Rhys Enoch claims Cape Town Open
WALES’S Rhys Enoch bogeyed his first two holes in the final round of the Cape Town Open presented by Sun International, but recovered expertly to card three-under-par 69 and claim a one-shot victory over Peter Karmis on a 19-under 269 total yesterday.
“The first two were both into the wind and quite awkward,” he said of the backto-back bogeys in the opening two holes.
“I didn’t really do a lot wrong. But I told myself to just stay patient and keep making good swings.”
Despite making three birdies and dropping three shots on the front nine, Enoch held on nicely on the homeward nine and while he made bogey on the 17th, three birdies and an eagle made their way into his scorecard.
“I got onto the leaderboard at 13 and saw I was four behind,” he said of the eagle he made on the par-five 14th. “I was like ‘I need to make a move’. “I hit a really nice drive that just cracked into the left rough, had a pretty good line to about 15ft and managed to make it for eagle. “So that was a massive move.” It looked as if Karmis would force the round into a playoff when both players were tied at the top on 19-under, only for Karmis to miss his par-putt on 18 and drop a shot.
So Enoch claimed his maiden Sunshine Tour victory by a single stroke at a packed King David Mowbray Golf Club.
“I just can’t be happier,” he said of his first title. “I’m just really, really happy to finally get a four-round win. You have to savour the moment.”
Karmis, who had been leading from day one of the tournament, looked as if he would run with it early on as he, at one point, had a four-shot lead at the summit, but a dropped shot on the 12th that was followed by a double drop on the next hole, handed the trophy to the Welshman.
While he did not have a bad round, Karmis will rue the shots he dropped on 12 and 13 because at that point, he was well clear of everybody else.
Tied for third on 17-under were Keenan Davidse and JC Ritchie.
Now, having already booked his air ticket back to Wales after the Tshwane Open pre-qualifiers, Rhys will have to review his schedule as he will be around for a while longer.