He probably sealed the deal with his three birdies in the opening nine at Killarney Golf Club, but there was more than that to amateur Kyle McClatchie’s win in the season-opening Sunshine Big Easy Tour event.
He started the day with a four-stroke edge over the other amateur in the field, Slade Pickering, and despite bogeys on 10 and 13, he signed for a three-under 67 to finish with a seven-stroke margin over Maritz Wessels, who carded the low round of that day with a four-under 66.
‘I wouldn’t say it was easy,’ said McClatchie. ‘It’s always tough out there. I would have said yesterday was easy, but today I had to grind it out. So I’m pretty chuffed with the win. I played pretty nicely on both days.
‘Those three birdies ahead of the turn were kind of a confidence-booster more than anything else. I knew that it was still kind of tightish before the ninth, so it was very nice to get those three birdies in and they made the difference in the end.
‘I wouldn’t say I was worried when I made the bogeys on 10 and 17, but they kicked me back awake and put me back into the mental state of playing golf again, instead of wondering what would happen at the end. They definitely did me good.
‘I wanted to finish 10-under – I wanted to be in double figures – so it was important to make the birdie on 15, and it was a nice bonus to sink that putt on 18 for another.’
McClatchie finished in a share of second behind Pieter Kruger in last year’s Kempton Park leg of the Big Easy series, so he was keen for a win – and it has boosted his confidence ahead of a six-week stint playing amateur golf in the UK.
‘After these last two weeks, I’m looking forward to going overseas,” he said. “It makes me feel a bit more comfortable going over there.’
LEADING SCORES
130 Kyle McClatchie 63 67
137 Maritz Wessels 71 66
139 Duane Keun 72 67, Paul de Beer 69 70
140 Kyle Barker 72 68, Brett Liddle 71 69, Bennie van der Merwe 68 72, Slade Pickering 67 73
143 Conway Kunneke 73 70, Drikus van der Walt 74 69, Jonathan Waschefort 75 68, Jeff Inglis 70 73, Anton Haig 69 74
144 Bryce McCabe 73 71, Tertius van den Berg 74 70, Richie O’Donovan 71 73, John Mc Clean 75 69, Jabulane Mabilane 71 73
145 Teboho Sefatsa 72 73, Quintin Crause 74 71, Etienne Bond 71 74, Neezy Thubisi 71 74
146 Antonio Rosado 70 76, Jacques P de Villiers 69 77
Photo: Johan Rynners/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images
