Super-steady Chris Wicks seals 2017 PAT golf title

CHRIS WICKS of Durbanville Golf Club is the 2017 Western Province Premier Amateur Tour (PAT) champion.

The late Michael Sherriff, who also played out of Durbanville, won it last year having netted a staggering 1205.75 points ( four titles to equal Sean Bradley’s record of most wins), the most in the tour’s seven-year history.

Wicks, played in all 16 tournaments and amassed 1007 points.

He joins former winners JP Strydom, Ian Snyman and Sherriff to have broken through the 1000-point mark.

Wicks, 24, won two opens, was runner-up on three occasions, claimed five top- five finishers and was only out of the top 10 on three occasions.

He had a stroke average of 73 over 31 rounds with a best effort of 65 at Metropolitan, and posted the lowest 36-hole winning score of 139 at Parow.

It was his consistent play that won the day.

His victories came at Westlake and Clovelly.

“I aimed to play in every event and it paid off,” Wicks, who represented the WP senior team this year, said.

“The tour is all about giving us locals a competitive platform to measure and sharpen our skills and I have to thank the sponsors and organisers for making this possible.

“From start to finish I played consistently well and to win two titles and challenge on many other occasions is something to savour. Pity I couldn’t finish on a strong note in the PAT finals at Mowbray KingDavid last weekend, as I ended up in a tie for seventh.

“But it was nice to see club- mate Adrian Ford taking first place with a three-under-par 69.”

Sean Howel (Durbanville) also played in all the events and finished in second place (768.19) ahead of Stefan Blommaert (Strand – 728.50), while Elton James (Westlake – 727.86) and Weyers Janse van Rensburg (Milnerton – 717.36) completed the top five.

A total of 1062 players contested the PAT with a total of 592 596 holes played.

There were 37 eagles made, 1624 birdies, 9148 pars and over 8000 bogeys and worse posted.

There were seven first-time winners – Dean Pilkington, Cameron Johnston, Weyers Janse van Rensburg, Hilmi Mallick, Stefan Blommaert, Ayden Senger and Ford.

Ford and James bagged three wins apiece, while there were two play-offs at Westlake and Durbanville to determine the winner.

Howell produced the only hole-in-one of the season, at Kuils River.