Justin dominant in Zambia
Justin Harding was unmatchable at the Indo Zambia Bank Zambia Open on Sunday and shot a final-round 68 to finish two shots clear of his nearest rival in the R1,2-million tournament.
“I was three-up playing 18, which was huge. It’s a good feeling, because my other wins were tight, so it was a bit different. I got to enjoy walking up 18 a little bit,” he said.
The 26-year-old began his Sunday round at Lusaka Golf Club one stroke clear of the field and stretched his lead throughout the day, reaching 12-under-par and coasting to his third Sunshine Tour win.
“I managed to keep it together,” he said. “At the beginning of the day I knew that if I could shoot a round under par I would have a chance. It was awesome walking up there (the 18th green) and seeing the crowds.
“I holed out well and kept it together, and at the end of the day come out ahead. I tried to just get the job done. I’ve been working on keeping cool, calm and collected.”
Throughout the week the Cape Town local looked comfortable in windy conditions – he broke par during all four days at Lusaka. On moving day he shot 69 to head into the last round at seven-under; one stroke clear of Divan van den Heever.
Harding’s Sunday 68 sealed the deal – he reached the 18th three strokes clear of the pack and calmly played his way to a first national open win.
“I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well for the past three days. If you just put it in play around this golf course then it is playable. I played the par-fives relatively well. The greens are good and I made my fair share of putts today, which hasn’t happened in a while,” he said.
His closest chaser, Van den Heever began the event with a disappointing 75, but salvaged his chances with a second-round 70. At the weekend he shot 68-69 to secure sole second and once again distinguish himself as a threat on the Tour.
Sunshine Tour veteran Des Terblanche shot the round of the day – 67 – to finish tied third at nine-under-par. The 16-time winner was very impressed by the tough conditions out there.
“The wind has been blowing for four days straight. It becomes difficult and players start making stupid mistakes because you make swing changes. It’s a great course and a great layout. It’s very tough, so it has a US Open type of feeling – there are some flags you can’t go for. I don’t think we get enough of that on our tour, so this week was very good,” he said.
FINAL SCORES:
280 - Justin Harding 71 72 69 68
282 - Divan van den Heever 75 70 68 69
283 - Des Terblanche 70 73 73 67, JG Claassen 69 73 73 68
286 - Dean Burmester 73 73 71 69, Oliver Bekker 70 76 69 71, Chris Erasmus 68 70 76 72
287 - Prinavin Nelson 74 72 76 65, Daniel Greene 72 71 73 71
288 - Colin Nel 71 75 71 71, PH McIntyre 75 67 74 72
289 - Titch Moore 74 72 74 69, Albert Pistorius 73 72 72 72, Jake Roos 73 73 71 72, Anthony Michael 68 72 76 73, Brandon Pieters 77 71 68 73,Charl Coetzee 69 75 71 74, Jake Redman 72 73 70 74
290 - Thabo Maseko 75 74 73 68, Andrew Georgiou 72 67 79 72, Omar Sandys 74 72 69 75
291 - Attie Schwartzel 76 72 74 69, Matthew Carvell 71 74 74 72, Riekus Nortje 73 75 71 72, Louis de Jager 77 72 70 72,Ulrich van den Berg 71 75 72 73, Doug McGuigan 69 76 72 74
292 - Madalitso Muthiya (ZAM) 71 75 74 72, Jared Harvey 74 71 77 70
293 - Alan Michell 71 76 74 72, Merrick Bremner 70 74 76 73, Lean Boezaart 74 75 73 71, Morne Buys 72 73 74 74, Martin du Toit 74 72 73 74,Teboho Sefatsa 74 74 70 75, Micky Hough (ZIM) 75 74 74 70, David Ryan 73 72 72 76, Mark Fensham 73 72 69 79
294 - Ryan Thompson 75 73 73 73, David Hewan 71 77 73 73, Divan Gerber 74 74 71 75, Derik Ferreira 74 73 76 71,Francois Coetzee 69 77 77 71
295 - JJ Senekal 69 73 79 74, Andre Cruse 78 70 69 78
296 - Lindani Ndwandwe 73 75 74 74, Christiaan Basson 72 74 76 74, Jacques Blaauw 70 75 77 74, Jean Hugo 75 74 74 73,Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 78 71 77 70
297 - Andrew Curlewis 68 77 76 76, Dean O'Riley 73 75 75 74, Derick Petersen 71 75 77 74, Drikus van der Walt 72 76 77 72,Ryan Tipping 73 73 79 72
298 - Ben Mannix (ENG) 72 71 78 77, Louis Calitz 75 69 78 76, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 70 77 76 75, Michael Hollick 74 72 79 73
299 - Keenan Davidse 73 76 73 77, Allan Versfeld 76 73 77 73
301 - Thomas Lovett 73 73 74 81, Danie van Tonder 73 74 77 77, Michael du Toit 73 76 76 76
302 - Desvonde Botes 73 73 79 77
305 - James Kamte 72 77 73 83
