Argentinian Estanislao Goya weaved his way through the field at the Dimension Data Pro-Am on Sunday, where he carved up the back nine of Fancourt’s Montagu course in 31 to win by one shot.
“The first time I saw the leaderboard was at the 18th green. I knew I had to hit a good shot and make a birdie. That was the only time I realised I had a chance to win, because I hadn’t seen the leaderboard. I was happy to have a chance and happy to take it, so double happy,” he said.
The 25-year-old got off to a rocky start and turned one-over-par, but the back nine on Sunday is what counts. Goya proved the point as he sank his birdie putt at the 18th and set the clubhouse lead on 14-under, a total that overnight leader Adilson Da Silva was unable to match.
“I wanted to start quickly and get a boost,” said Goya. “I started a bit slow and had some bogeys, so I was one-over after nine. I decided to give everything on the back nine and made five birdies, which was really good.”
The 2009 Madeira Islands Open winner does not have full exemption on the European Tour and his victory at the Dimension Data Pro-Am carries more rewards than just a cheque. He makes it into next week’s Tshwane Open and picks up an invitation to the prestigious World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in July.
“It’s my goal to one day play Word Golf Championship events and the majors. Getting into the WGC-Bridgestone as my first one will be a great experience and I am very happy to about the opportunity. I’ve never played at Firestone Country Club and now I can’t wait to get there,” he said.
Sunday at Fancourt was an unpredictable affair and the lead was jam-packed at 13-under for most of the afternoon. Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard carded 66, the low round of the day, to set the clubhouse target at 13-under early in the day. He was soon joined by Keith Horne, who birdied the 18th to tie for the top spot.
Goya was the next player to head down 18, where he played a superb approach from 120 metres to 10 feet. Boxing the putt meant a benchmark of 275 shots had been set.
Jean Hugo failed to get going on the back nine and finished with eight consecutive pars. The 14-time Sunshine Tour winner laid up at the 18th and played his approach to 15 feet, but he missed the putt for birdie joined the tie for second.
That meant it came down to an all-South American affair as Brazilian Adilson Da Silva had one last chance to make birdie at 18 and force a playoff with Goya.
Da Silva was visibly disappointed when his approach at 18 stopped 22 feet from the cup. He missed the putt by an inch right and became the fourth played tied for second. The day was Goya’s.
“I had a great week overall,” the Argentine said. “It’s nice to win again, and now I’m going straight to the Tshwane Open, so everything is good. Hopefully I can win again this year.”
SCORES (RSA unless otherwise specified):
275 - Estanislao Goya (ARG) 73 67 67 68
276 - Lucas Bjerregaard (DEN) 68 73 69 66, Keith Horne 71 66 69 70, Jean Hugo 68 67 70 71, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 67 66 70 73
277 - Jaco Van Zyl 67 73 67 70, Morten Orum Madsen (DEN) 67 72 66 72
278 - Jack Doherty (SCO) 68 70 73 67
279 - Hennie Otto 72 71 66 70, Warren Abery 68 72 68 71, Rhys Enoch (WAL) 77 67 66 69
280 - Michael Hollick 76 66 71 67, Jaco Ahlers 71 69 71 69, Justin Harding 72 66 72 70, Wallie Coetsee 69 69 72 70, Jake Redman 69 74 65 72,Trevor Fisher Jnr 70 68 67 75
281 - Rhys Davies (WAL) 69 72 69 71, Dawie Van der Walt 69 73 69 70, Francois Coetzee 68 69 69 75
282 - Jens Dantorp (SWE) 69 70 71 72, Oliver Bekker 69 68 74 71
283 - Jacques Kruyswijk 69 71 75 68, Jbe' Kruger 72 70 71 70, Charl Coetzee 69 71 70 73
284 - Phillip Archer (ENG) 77 68 69 70, Daniel Greene 70 69 74 71, Daniel Im (USA) 71 71 70 72
285 - Jacques Blaauw 69 74 72 70, Kevin Phelan (IRL) 75 69 70 71, Dean Burmester 70 70 74 71, Alex Haindl 73 69 72 71,Haydn Porteous 73 71 69 72, Justin Walters 72 72 63 78
286 - Shaun Norris 74 73 70 69, Brinson Paolini (USA) 73 71 73 69, Alan Dunbar (NIR) 73 74 70 69, Jake Roos 70 71 75 70, Louis de Jager 74 68 74 70,Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 70 73 69 74, Andrew Curlewis 69 71 72 74
287 - Andrew Marshall (ENG) 70 71 70 76, Doug McGuigan 72 71 72 72
288 - Daniel Brooks (ENG) 70 77 70 71, Danie van Tonder 78 69 70 71, Neil Schietekat 74 73 70 71, Jared Harvey 72 68 76 72,Duncan Stewart (SCO) 73 75 68 72, Drikus Bruyns 68 73 72 75, Merrick Bremner 69 75 73 71
289 - Phillip Price (WAL) 74 68 72 75, Peter Karmis 69 74 70 76, CJ du Plessis 71 73 72 73, Van Phillips (ENG) 77 73 67 72
290 - Lyle Rowe 74 72 71 73, Teboho Sefatsa 74 71 72 73, Ulrich van den Berg 71 76 69 74, Richard Finch (ENG) 67 75 70 78
291 - Ockie Strydom 72 71 74 74, Thomas Aiken 69 78 68 76, Chris Lloyd (ENG) 70 74 70 77, Juan Langeveld 79 68 67 77, Colin Nel 69 70 75 77,Keenan Davidse 68 73 72 78
293 - James Kingston 67 76 74 76, Gideon Pienaar 75 74 68 76, Mark Murless 71 71 75 76
295 - Oscar Stark (SWE) 72 72 71 80, Tyrone Mordt 74 66 75 80
299 - Sam Walker (ENG) 71 75 71 82
