Another top 20 for McKibbin as Lawrence sneaks home in South African Open
Thriston Lawrence celebrates winning the Investec SA Open Championship during day 4 of the Investec South African Open at Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate on December 04, 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Gallo Images)
Teenager Tom McKibbin claimed his second top-20 finish in as many DP World Tour starts this season when he tied for 15th in the Investec South African Open.
The Holywood teenager (19) birdied the last two holes at Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate as he closed with a three-under 69 to finish eight shots behind winner Thriston Lawrence on eight-under-par.
McKibbin won €17,439 for his week's work and free accommodation at Montecasino for the next two years for his hole-in-one in the first round.
"It's pretty cool," McKibbin said. "It's obviously nice to get some after getting a hole-in-one. There's no prize on the tee but that's certainly a great thing to finish the week off with. It's pretty special, and I appreciate it a lot."
As for his golf, it's a sign of his talent that McKibbin could follow his tie for 18th in his first DP World Tour start as a rookie in last week’s Joburg Open with another top-20 finish despite only having his B game.
"It was okay," said McKibbin, who remains in South Africa for the Alfred Dunhill Championship. "I played alright. I didn't really putt great. Everything was a wee bit all over the place.
"But it was okay. A solid week for not having my best stuff. So let's see if I can tidy it up a wee bit for next week at Leopard Creek.
"I'm looking forward to it. I played it at an amateur event, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays next week. I've heard it's pretty special."
Gary Hurley is a reserve for Leopard Creek, but he could be pleased with his tie for 35th (€9,562) on five-under after he eagled the 18th for the third day running to salvage a 73.
It was even a struggle for title winner Lawrence, who held a five-shot lead with seven holes to play but only edged out Frenchman Clément Sordet by a shot after a nerve-wracking finish.
“Unbelievable. It’s a dream come true for me,” a relieved Lawrence said. “This is the one you want to win – your national Open. It was so special to have Gary Player watching as well. He’s won 13 of these, and now I’ve got one as well. It’s what you dream of. This means everything to me. This is by far my best victory ever.”
Thriston Lawrence (left) and leading amateur Christiaan Maas (right. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Gallo Images)
The South African (26) bogeyed the 12th and 14th to see his lead reduced to three shots and when he overshot the 15th and made a double bogey after finding water, then missed a short par putt at the next, he was tied for the lead with Sordet on 16-under.
The French star missed a short par putt at the 17th, however, and when he drove into sand at the par-five 18th and had to lay up, Lawrence was able to three-putt for par from the fringe for a 74 to his rival's 73 and win his third DP World Tour title by a shot on 16-under.
"It felt all easy going through the round and then golf happened at the end," said Lawrence, who won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title last season.
"Clément was playing really well, I was playing well, then made a few mistakes, missed them on the wrong sides and couldn't score from there.
"I managed to get it done, and I'm really pleased.
“During the middle of the round it felt like it was going to be an easy victory for me and then golf happens. You get ups and downs during your round. You get ups and downs during life. And it happened to me today. It felt like everything was falling apart, but I just hung in there. It felt like match play for me.
“Even with those stumbles I was still ahead and then after 16 I told myself I was all square. I just tried to stick to my own game and stay calm.
“To be standing here with the trophy is an unbelievable accomplishment for me. I’m just so grateful. It wasn’t the prettiest finish but a win is a win. I’ll probably wake up tomorrow and still not believe it. This is what you work for. It’s the toughest thing in the world to win, and it’s been an unbelievable start to the new season for me.”
Christiaan Maas won the Freddie Tait Cup for the leading amateur as he ended the week on five under par with a final round of 77.
Investec South African Open Championship, Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate (Par 72)
272 - Thriston Lawrence 64 67 67 74
273 - Clement Sordet 68 66 66 73
274 - Jens Fahrbring 65 70 69 70
277 - Matti Schmid 66 73 69 69
278 - Chase Hanna 69 73 69 67, Daniel Brown 71 70 69 68, Marcel Siem 69 68 70 71, Dean Burmester 70 71 66 71
279 - Charl Schwartzel 68 74 69 68, Jayden Schaper 68 72 70 69, Hennie du Plessis 70 72 67 70, Jaco Prinsloo 70 71 68 70, Edoardo Molinari 67 70 70 72, Ashun Wu 71 67 67 74
280 - Tom McKibbin 67 71 73 69, Scott Jamieson 66 71 72 71, Renato Paratore 70 70 69 71, Richard Sterne 69 71 74 66, Ockie Strydom 70 63 75 72, MJ Daffue 71 64 73 72, Wilco Nienaber 67 69 70 74, Martin Simonsen 73 68 65 74
281 - Luke Brown 67 72 72 70, Joost Luiten 72 69 68 72, Alejandro Del Rey 72 67 70 72, James Hart du Preez 70 68 70 73, Ross Fisher 65 71 71 74, Adrian Otaegui 70 66 71 74, Deon Germishuys 69 69 69 74
282 - Christoffer Bring 68 71 72 71, Zander Lombard 69 71 71 71, Jeong Weon Ko 69 66 75 72, Wynand Dingle 71 68 71 72, David Ravetto 71 69 70 72
283 - JJ Senekal 66 75 70 72, Jorge Campillo 73 67 72 71, Gary Hurley 69 70 71 73, Aaron Cockerill 68 74 72 69, Christiaan Maas 69 65 72 77
284 - Romain Langasque 71 71 69 73, Albert Venter 71 70 69 74, Francesco Laporta 71 69 70 74
285 - Nathan Kimsey 69 69 73 74, Santiago Tarrio 67 72 73 73, Yurav Premlall 72 67 71 75, Freddy Schott 70 71 71 73, Kristian Krogh Johannessen 68 74 71 72, Todd Clements 72 70 72 71, Pieter Moolman 70 71 74 70
286 - Jens Dantorp 68 73 70 75, Louis Albertse 73 66 73 74, Dylan Frittelli 70 71 71 74, Jacques Kruyswijk 70 69 74 73, Simon Forsstrom 71 70 67 78, JC Ritchie 73 69 73 71
287 - Sami Valimaki 72 70 71 74, Dan Bradbury 68 71 75 73, Adrien Saddier 73 69 73 72
288 - Brandon Stone 72 69 70 77, Tapio Pulkkanen 70 67 74 77, Aldrich Potgieter 71 71 71 75
289 - Thomas Aiken 68 73 71 77, Marc Warren 68 69 76 76
290 - Daniel van Tonder 74 68 73 75, Tristen Strydom 70 71 75 74, Jean Hugo 70 69 79 72
291 - Rourke van der Spuy 71 68 73 79, Darren Fichardt 68 70 75 78, Oliver Bekker 71 68 75 77
292 - Kyle De Beer 69 72 77 74
293 - Alex Haindl 70 71 75 77, MJ Viljoen 71 70 77 75
294 - Merrick Bremner 71 69 74 80
295 - Matthew Spacey 70 69 81 75
296 - Jonathan Broomhead 71 70 77 78, Lukas Nemecz 73 68 79 76
297 - Malcolm Mitchell 71 70 75 81
