Free Drop Newsletter Newsletter: 16/09/2024
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63rd SA Premier IPT Preview, USA end Solheim Cup heartache, Steve Stricker makes history and much more!
Preview: 63rd SA Premier IPT
The 63rd edition of the South African Premier Interprovincial Tournament takes place from the 16th to the 20th of September at Stellenbosch Golf Club and the 8-man Western Province side will be chasing their 19th title at the country’s flagship team event.
Central Gauteng are the defending champions having pipped Eastern Province 36.5-35.5 on game points at East London Golf Club last year.
WP will be eager to improve upon their third-place finish a year ago and secure a third title in four years.
Western Province IPT Side – Player number in brackets:
Dan Copeman (#164, rookie), Cole Cruickshank (#165, rookie), Shaun Le Roux (#157, 4th appearance), Mitch Phigeland (#166, rookie), Travis Procter (#161, 2nd appearance), Andries van der Vyfer (#167, rookie), Henru Walters (#168, rookie), Andrew Georgiou (#155, 4th appearance)
*Women’s IPT and Mid-AM IPT content to be published closer to the time of the respective events.
Solheim Cup: USA Romp to first victory since 2017
Photo credit: Golf Digest
The United States were full value throughout their first victorious Solheim Cup campaign since 2017 as the hosts completed a clinical 15.5-12.5 triumph over Team Europe.
A 6-2 opening day set the tone for a week during which the USA was never truly threatened.
Integral to the United States success were the dynamic Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda who won both their foursomes matches while rookie Lauren Coughlin’s 3-0 record over the first two days was integral to the USA’s 10-6 advantage heading into the Sunday Singles.
The Europeans were unable to channel their male counterparts’ heroics from 2012 at Medinah which saw them overturn a 10-6 deficit but should be credited for winning the final day 6.5-5.5, the highlight of which was undoubtedly Charley Hull’s 6&4 demolition of World no.1 Nelly Korda in the top-match.
Further full-points earned by Celine Boutier, Madelene Sagstrom, and Leona Maguire were merely consolatory in nature.
PGA Tour: Kizzire ends six-year title drought
Photo Credit: PGA Tour/X
Patton Kizzire ended a six-year wait for a third PGA Tour title with a dominant five-stroke victory at the Procore Championship.
Kizzire played incredibly consistent golf in the early part of the week as he backed up a first round six-under 66 with a 65 in round two. He added a third-round 67 for good measure which rendered the fact that he finally posted a round in the 70s, a two-under 70 on Sunday, meaningless.
Kizzire left the rest of the field trailing in his wake, David Lipsky finishing in 2nd-place after a closing 71, a score matched by Patrick Fishburn who finished a stroke further adrift in third on 14-under par.
DP World Tour: Hojgaard charges to Irish Open win
Photo Credit: DP World Tour/X
Rasmus Hojgaard completed a terrific one-shot come-from-behind victory in the Irish Open after a superb final round of six-under 65.
Hojgaard’s first-nine of one-under 35 was steady if not spectacular but the inward-half which followed was sublime. A birdie at 10 preceded birdies at 12 and 14 with a bogey sandwhiched between the two red-figures.
The Dane closed in a hurry as he birdied 16-18 to set the clubhouse target at nine-under par.
Prior to the final round the storyline had centred around home hope Rory McIlroy’s duel with Matteo Manassero. McIlroy made headlines for all the wrong reasons on the final day as an ill-timed 3-putt on the penultimate hole meant he needed a final hole eagle to tie Hojgaard.
The two blows which earned him a look at eagle were valiant, the ensuing putt which tracked the hole for much of its journey even more so but in the end McIlroy’s challenge was undermined once more by his putter in 2024 which saw him come up agonisingly short of another victory.
LIV Golf: Rahm wins LIV Chicago by three
Photo credit: LIV Golf/Facebook
Jon Rahm completed a three-stroke triumph at LIV Golf Chicago with a final round of four-under 66 to eclipse runners-up Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia.
Rahm bounced back from a relatively pedestrian one-under opening round with a six-under 64 in round two which earned him the 36-hole lead by one over Sergio Garcia.
Three birdies over his opening 10 holes on Sunday afforded the Spaniard something of a cushion before a clinically clean final round was punctuated with a birdie at the penultimate hole which secured Rahm his second win in the last three starts and the LIV Golf season-long Individual title to boot.
