Harding pulls off Swazi triumph

PORT Elizabeth’s Lyle Rowe slipped while Justin Harding carded a bogey-free nine-under-par 63 to bag his sixth Sunshine Tour victory when he squeaked home by one point in the Royal Swazi Open on Saturday.

It took a heart-breaking double-bogey by tournament leader Rowe on the last hole to let Harding through the door.

The tournament was decided by a Modified Stableford scoring system in which five points were awarded for an eagle, two for a birdie, none for a par, minus one for a bogey and minus three for a double or worse. “Bogey-free today was key,” Harding said after the triumph.

“I am a naturally aggressive player, as everyone knows,” he said.

“Keeping bogeys off the card is important, because they just kill momentum – and in my opinion, golf is all about momentum,

“If you can hold it for as long as possible, you can post the scores that you need to.

“I seem to be doing a better job of that lately, and the win is proof of that.”

Harding made his first birdie in the final round on the second, then reeled off four in succession from the fifth to the eighth to set himself up for a victory.

Four more birdies on the homeward nine gave him 47 points for the tournament, with Rowe playing in the group behind him and two points clear.

The leader pushed his tee-shot on the par-three 18th and had to try and hit a recovery shot from the deep rough below the green close enough to salvage par – or, at worst, just a bogey. He did not manage and made double. “I feel sorry for Lyle,” Harding said.