Doug McGuigan carded a final-round two-under-par 70 to win the 54-hole R750,000 Vodacom Origins of Golf event at Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate.
His final round was enough to give him a two-stroke edge over the charging Brandon Stone, as the 2016 South African Open champion made five birdies in his last eight holes to finish one off the pace.
McGuigan was strolling to victory at 12-under through the 11th hole, and a stumble in the form of a triple-bogey seven at the 12th saw his chances of a first Sunshine Tour victory in five years suddenly fade. His last win came in 2012 at the ISPS Handa Match Play Championship.
‘The 12th hole got me a little alert about things’ he said. ‘I was cruising along nicely, playing brilliantly and I hit a weak shot. The course can penalise you quickly and I made triple.’
Stone’s charge for victory started poorly, and a double-bogey six on the second hole had him starting on the back foot. He turned in one-over 37, which was three poorer than McGuigan, and that left him with a lot of ground to make up.
McGuigan followed a birdie on two with a bogey on three, but it was all pretty good for him after that. Successive birdies on seven and eight, and another on 11 saw him pull clear. And then came the 12th. But he rallied with birdies on 14 and 16 and he was able to get home safely. ‘To recover like I did, I’m pleased about that,’ he said.
‘It shows me what I can do if I need to.
‘I didn’t even have a word with myself on 13 tee. I was very surprised. I was calm, but there was obviously a bit of adrenaline going during the last few holes, but my attitude was great. I’d like to keep this for a while.
‘That’s why we do this. We want to see how we do under the pressure. Nobody love the pressure, but it’s good when it’s finished and when you win.’
Stone finished the second round birdie-birdie-eagle, and he went birdie-par-birdie in the final round. He did have an eagle putt that just missed on the right, but that would only have taken him to 10-under.
Jacques Kruyswijk finished a further shot back in third place on eight-under, with Matthew Carvell in fourth on seven-under. Rookie Aubrey Beckley and Christiaan Basson shared fifth on six-under.
The victory was very sweet for McGuigan.
‘Personally, I’ve had a hard time over the last year, losing my brother and stuff, so to do this is fantastic,’ he said.
‘I’ve started believing again.’
Final leaderboard:
206 – Doug McGuigan 68 68 70
207 – Brandon Stone 71 68 68
208 – Jacques Kruyswijk 68 70 70
209 – Matthew Carvell 69 67 73
210 – Aubrey Beckley 69 74 67, Christiaan Basson 69 72 69
212 – Ulrich van den Berg 69 74 69, Zack Byrd 71 70 71
213 – Riekus Nortje 72 73 68, Stephen Ferreira 70 72 71
214 – Tyrone Ryan 71 72 71, Charl Coetzee 71 72 71
215 – Tyrone Ferreira 75 70 70, Herman Loubser 76 68 71, Titch Moore 74 72 69, Chris Cannon 71 72 72, Wallie Coetsee 66 73 76, Louis de Jager 70 77 68, Kyle Pilgrim 66 71 78
216 – Jared Harvey 73 72 71, Ockie Strydom 72 72 72, Justin Harding 70 73 73, Rourke van der Spuy 74 73 69, Ryan Tipping 75 72 69
217 – Ruan de Smidt 72 74 71, Vaughn Groenewald 71 75 71
218 – Andrew van der Knaap 69 75 74, JJ Senekal 72 74 72
219 – JC Ritchie 73 73 73, Stuart Smith 76 70 73, Michael Hollick 71 72 76, Desne Van Den Bergh 73 70 76, Danie Van Niekerk 72 75 72
220 – Musiwalo Nethunzwi 71 75 74, Chris Swanepoel 74 70 76, Gert Myburgh 74 73 73, Matias Calderon 73 74 73
221 – Jaco Prinsloo 70 76 75, Jean Hugo 74 73 74
222 – Breyten Meyer 77 68 77, Quintin Wilsnach 73 73 76, PH McIntyre 73 74 75
223 – Andre Nel 72 74 77
224 – Anthony Michael 73 74 77
