Red-hot Paisley sees off Grace
SA OPEN: ENGLISHMAN CLINCHES TITLE BY THREE SHOTS
Ken Borland
Englishman Chris Paisley played with such calm and precision that he surprised even himself as he strolled to a threeshot victory in the South African Open at Glendower Golf Club yesterday.
Paisley, ranked No 289 in the world, had never finished higher than third in 120 previous European Tour starts and he had eighttime winner and home favourite Branden Grace hot on his heels as he began the final round just one stroke ahead.
But the 31-year-old produced such an accomplished round of golf, not dropping a single shot on the tight, slick-greened Glendower layout, as he shot a marvellous six-under-par 66, that Grace had no chance even though he fired a 68.
“It’s amazing, I can’t really believe it,” the softly-spoken Paisley said afterwards. “To play the golf I did today, on that golf course, against Branden, in that situation and with quite a biased crowd, was pretty incredible. In the past when I’ve been near the lead, I’ve fallen away a bit and I was starting to feel I struggle with pressure.
“But today I felt good, I was calm and comfortable, I felt like I was playing well. I was never quite sure I would get to do it, but to walk up the 18th fairway with the fantastic crowd then cheering me and going nuts was such a special feeling,” Paisley said.
The third English winner of the SA Open in the last four years triumphed thanks to a top-class display off the tee and on the greens.
“My driving was great and it hasn’t always been my strongest suit. It’s probably cost me a few wins, but today I felt I could just stand on the tee and whack it and it would land in the fairway every time. Putting is probably the strongest part of my game and I knew I would love these greens, really fast with beautiful surfaces,” Paisley said.
Grace made a great start to his round by birdying the first hole and then sinking a short eagle putt on the second, but a double-bogey on the par-three sixth, when he needed two shots to get out of the greenside bunker and then missed a six-foot putt for bogey, and a bogey on the 12th when he failed to clear the creek crossing the fairway 272 metres out, allowed Paisley a relaxed finish.
Grace finished alone in second on 18-under-par, with young South African JC Ritchie claiming third on 16-under after a pair of 65s on the weekend.
Jacques Blaauw, who had a pair of eagles on the front nine but then made a seven after a visit to the water on the par-five 13th, and Jacques Kruyswijk shared fourth on 14-under-par with Zimbabwean Scott Vincent.