Australian Nathan Holman parred the first hole of a three-way playoff with Harold Varner III of the US and South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli to win the Australian PGA Championship yesterday.
Holman, who shot a final-round one-over 73, and Frittelli and Varner, who each had 75s, finished with even-par totals of 288 on a tough, wind-swept Royal Pines Resort course.
Holman led by two strokes, but bogeyed his final two holes. Varner’s birdie attempt on 18 that would have given him the win in regulation slid just wide of the cup.
Photo: AFP
The Australian was the only one on the fairway in the playoff and hit to the middle of the green, while Frittelli and Varner were off the green after hitting their third shots from the rough.
The 24-year-old ended the playoff with a one-foot par putt after Frittelli and Varner bogeyed.
Zander Lombard of South Africa, who was tied for the third-round lead with Frittelli and Varner, shot 76 and finished fourth, one stroke behind the leading trio.
“It was pretty annoying to almost lose it at the end,” Holman said of his bogey-bogey finish in regulation.
It was the second straight year that the tournament was decided in a playoff — Greg Chalmers won a marathon seven-hole playoff with Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby last year.
Holman’s win continues years of Australian dominance at the PGA, Championship which has not been won by an international player since New Zealand’s Greg Turner in 1999.
The newly designed back nine at Royal Pines by former Australian golfer Graham Marsh had six of the toughest nine holes on the course.
Organizers had a A$1 million (US$734,000) “party hole” on the par-three 16th yesterday, set up with bars and entertainment similar to a hole at the Phoenix Open. The closest anyone came to winning the bonus was Australian Matt Griffin, whose tee shot landed only six inches away from the hole.
NEDBANK CHALLENGE
AFP, SUN CITY, South Africa
Australia’s Marc Leishman opened up a one-shot lead as Sweden’s Henrik Stenson lost his cool after the third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, on Saturday.
Overnight leader Stenson had recovered from an air shot on the second for a three-shot lead with three to play, but a three-putt bogey on the 16th gave Leishman a way through and two final birdies gave the Australian a six-under 66.
The Swede’s frustration boiled over as he slammed his bag to the ground after landing in a fairway bunker with his tee shot on the last, with the world No. 7 blaming the way the sand had been raked.
A bogey meant that Stenson had to settle for a 70 to finish 13-under, with South African Jaco van Zyl on 10-under and Robert Streb of the US a shot further back.
“It was disappointing on the last to find a shocking rake job in the bunker. It was sitting down in a hole and I couldn’t even get my lob wedge back onto the fairway,” said Stenson, who had spent three days recovering from the flu prior to the event. “I was feeling better when I started, but playing in 38 degrees certainly takes it out of you, so after the first 10, 11 holes I was really struggling. All in all, I didn’t play very well today, and the short game and the putter kept the score together, and that’s why I’m still at the races tomorrow [Sunday].”
Leishman, who lost out in a three-man playoff for The Open at St Andrews in July, said: “I saw Henrik was getting away a little bit, so I had to try to do something to make it interesting for tomorrow. Hopefully, I can have another good round like today and give him a run for his money.”
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