LYLE Rowe became the sixth South African golfer in as many years to win the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open since its return on the Sunshine Tour schedule six years ago after rallying to a two stroke victory at Royal Harare Golf Club yesterday.
Rowe, who started the final round six shots off the lead, carded a bogey-free five-under-67 in the final round to clinch his second Sunshine Tour victory on 11-under-par 277 for the tournament.
The 28-year-old from Port Elizabeth, South Africa finished two strokes ahead of compatriot Dylan Frittelli, who made the joint lowest round of the day with a seven-under 67 to secure a solo second place finish.
Rowe, whose maiden win came at the Zambia Open in 2014, said he was delighted to win the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open, which came with a handsome R285 300 winner’s cheque.
“It’s great to finally have a win after a while. Zimbabwe is a great place and the Zimbabwe Open is a great tournament with a lot of great past winners. I didn’t think I had a chance, I was six shots behind, but I knew if I played well I could give myself a chance. You never know with the pressure on the final stretch hopefully the confidence carries over and I can get more wins this year.”
Rowe described his birdie at the par-four 14th as the turning point in his bogey free round, which included five birdies.
“I made such a good shot on the 14th and made a really nice putt, which helped me just get that extra momentum and confidence.
Louis de Jager, who led the tournament at the halfway mark before fizzling out of contention in the third round, recovered to finish tied for third position with compatriot Bryce Easton on eight-under-par 280.
Zimbabwe’s rising sensation Scott Vincent reserved his best for last, as he recovered from a disappointing third round 76 to card a brilliant seven-under 65, which lifted him to a five-way tie for fifth position.
Yesterday’s fifth place finish by Vincent is the best performance by a Zimbabwean in the Golden Zimbabwe Open since Marc Cayeux’s third place finish in 2010.
“I’m very happy with the way I played today. Yesterday’s (Saturday’s) round left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as I coming off the course. I really wanted to do well in this tournament and maybe I was trying too hard. Today I had less pressure I just told myself to go out there and have fun and just put on a good score and I’m very happy with how I played,” Vincent said.
Mark Williams was the next best placed Zimbabwean in a tie for 30th on level par, while Scott’s young brother Kieran finished as the highest placed amateur on a tie for 48th at four-over.