Birdie blitz earns Easton victory
Bryce Easton claimed his second victory in three tournaments when he won the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zebula Country Club in the Limpopo Province on Friday.
On a windy day in the bushveld, Easton closed with a composed 68 to win on 16-under-par 200, three strokes clear of Doug McGuigan.
Easton’s victory comes after his breakthrough win in the Sun City Challenge three weeks ago.
“I’m over the moon. The goal was just to get that first win, and I was ecstatic when I got that one out of the way. This week I put myself in a good position and here we are again,” Easton said.
Easton went into the final round tied for the lead with McGuigan. His more experienced opponent matched him for a birdie on the second hole. But then Easton went one clear with his birdie on the third following a sublime chip to within inches of the hole.
The difficult par-four fifth provided the first turning point. Easton made a solid par while McGuigan made a double bogey following a poor chip from the greenside rough. Then McGuigan’s bogey on the seventh gave Easton a four-stroke lead, and he was never under threat on the back nine.
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His bogey on 14 was offset by another strong finish featuring two birdies in his final three holes, and including a chip-in for birdie on the 16th. It was exactly the kind of finish Easton has come to relish. For his first victory at Sun City, he eagled the 18th to make it into a playoff and then eagled the 18th again to win.
“I love being in the thick of things. As a junior I always enjoyed it because it made me concentrate. That’s why I play – to execute great shots and produce under pressure. It’s an awesome feeling when you do that under pressure.”
But equally as impressive was the composure he showed on a tricky day in the wind.
“Even before I won at Sun City I started to feel very comfortable on Tour. I’ve been playing well and I feel like I’m coming to events now looking to win and not just make the cut or make the pre-qualifier like last year. To get two wins in three weeks is great.”
McGuigan produced his own bit of magic at the end when he eagled the 18th to make second place his own with a 71.
Dean Burmester signed for a 68 to finish third on 12 under.
Easton’s week was made that much more memorable by a unique trophy handover. He was handed the trophy by one of the Zebula elephants.
“I love events out in the bush like this. The golf course is great and the whole elephant prizegiving at the end was like the cherry on top for me.”
Easton also contributed heavily to the Vodacom Origins of Golf Birdies for Kiddies campaign. The series rewards every birdie or eagle made during the event with 1 000 meals for underprivileged children. This week the golfers donated an incredible 111 800 meals.
SCORES (RSA unless otherwise specified):
200 - Bryce Easton 68 64 68
203 - Doug McGuigan 66 66 71
204 - Dean Burmester 67 69 68
205 - Colin Nel 71 65 69
206 - Andrew Georgiou 66 69 71
209 - Neil Schietekat 69 71 69, Prinavin Nelson 64 76 69
210 - Oliver Bekker 72 70 68, Ulrich van den Berg 71 70 69, Danie van Tonder 70 66 74
212 - Jaco Ahlers 74 70 68, Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 73 70, Michiel Bothma 70 72 70, PH McIntyre 73 69 70, Jake Redman 71 71 70,Shaun Norris 70 70 72, Albert Pistorius 67 73 72, Titch Moore 71 68 73, Louis de Jager 64 73 75
213 - Andrew Curlewis 73 68 72, Vaughn Groenewald 72 68 73, Bradford Vaughan 70 69 74
214 - Lean Boezaart 73 70 71, Matthew Carvell 72 70 72, Jean Hugo 73 68 73
215 - JG Claassen 71 73 71, Divan Gerber 75 68 72, Justin Harding 71 69 75
216 - Ockie Strydom 68 76 72, Keith Horne 69 73 74, Merrick Bremner 73 69 74, Daniel Greene 72 68 76
217 - Dean O'Riley 72 72 73
218 - Charl Coetzee 72 71 75, Christiaan Basson 73 70 75, Attie Schwartzel 72 71 75, Grant Veenstra 69 73 76
219 - Omar Sandys 71 72 76, Ryan Thompson 72 70 77
221 - Morne Buys 73 70 78, Brandon Pieters 71 70 80
