Thriston Lawrence will lead the Sunshine Tour Qualifying School class of 2018 onto the main tour after his four-shot win at Randpark Golf Club.
Lawrence credited the European Challenge Tour for readying him for challenges such as those faced during the week at Randpark.
He started the final round of the final stage six shots behind Todd Clements, as the Englishman looked unstoppable. Lawrence got working as early as the second hole where the par he made on the first was followed by three straight birdies through to the fourth. After making another par on the fifth hole, he made birdie on six, pars on seven and eight before making another birdie on the ninth.
Such was the form Lawrence brought to the fifth round of a testing week where his final round seven-under 65 took his total to 16-under-par 366. The week was tough as delays due to heavy rain dragged the tournament longer by a day.
‘I’m very pleased because to me any win is very special,’ he said after a hard-fought victory on the Firethorn layout at Randpark. ‘Mentally, I was very strong this week. I was very positive and managed to get rid of all the bad emotions. Playing on Challenge Tour last year, I learned to grind, you know, so that you are mentally stronger and I was strong this week.’
His back nine was just as solid as he didn’t give anything away, picking up a pair of birdies and a host of pars along the way. Other than being strong mentally, Thriston admitted, his putting proved to be the winner as he romped to an untainted 65.
‘It’s always special to go bogey-free,’ Lawrence said.
‘The putter, for a change, was on my side.
‘Probably the best putting I’ve had in the last two years. I think my putting made a huge difference this week.’
He leads a group of 32 players into the 2018-19 season as the best 30 players and ties secured their Sunshine Tour playing cards and he says, for him, there’s no better way to end a season.
‘Like I said, you know, a win is a win and this comes right at the end of the season.
‘It is good for me to go in the new season with a bit of confidence and the right mental state.’
For Clements a win might have proven elusive at Randpark, but he will be proud of his effort on his first time out in South Africa. He might feel he deserved more than second spot following his gallant showing here as he dominated for the better part of this challenging week.
So will Louis Albertse. Going into the final round tied for the lead with Clements, Albertse would have fancied his chances but an indifferent round of four-over 76 was never going to win this event and he had to settle for the third spot.
Players who earned their Sunshine Tour cards:
Thriston Lawrence, Todd Clements, Louis Albertse, Jason Smith, Theunis Bezuidenhout, Anton Haig, Gideon van der Vyver, Erhard Lambrechts, Philip Eriksson, Heinrich Bruiners, Sean Bradley, Damon Stephenson, James du Preez, Roberto Lupini, Jason Vijoen, Ty Capps, Ruan Conradie, Marthin Scheepers, Basil Wright, Pieter Moolman, Ruan Huysamen, Tyler Hogarty, Steven Lecuyer, Victor Lange, Michael Schutz, Estiaan Conradie, Duane Keun, Wayne Stroebel, Jade Buitendag, Luke Trocado, Philip Geerts and David McIntyre
Final Q-School leaderboard:
344 – Thriston Lawrence 71 66 70 72 65
348 – Todd Clements 67 64 68 74 75
349 – Louis Albertse 69 65 70 69 76
350 – Jason Smith 70 68 68 74 70
351 – Theunis Bezuidenhout 72 66 72 72 69
353 – Anton Haig 71 72 68 67 75
354 – Gideon van der Vyver 71 67 71 74 71
355 – Erhard Lambrechts 66 73 70 77 69, Philip Eriksson 69 71 72 73 70, Heinrich Bruiners 73 67 71 72 72
356 – Sean Bradley 72 71 77 68 68, Damon Stephenson 70 70 71 75 70
357 – James du Preez 72 72 74 70 69, Roberto Lupini 72 70 72 73 70, Jason Viljoen 69 67 76 74 71
358 – Ty Capps 72 74 71 72 69, Ruan Conradie 73 70 70 74 71, Marthin Scheepers 75 73 68 69 73
359 – Basil Wright 75 67 73 74 70, Pieter Moolman 75 69 73 71 71, Ruan Huysamen 74 68 67 78 72, Tyler Hogarty 73 73 74 71 68, Steven Lecuyer 71 72 72 71 73, Victor Lange 70 70 68 74 77
360 – Michael Schutz 70 71 72 73 74, Estiaan Conradie 73 70 74 75 68, Duane Keun 72 67 73 73 75
361 – Wayne Stroebel 68 74 76 70 73, Jade Buitendag 71 71 71 77 71, Luke Trocado 70 70 80 68 73, Philip Geerts 73 70 72 78 68, David McIntyre 77 71 71 74 68
362 – Tomasz Anderson 73 75 72 68 74, Ruan Korb 70 70 76 73 73, Dongkwan Kim 70 72 73 76 71, Arthur Horne 71 74 71 71 75, Paul Boshoff 75 72 73 73 69
363 – Conway Kunneke 71 70 76 72 74, Dylan Kok 74 71 72 74 72, Matt Bright 71 72 71 77 72, Teboho Sefatsa 71 72 73 77 70, Benjamin Follett-Smith 81 71 70 72 69
364 – Martin Rominger 74 73 74 70 73
365 – Ruhan van Dijk 69 74 74 73 75, Andrew Burmester 71 70 78 72 74, Makhetha Mazibuko 76 68 74 75 72, Ben Amor 72 76 74 72 71
366 – Albert Venter 70 75 74 72 75, Tertius van den Berg 72 76 72 74 72
367 – Coert Groenewald 75 70 71 72 79, Jason Diab 73 71 74 72 77, Jimmy Mullen 74 72 78 70 73
368 – Matthew Rushton 73 71 70 76 78, Sipho Bujela 74 71 73 74 76, Jason Rossiter 73 73 71 75 76, Matthew Spacey 73 75 77 68 75, PH McIntyre 72 74 75 72 75
369 – Eric Nel 77 71 77 67 77, John Mc Clean 72 72 70 78 77
370 – Tristen Strydom 72 71 72 73 82
Photo: Supplied
