JOHANNESBURG – Tristan Lawrence took home the South African Open despite shooting a 2-over 74 on the Blair Atoll course on Sunday.
Lawrence started the day with a 2-shot lead over Frenchman Clement Sordet to extend his lead to five strokes on the back nine, but the South African dropped his playing partner to finish at 16-under 272 overall.
The victory was his third on the European Tour, following wins at the Joburg Open a year ago and the European Masters in August.
“This is what you strive for, what you dream of as a kid in this moment, to win such a big event in front of such an amazing crowd,” Lawrence said. “It felt easy going through the round and then golf happened at the end.
“I was able to do it and I’m very happy,” he added.
Sweden’s Jens Fahrbring (70) finished third, 2 shots off the pace, while Germany’s Matti Schmidt was fourth, another 3 shots back.
Worse was to come when Lawrence bogeyed the 14th for a sordid birdie and Lawrence pulled up close to the green and attempted to run a double into the water.
Another bogey on No. 16 meant that Lawrence and Sordet were tied for the lead, and Sordet missed the greenside bunker and bogeyed the 17th.
On the par-5 18th, Sordet found more sand off the tee and couldn’t get the birdie needed for the playoff.
The tournament was the second of three tournaments this month in South Africa for the European Tour’s 2023 season.
