Jaco van Zyl overcame the challenge of playing partner Chris Swanepoel at Country Club Johannesburg on Sunday to claim his second Telkom PGA Championship title.
Tied for the lead at the start of the day, Swanepoel took command with four early birdies and a four shot lead, but as the Bela-Bela pro starting imploding under the pressure on the back nine, Van Zyl launched with a spirited comeback over the last six holes.
A great chip shot at the 12th gave Van Zyl’s campaign new momentum, and pinpoint approaches and a hot putter saw the 34 year old close the gap on his playing partner.
He squared Swanepoel for lead at the 16th after another great chip and took back the lead at the 17th.
Although his birdie putt at 18 just lipped out, par was enough to give Van Zyl a final round three under par 69 and his second Sunshine Tour victory in as many months.
His winning score of 20 under par 268 was one shot better than Sunshine Tour rookie Dylan Frittelli, who gave a brilliant account of himself with four birdies, an eagle and one drop for a 67 to finish on 19 under.
With two Telkom PGA Championship and three Telkom PGA Pro-Am titles, Van Zyl has truly earned his nickname, and Mr Telkom was thrilled to add career title number 12 to his tally and become South Africa’s tenth player inside the current world top 100.
In typical Van Zyl fashion, though, he first gave his playing partner his due.
“I have to say that Chris played sublimely,” he said. “He played solid the first nine holes and I couldn’t get anything going. I felt like I was basically playing for second place.”
But wily old fox that he is, Van Zyl knew it always comes down to the final nine on Sundays.
A chip-in at the par four 12th changed the momentum and set the tone for Van Zyl’s comeback.
“I chipped in on 12, and made a long putt at the 13th and then Chris holed a long one too. I joked with him as we walked to the next tee, saying “how am I supposed to catch you if you keep doing this?” But I managed to hang in there, though, and got it done.”
Van Zyl’s back nine was all about his tee shots and approached, and the two shots that set up birdie number three at the par five 16th gave his charge the final big push to victory.
“That was really, really good,” he said. “It helped that the hole was playing downwind, that always helps on the par-five where I just can’t reach in two. The 18th was pretty much the same.”
