GOLFING NEWS - Anton Haig gave himself a belated birthday present when he captured his fifth IGT Challenge Tour title with a brilliant seven-under-par 65 in the final round of the State Mines Challenge in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Haig withstood a late charge from Sunshine Tour campaigner Breyten Meyer to win by four shots, sealing a second successive victory on the country’s premier golf development Tour with a stunning total of 16-under-par 200 at State Mines Country Club.
The winner’s cheque worth R7 800 might be peanuts compared to the € 310,801 he banked with his Johnnie Walker triumph in 2007, but for Haig, every trophy these days is special.
“Last year I had to battle through the pain barrier for my three IGT Challenge Tour wins,” said Haig, who turned 31 on Monday.
“Coming back eight months after hip and knee surgery was scary and I had doubts; I didn’t know if I had what it takes to do it all over again. After I won at Killarney, I still wasn’t sure.
“I played my first Big Easy Tour event last week and the pressure was intense. It’s been a long time since I’ve been under that kind of pressure. This win has really built some confidence. It means a lot to cross the line, and to see that the work I put in is reaping the right kind of rewards. The more I get into the top five, the easier it will get to take another step forward.”
Haig made 17 birdies and four eagles over the course of three rounds.
Other than a couple of errant tee shots over the three rounds, my ball striking is really great but the short stick was on strike in the first round.
“I made two eagles and three birdies but I had five three-putts for a 71. It was a great relief when I got it going in the second round and walked off with eight birdies and an eagle. It’s a pretty short course and you are almost always driving it near the green, so you expect to score low.”
And low he went in the final round, starting with an eagle at the par five third after he knocked a nine-iron to six feet. He backed it up with birdies at four, five and eight, where he drained 40-foot monster to keep the momentum going.
“I birdied nine and 11, but gave one back at 12,” he said. “I blocked my tee shot into the trees right and chipped out but I couldn’t up-and-down to save par. Breyten started the back nine birdie, eagle and closed the gap to two shots with birdies at 13 and 14.
“I just stayed patient and kept the ball in play until I knocked in a birdie putt at 17. He dropped at the last hole, but we had a good rally going on the back nine.”
Haig plans to head to the European Tour Qualifying School later this year and having two wins at the start of his season is a step in the right direction.
“When I was laid up I watched golf and I wondered if I would be able to get out there and play,” he said. “And now I’m here. After this I feel like anything is possible.
“Every win is special but for a guy like me that hasn’t won in while, it means that little bit more. I feel like I’ve overcome yet another hurdle. Hopefully I can take this form to the next Big Easy event and get that top five finish. It’s a very good start, but I’m taking it one round at a time.”
Final Result
All competitors RSA unless otherwise specified and amateurs are indicated as AMA:
200 - Anton Haig 71 64 65
204 - Breyten Meyer 69 67 68
207 - Chris Cannon (ENG) 70 70 67
208 - David Mofokeng (LSO) 70 68 70, Bennie van der Merwe 69 68 71
212 - Jason Smith 71 71 70, Ruhan van Dijk AMA 71 69 72
214 - Duane Keun 76 68 70
215 - Sipho Bujela 74 67 74, Eric Nel AMA 70 70 75, Pieter Moolman 71 69 75
216 - Quintin Crause 70 73 73, Basil Wright 77 66 73, Mitchell Lightfoot AMA 70 72 74
217 - Thabi Ngcobo 76 68 73, CJ Levey 74 66 77
218 - Dylan Mostert AMA 72 74 72, Jason Roets 69 71 78
219 - Luke Brown AMA 75 71 73, Simon Kruger 75 70 74
220 - Haydn Driver AMA 73 72 75, Ivanna Samu 71 69 80
221 - Brandon Pieters 77 70 74, Divan Marais 74 74 73, Mpho Mafishe 70 74 77
222 - Jihwan Yeom AMA 74 75 73, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 75 69 78
223 - Tertius van den Berg 70 77 76, Matthew Vogel 73 74 76, Ruan Korb 75 73 75, Shaun van Tonder 72 76 75, Bryce Myburgh 76 74 73
224 - Gerard du Plooy 76 71 77, Tudor Bismark (ZIM) 75 75 74, Ryan Wingrove AMA 74 77 73
226 - Keanu Pestana AMA 78 71 77, Jaco van der Merwe AMA 76 75 75, WM Coetzee AMA 77 75 74
227 - Cameron Esau 76 73 78
228 - Cameron Gurr AMA 73 76 79, Vaughn van Deventer AMA 76 74 78, Matthew Rossouw AMA 79 74 75
230 - Marcus Smal AMA 74 73 83, Chase Paton AMA 82 68 80, JP Rousseau AMA 77 74 79
231 - Stephan du Toit AMA 78 77 76
233 - Herman Anderson AMA 78 74 81
234 - Tristan Barnard AMA 76 75 83, Valentin Graus (NLD) 77 74 83, Divan van der Merwe AMA 79 75 80
235 - Lydon Charnley AMA 77 73 85, Zillan du Pisani AMA 79 73 83
238 - Duan Nagel AMA 76 75 87, Jay Dean Fourie 77 76 85
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
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