Jaco van Zyl went from the Olympics to the European Tour’s Made in Denmark, where he shot 65 on Sunday to tie for sixth place alongside Martin Kaymer.
Belgium’s Thomas Pieters birdied the final three holes to win by one stroke over Welshman Bradley Dredge, while David Lipsky and Adrian Otaegui shared third place.
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18:?A masterclass in closing out a golf tournament from @Thomas_Pieters.https://t.co/QRBsM7JxfO
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 28, 2016
Van Zyl totalled 11 under par for the week and was six shots off the winning score, an encouraging result as the European Tour season starts to dwindle.
‘I got off to a nice start this week, the wind got up on Friday and I let a couple go, but I had a really nice weekend. The crowds were great,’ he said.
The South African was 67th in the world at the beginning of the year and skipped two majors to compete in Rio de Janeiro, where he tied for 43rd place.
Richard Sterne shared 10th place on nine under par, followed by Thomas Aiken in a share of 13th on eight under par.
Van Zyl’s tie for sixth place at Himmerland Golf Resort in Denmark this week was a good indication of his form. Expect to see more of Van Zyl on leaderboards in the coming months.
‘I’ve been hitting it so nicely for a long time. I stuck some new wedges in the bag, along with a new ball, and the combination has been phenomenal,’ said the 37 year old.
‘I’ll head home for two weeks and then I’ll be out for Italy and Germany. After that we’ll tackle the Finals Series,’ he concluded.
