PRETORIA – Thriston Lawrence cautioned overnight that his three-shot lead going into the final round of the SunBet Challenge Time Square Casino event at Wingate Park Country Club would not be immune to threat, but he did not see any significant challenges on the last day as he cruised to a five-shot victory in the R2 million Sunshine Tour tournament on Friday.
And it’s not as if the rest of the field produced mediocre golf either. Lawrence was just once again pure class as he fired a five-under-par 67 to take him to 20-under for the 54 holes.
The exciting 26-year-old Dylan Naidoo matched that 67 to finish second on 15-under-par, with Yurav Premlall third on 13-under after a 71 on Friday, both making powerful statements as members of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class for historically disadvantaged golfers. Ryan van Velzen, the 2023/24 winner of the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, produced the low round of the day, a 66 that took him into a share of fourth place on 12-under with Michael Hollick (69) and Neil Schietekat (71).
Jacques Blaauw, who was tied for second with Premlall after the second round, struggled off the tee on Friday and shot a 73 that left him on 11-under-par, tied for seventh with George Coetzee (70) and Werner Deyzel (70).
Lawrence settled any nerves right from the outset as he birdied the first two holes, and then went out in four-under 31 as he also birdied the fifth and ninth holes. The world number 76 then birdied the 11th and 13thholes to stretch his lead to a mighty seven shots, and he could afford a bogey on the par-three 14th before cruising home with pars.
“It was definitely a dream start, but from the third to the eighth there was a wind change which made it tricky. But I just had to stay composed and hit my numbers. It was a good driving day, everything pretty much went where I wanted,” Lawrence said.
Even though Lawrence has a hunk of professional titles, he said his fourth Sunshine Tour win was still very special, coming in his first competitive round since injuring his back during his fourth-place finish in the Open Championship last month.
“It’s awesome, every victory is still insane to pull off. I haven’t won a normal Sunshine Tour event since 2019, and I haven’t had a win anywhere since last year, so this is nice. You never know when you’re going to win again, so I am very grateful. I will always support this tour because it gave me my start.
“It’s been a great week and to win just before I go back overseas is really nice for the confidence. No matter how much you lead by, it’s always a cool feeling on the 18th green because you don’t want to mess up. I’m proud of my patience because the greens were tricky. My game feels great and my body feels amazing.
“But it’s back to the drawing board on Monday. I still have a job to do on the DP World Tour, I’m trying to get one of the 10 cards for the PGA Tour. Then I’ll be back for Africa’s Major [Nedbank Golf Challenge] and Leopard Creek [Alfred Dunhill Championship]. I’ve always wanted to win both of those, so hopefully I win one this year,” Lawrence, currently sixth on the Race to Dubai, said.
