Grace soars on wings of an eagle
AN eagle from a greenside bunker on the par-five 17th on Sunday took Branden Grace into a lead he clung to, and a birdie from another greenside bunker on the 18th took him to victory in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open at Grande Reserve Country Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Grace spent the final round in constant pursuit of the lead, which was held jointly by American Grayson Murray and local player Rafael Campos.
A pair of birdies for the South African on the two par-fives of the opening nine set him up.
Another birdie on the 12th took him to within one shot of the lead, which was held by Jhonattan Vegas of Puerto Rico.
But he burned the edges with a couple of birdie attempts for the next few holes, until he came to the short par-five 17th.
“I felt I was aggressive on 17, going for the green,” said Grace.
“I’ve been working so many months, working so hard and dialling in my wedge game, so I don’t need to be aggressive on a hole like that.
“But I felt like I was hitting the driver well. I have a little low stinger with my driver sorted out. I played it really nicely, and I was in a good position in the bunker.
“Every bunker I was in today, I hit a great shot. That one, I played it perfectly. Five or six feet from the hole, I knew it was in.”
He knew how big that moment was. He revved himself up with a very South African “Come on, man!”
Pumping his fist, he looked skywards as he remembered his father, who died from Covid-19related complications less than two months ago.
“My dad always said I’m an aggressive player,” Grace said through tears afterwards.
“He was watching over me, and in the end, that was enough.
“I spoke to my mom this morning, and my wife told me beforehand that my dad will give me the guidance I need, and he did.”
Grace, who had slipped to
147th in the world rankings, was conspicuous by his absence from the World Golf Championships event being played at the same time in Florida.
The win will signify the start of a climb on the rankings for Grace, who was ranked 83rd yesterday for a jump of 64 places.
“This changes everything,” he said. “The last couple of weeks, I’ve been playing nicely. I’ve started heading in the right direction.
“I played well at Pebble Beach, and I was fortunate that Tiger Woods and his team gave me an invitation to play in Los Angeles.
“That gave me a lot of confidence coming into this week.
“Now, with this win, I can get into a lot of the big stuff and move up in the world rankings. That’s where I want to be – competing against the big boys.”