Hard work pays off for Syme with birdie blitz
CONNOR SYME began the final round at the Magical Kenya Open six shots off the lead, but a run of birdies saw him move up into second as he went in pursuit of Justin Harding.
In the end, the Scot could not quite catch him, but his excellent 64 saw him finish third, four shots behind the South African, who shot a 66, and two behind American Kurt Kitayama, who also shot a 66.
Syme birdied the third, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 11th and 12th as put pressure on Harding, but a bogey on the 14th stalled his momentum and although he played a towering iron into the 15th for a tap-in birdie, he went bogeybirdie over the next two holes.
“I’ve been working really, really hard over the last four weeks with my dad Stuart at home on my putting,” he said. “A 64 on a Sunday is probably one of my lowest finishes to a tournament.
“I came here a couple of years ago as well and really, really enjoyed the golf course and it was one I was looking forward to coming back to play. I played lovely, to be honest, I played really, really well and it was nice to finish off a good week with a strong finish.
“We’ve got one day off and then back on it, but it’s been fun to play the golf course and I’m looking forward to getting back on it.”
Harding claimed his first win in two years thanks to a nerveless bogey-free round.
The South African won the Qatar Masters in March 2019 as part of a stunning run of form that saw him claim five wins in 10 months and earn himself a place at the Masters as he broke into the top 50 in the world.
It was a tie for second at this event the week after his victory in the desert that booked his place at Augusta National, and Harding once again looked right at home in Nairobi as he finished the week at 21 under.
“I’m very emotional now. It was hard work, I’m happy with the way I played,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say I was in a slump but I was in a dip in form in terms of mixed results and it was nice to get over the line this time around. Winning isn’t everything but I think being in the winner’s circle again means a little more to me than I thought it did.”
Harding birdied the sixth and seventh and, when he drove the par-four ninth to 15 feet and rolled in the eagle putt, he led by four.
Kitayama put some pressure on with a chip-in eagle on the 12th and a birdie on the 17th, but Harding followed him in from 10 feet on the penultimate hole and parred the last for victory.
“It was tough to catch him,” the American said. “Obviously I couldn’t but I think I gave it a pretty good effort. I felt like sometimes when I was going to slip away, I chipped in for eagle on 12, that was big, but overall I’m happy with how I fought I’m happy with the result.”
Calum Hill, who had started the day in fifth, three shots off the lead, shot a 70 to finish joint eighth.