07/10/2024 5-Minute World Tour

Maiden wins for Jerling and Yu; PGA Tour cards for Potgieter, Thornberry and more!

Amateur Golf

Western Province chase victory in The Windy City

Photo credit: GolfRSA

An 8-man Western Province team will be chasing victory at the 2024 SA Mid-Amateur Championship which takes place at Humewood Golf Club between the 7th and 11th of October.

Though the WP side will hope for some wind, the players will no doubt hope conditions are calmer than those which their female counterparts endured a couple of weeks ago.

Take a look at the make-up of the WP side and their fixtures below.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the Free Drop Round Reports after each day’s play too!

Professional Golf

PGA Tour: Yu wins Sanderson Farms Champs

Photo credit: PGA Tour/X

Kevin Yu birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against Beau Hossler to win his first PGA Tour title at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Yu birdied the 72nd hole from 15-feet to complete a round of 5-under 67 and set the clubhouse target at 23-under par. Hossler’s red number at the penultimate hole meant he signed for a 68 and matched Yu’s tournament total while 54-hole leader Keith Mitchell fell agonisingly short after bogeying the 18th.

Yu came up clutch for the second hole in a row, rolling in a 6-footer at the 18th for the decisive birdie-3.

DP World Tour: Hatton holds off Colsaerts at The Old Course

Photo credit: DP World Tour/X

A birdie at St Andrews’ iconic 18th saw Tyrrell Hatton edge Nicolas Colsaerts by a shot to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for a third time.

The Englishman carried a two-stroke lead into the final day after carding an incredible 11-under 61 at The Home Of Golf in round 3 but he didn’t have it all his own way in the final round.

After being three shots ahead of Colsaersts thanks to four birdies over his first 12 holes, Hatton showed signs of serious fragility when he double-bogeyed the par-4 13th then bogeyed the par-5 14th.

Colsaerts made every putt he needed to for much of the round to remain within striking distance before drawing level after a birdie at 15.

Still level on the 18th tee, the pair striped drives down the home hole. Hatton played his chip with deft touch to within 4 feet.

Facing a lengthy putt for eagle from 10 metres short of the green, Colsaerts first putt left him with the better part of 10-feet for birdie and although the Belgian gave it a good go, his birdie effort stayed above ground.

Hatton converted for his 7th win on the DP World Tour but there was a consolation prize for Colsaerts who earned his card for 2025.

Sunshine Tour: Jerling breaks through at Sunbet Challenge – Umhlali

Photo credit: Sunshine Tour/X

Luke Jerling has been on the Sunshine Tour since 2017, contending for titles here and there but only had a best finish of a tie for third to show for his efforts in 167 starts. It was lucky no. 168 as the Gqeberha native broke through with a four-shot victory in the Sunbet Challenge at Umhlali Golf Club.

Ironically, Jerling shared third at the event in 2023 so when he opened up with back-to-back five-under 66s it wasn’t much of a surprise.

What was surprising was how well he handled the pressure of leading serial winner Daniel van Tonder by two heading into the last day.

Van Tonder drew level with a birdie at 13. Jerling didn’t blink. Instead, he forged ahead with a spectacular eagle-2 at the driveable 14th while Van Tonder made a birdie. 

Van Tonder blinked first, bogeying the 15th and dropping shots at both 17 and 18.

Jerling played assured golf, parring his way to the clubhouse and a maiden victory which earns him a welcome 2-year exemption. 

Challenge Tour: Follett-Smith wins in Czech Republic

Ben Follett-Smith cantered to victory by 5 shots in the Czech Challenge, a win which catapulted him from 74th on the Road To Mallorca to 26th and the Zimbabwean is now well-placed to secure a DP World Tour card for 2025.

With 72 players advancing to the final three events of the season, Smith’s blistering start which saw him sandwich a round of 62 between rounds of 63 on the par-70 course couldn’t have come at a better time.

Undaunted by the significance of the final round, the 30-year-old kept his foot on the accelerator as he carded seven birdies against a solitary bogey on Sunday, easing to victory over Oliver Lindell (67) and Maxence Giboudot who shot a Sunday 65.

Follett-Smith will hope his good form continues in the remaining events with 20 DP World Tour cards up for grabs come season’s end.

Korn Ferry Tour: Thornberry earns PGA Tour card after “rosy” Sunday

Photo credit: Korn Ferry Tour/X

Braden Thornberry’s superb six-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship not only catapulted him to a slender one-stroke victory over a trio of players but elevated him to the PGA Tour for 2025.

A glance at Thornberry’s final round card doesn’t seem to suggest he was all that fazed by what was on the line: Four birdies over his first seven holes and a front-nine four-under 32 preceded a back-nine 34 which was book-ended by birdies at the 10th and 18th.

Thorrnberry’s clutch finish saw him pip Alistair Docherty (68), Doc Redman (72) and Brian Campbell (70) and in so doing jump a whopping 35 places to 16th on the final Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

A day of high drama also ended in a maiden PGA Tour card for South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter. A clutch sand-save at 18 punctuated a three-under 69 and after spending the day on or outside the all-important No.30, Potgieter ultimately snuck in at No.29 and onto the PGA Tour.

PGA Tour Champions: Mediate beats Estes in Furyk & Friends’ playoff

Photo credit: PGA Tour Champions/X

Rocco Mediate parred the second extra-hole to defeat Bob Estes in a sudden-death playoff, capturing the Furyk & Friends title and the 5th of his PGA Tour Champions career.

The pair began the final day tied for the lead on 11-under par before grinding out matching rounds of 1-under 71. That there was a playoff at all was only because of an 18th-hole bogey from Mediate, his par putt catching the right edge and veering off to the left.

But it would be Estes’ bogey at the 2nd playoff hole that would prove the most consequential after finding the fairway bunker off the the tee. His inability to save par from there meant 61-year-old Mediate secured his first PGA Tour Champions win since 2019.

Fun Facts & Scary Stats

South Africa’s Jbe Kruger won the Taiwan Masters for his second win on the circuit.

Tyrrell Hatton is the first three-time winner in Alfred Dunhill Links Championship history after winning in 2016, 2017 and 2024.

Branden Grace is the only player to have won both the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (2012) and the Alfred Dunhill Championship (2014).

At 20 years and 23 days of age, Aldrich Potgieter is the second-youngest Korn Ferry Tour graduate in history, behind only Jason Day who earned his PGA Tour card in 2007 at the age of 19 years, 11 months and 23 days in 2007.

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