Play-off king Jaco nails it at Lost City
‘Life’s pretty good’ after bagging R3.5m bonus
WITH over R3.5-million at stake – money he had never come close to earning before in a tournament – Jaco Ahlers had every reason to be nervous in his sudden-death play-off with Jaco van Zyl in the Investec Cup yesterday.
But after three trips down the par-five 18th at the Lost City course, the big, burly Koro Creek professional sealed victory with a par against Van Zyl’s bogey.
The first play-off hole was halved in birdies, and the second shared in pars. And the dreaded drink that runs down the entire right side of this dog-leg played a major part in the play-off. Van Zyl found the water three times (twice when he made the bogey that blew his chances) and Ahlers once.
Both players posted impressive sixunder-par 66s in the final round of regulation play for matching nine-under 279 aggregates to take the tournament into extra-time.
Ahlers earns R163 400 for winning the Investec Cup and a colossal R3,5-million for his lion’s share of the year-long Chase to Investec Cup’s R10-million Bonus Pool.
“Life’s pretty good at the moment,” said the burly professional. At 32, he is one of South Africa’s fast-improving players who won the Cape Town Open last November, and cracked a nod in the Nedbank Golf Challenge as a result.
“Winning the Cape Town Open, also after a play- off, gave me so much confidence in my golf and I brought that confidence here, and I honestly wasn’t that nervous even with all that money at stake,” he revealed.
A holed greenside bunker shot for an eagle-three at the par-five fourth hole yesterday certainly helped his cause, but Ahlers said the key to victory was putting. “I only had 25 putts today in that 66 and I holed some pressure-packed putts in the play-off too.”
Van Zylpicked up R950 000 for second place in the Chase, but he won’t forget in a hurry his trips into the water at 18. “It’s a hole that just doesn’t suit my eye,” he said.
Overnight leader George Coetzee could only manage a 71 which saw him fall back into a tie for third on 280 with Justin Harding who had a day’s best 65.
Winner of the Tshwane Open two Sundays back, Coetzee was very much in the hunt until the par-four 17th hole where his drive ended up deep in the bush. He did find the ball but opted to declare it unplayable before returning to the tee on his way to a double-bogey six.
Coetzee did make a remarkable birdie at the last by hitting his second over the green and into the water. He dropped out under penalty, and sank a putt from off the green for his four. It was a fighting finish, but he will rue that errant tee-shot at 17.
Lee-Anne Pace, meanwhile, cruised to an eight-shot victory on six-under-par 210 in the defence of her Investec Cup for Ladies. Pace opened her challenge with a 68 at the Millvale Private Retreat and followed this up with a pair of 71s at Lost City. Namibia’s Bonita Bredenhann was second on 218, and Nicole Garcia third on 222.
Pace earned R30 000 for the victory, but the 1 000 points on offer also lifted the Pearl Valley golfer to the number one spot in the Chase to the Investec Cup for Ladies standings, which gave her the R250 000 winner’s share of the R600 000 bonus pool.
“This is unbelievable,” said Pace. “People might think that, just because I’ve won on the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour, winning at home doesn’t matter, but they would be dead wrong. It’s an amazing feeling to win in front of your friends, family and supporters on home soil.”
The Pearl Valley golfer has won nine times on the European Tour and has also won her last five starts in South Africa.