also made a brilliant start with three birdies from the first hole, quickly overhauling O’Kennedy, who had been one stroke ahead of him. The 25-year-old from Paarl bogeyed the 18th hole however, forcing him into the playoff.
Moolman added to his birdie count in the sudden-death decider as he made a three on the 305m par-four first hole, while Smith could only make par.
“I’ve been hitting the ball well enough all week to have better scores, and it finally came with a 31 on my front nine,” Moolman said after his second Sunshine Tour win. “I just tried to give myself chances and capitalise on them as much as possible.
“And then in the playoff, Ethan went first and hit a really good tee shot. I was between clubs, depending on what he had done, so I hit driver and was short of the greenside bunker. Considering the not-so-great lie I had, I actually hit a really good chip to four feet. Ethan’s chip went past the hole and then he almost holed his putt.
“But I like the layout here at the Wild Coast, I fancy this golf course and I’ve been quite consistently good on it. I was very chuffed with today. I’ve been close a few times since my first win last year, and I could have won more. But ask any golfer, we’re just very happy to be contending and I can’t really complain about my game,” Moolman said.
Leading scores:
208 – Pieter Moolman*, Ethan Smith
209 – David Wicks, Trevor Fisher Jnr, MJ Viljoen
210 – Conner Mackenzie, Yurav Premlall, Louis Albertse, Ruan Korb
211 – Jake Redman, Haydn Porteous, Ruan de Smidt, Hennie O’Kennedy, Luca Filippi, Keegan Mclachlan
212 – Jaco Van Zyl, Jbe’ Kruger, Jared Harvey, Keenan Davidse, Drikus Joubert
213 – Madalitso Muthiya, Jovan Rebula, Heinrich Bruiners
214 – Martin Vorster, Colin Nel, Malcolm Mitchell, Jack Hawksby, Rourke van der Spuy
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