IRENE, City of Tshwane – Dylan Mostert showed great mental composure and produced a bogey-free back nine for his maiden Sunshine Tour title on Sunday, as he won the KitKat Group ProAm at Irene Country Club by three strokes.
Mostert shot a fantastic 68 in the final round for a 17-under-par total of 199, three clear of MJ Viljoen (67), to become the fourth first-time winner on tour this season.
A bogey on the par-five second hole made for a nervous start for the left-handed Mostert, but he showed he was up for the challenge when he chipped in for birdie on the third in superb fashion on the undulating green.
Malcolm Mitchell went out in three-under 33 to make for an exciting challenge for Mostert, but the 23-year-old from Modderfontein Golf Club birdied the ninth and then produced a fabulous hybrid approach shot from under the trees, in the dirt, finding the middle of the 10th green and then sinking the putt for birdie for some breathing space.
Further birdies at the 12th and 17th holes meant he was partitioned by three shots from Viljoen, five clear of the dangerous Louis Albertse (70) and half-a-dozen strokes ahead of Kyle Barker (67) and Ryan van Velzen (71) by the end of the R1 million tournament.
Mitchell fell away with a horrible double-bogey at the 14thfollowed by bogeys on the next two holes as well, finishing on nine-under-par.
The pro-am competition was won by the team of Sunshine Tour professional MJ Viljoen and his amateur partner Japie Holtzhausen from Sasko. The duo finished top of the leaderboard with 91 points, two ahead of the field. The teams of professional Madalitso Muthiya and amateur Nash Soni, and professional Hennie O’Kennedy and amateur Moe Mitha shared second place on 89 points.