Sunshine Tour: Hugo and Korb combine for Bain’s Team Champs triumph
Photo credit: Sunshine Tour
Jean Hugo and Ruan Korb’s spectacular weekend play during which they carded rounds of 67 and 63 culminated in a resounding four-stroke triumph in the Bain’s Whisky Ubunye Team Championship at Silver Lakes Golf Club.
Rounds 1 and 4 saw the teams-of-two play Better-Ball while rounds 2 and 3 put friendships to the test that only alternate-shot can provide.
Hugo and Korb passed this test with flying colours as they followed a second-round two-under 69 with a Saturday 67.
Leading Jaco van Zyl and Greg McKay by a shot heading into the last round, a birdie-eagle start to the final round laid the groundwork of a front-nine of five-under 30 for Hugo and Korb.
A comparatively quieter back-nine followed but three birdies in as many holes from the 13th ensured the pair ran out comfortable winners over Stephan Wears-Taylor/Trevor Fisher Jnr and Michael Hollick/Jaco Ahlers.
Challenge Tour: Oshrine wins maiden title in Portugal
American Matt Oshrine secured a maiden Challenge Tour title of his career after prevailing by a shot at the Open De Portugal.
Oshrine began he day a shot behind Stefano Mazzoli but signalled his intent to be a part of the title conversation with three birdies in his first seven holes. Bogeys at the 4th, 9th and 10th meant he was even-par on the day to that point but timely birdies at 11 and 13 saw him return to two-under on the day where he’d remain with five closing pars.
Mazzoli’s penultimate-hole bogey ultimately cost the Italian a playoff against Oshrine who earned a first title in his rookie season on Tour.
Korn Ferry Tour: Petersen pips Atkins to Simmons Bank Open title
Paul Petersen pipped Matt Atkins to the Simmons Bank Open title after signing for a four-under 66 and a 20-under tournament total.
Beginning the day two shots adrift of Ryan Gerard’s 54-hole lead, Petersen made a fast start with back-to-back birdies to begin his day. A third birdie at the sixth was cancelled out by a bogey at the seventh.
The 36-year-old left-hander played blemish-free golf from there and further back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 preceded three closing pars which were enough to keep Atkins, who carded a bogey-free three-under 67, at bay.
PGA Tour Champions: Stricker earns emotional Sanford International win
Steve Stricker’s 18th PGA Tour Champions triumph may well be his most meaningful as his sudden-death playoff victory over Richard Green at the Sanford International not only represented the 57-year-old’s first victory since the passing of his Dad in January but also his third win in as many years at the event.
Stricker’s final round three-under 67 was eventful as he made the turn in a bogey-free four-under 30. Bogeys followed at the 10th and 13th though they were offset by birdies at 12 and 15.
He wound up in a tie with Australian Green after bogeying the last while Green’s birdie-3 at 18 helped him sign for a one-under 69.
There was no separating the pair after three extra holes, Stricker produced a moment of magic as he gouged his approach out of the rough on his third trip down 18, the ball pitching short of the green before running up and clattering into the flag before expiring three-feet away.
After Green missed a 10-footer for birdie, Stricker rolled in his birdie to complete a fantastic triumph.
Fun Facts & Scary Stats
- Western Province won all seven of the South African Interprovincial Tournaments contested in 2021.
2. Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz have now won four consecutive Foursomes matches together, the first pairing ever to win four consecutive alternate-shot matches at the event.
3. Steve Stricker is nicknamed “Mr September” for his late-season brilliance as evidenced by the fact that between 2007 and 2010 he was not just the only player to play every round in the FedexCup playoffs but only finished outside the top-20 twice in 16 events during that span.
4. Steve Stricker becomes the only player ever to win an event in three straight years on both the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions having won the John Deere Classic from 2009-2011 and the Sanford International from 2022-2024.
5. Michael Wright holed out from a sandy area right of the fairway on the 72nd hole of 2023 PGA Tour Champions Qualifying School, dunking his 3rd-shot on a par-5 from 100 yards to nab the last of only five available cards.
Saturday Club Competition Results
Get caught up on selected Saturday Club Competition Results from around the Western Cape.