South Africa’s Dawie van der Walt secured his first victory on the European Tour at the Tshwane Open, closing with a 5-under-par 32-35=67 to post 21-under 267, two clear of runner-up Darren Fichardt.
After winning the Africa Open two weeks ago, Fichardt was gunning for his second straight title, this time at Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate in Centurion, South Africa. He carded a bogey-free 69 today but it wasn’t low enough to test his fellow South African. The duo shared the 54-hole lead with South African Charl Coetzee and Chile’s Mark Tullo, who shot 72 and 77, respectively, in the finale to finish T5 and T27. van der Walt missed only six greens in regulation all week and suffered only one bogey (a 5 at the 10th hole today). In addition to 20 birdies, he eagled the par-5 fourth hole which, at 685 yards, was the longest in tour history. “You can only imagine what it’s like to win such big one,” he said. “I’m just really happy that I played well and won, because you can play well and not win. You start doubting yourself and at 30 years old you start to wonder if you’re good enough and this shows me that I am.”