ROODEPOORT, 25 October 2017 – Cameron Moralee sealed a sensational maiden victory in just his fourth start on the IGT Challenge Tour with a wire-to-wire performance in the third Race to Q-School at Ruimsig Country Club on Wednesday.
“I feel great about the win, but it sure wasn’t pretty,” said the 20-year-old Dainfern and former KeNako amateur.
“The course set-up was extremely tough and the wind was quite strong. I didn’t play too badly on the front nine. I was a bit streaky and made a couple of silly mistakes going for the wrong flags. But I had a much better back nine and a decent finish, which put me over the line, thankfully.”
Moralee began the final round with a commanding three shot lead, but he was pushed by his playing partners, Ruan Groenewald from Mpumalanga and Italy’s Philip Geerts.
He managed to offset the damage of two early bogeys with birdies and reeled in three further gains for a two-under-par 70. Although Geerts and Groenewald kept up the pressure, both players also faltered at the 17th hole and signed for rounds of 70, leaving Moralee to celebrate a three shot victory on 15-under 201.
“I was able to come back with birdies after the bogeys at the third and seventh, and I boxed a couple of five footers for pars that kept me going on the front nine,” said Moralee.
“I had 70 metres to the pin at three, but I got too cute with the approach. I put it in the bunker and couldn’t up-and-down for par. I hit my tee shot at four way left, but managed to find it. My second shot didn’t draw and the ball landed right of the car path, but I stuck it to a foot and made the birdie putt.”
Moralee hit it long at the par three seventh and left himself with an impossible up-and-down, but his wedge shot at the eighth pitched three feet from the hole to set up another birdie.
“I also birdied nine, 11 and 13 and that kept me ahead of Ruan and Philip,” said Moralee. “The course set up made it tough on everyone and no-one could really fire at the flags.
“That keep me steady. I parred 14, 15 and 16, but 17 was a shambles. I hit it short of the green and hit my second shot too heavy. The ball caught the fringe and rolled back down to 25 feet. My third shot got within six feet and I made the bogey putt. Philip missed a short one and Ruan three-putted.
“I must admit, it was a relief to know I could just make a par at the last to win. With the swing changes it was sometimes really hard to commit to certain shots under pressure, but I came through with the win, and that’s really gratifying and inspiring.
“It’s my first big win on the pro circuit, so it’s exciting. I usually play my best golf around this time of the season, but with the swing changes, I wasn’t expecting to win. This definitely justifies my decision not to go back to college golf in the States. I’ve learned a helluva lot in the last three months and it’s all showing in the way I played this week. To perform well given that my game is a work in progress gives me the confidence to target a few more trophies in the Race to Q-School series.”
Meanwhile Anton Haig – a five-time winner on the country’s premier golf development circuit – fired 67 to grab a share of fourth on 205 with Ruan Korb, who returned a 70.
Sunshine Ladies Tour rookie Ivanna Samu, Race to Q-School Order of Merit leader Estiaan Conradie and Clinton Grobler carded respective rounds of 68, 69 and 70 to tie for sixth at 207 and Luke Brown shot 66 to finish a further stroke back.
FINAL RESULT
All competitors RSA unless otherwise specified and amateurs are indicated as AMA:
201 – Cameron Moralee AMA 66 65 70
204 – Ruan Groenewald AMA 70 64 70, Philip Geerts (ITA) 68 66 70
205 – Anton Haig 70 68 67, Ruan Korb 69 66 70
207 – Ivanna Samu 73 66 68, Estiaan Conradie 71 67 69, Clinton Grobler 70 67 70
209 – Luke Brown AMA 72 71 66
210 – Eric Nel AMA 71 68 71
211 – Lejan Lewthwaite 71 69 71
212 – Paul Boshoff 72 69 71, Bryce Myburgh 68 70 74
213 – Maritz Wessels 70 75 68, Conway Kunneke 70 71 72
214 – Ruan Conradie 72 68 74, Leon Visser AMA 77 70 67
215 – Michael Schutz 69 72 74
216 – Phillip Kruse AMA 75 70 71, Deon Bredenkamp 69 75 72, Jack Duthie 70 73 73, Andre Pistorius 72 70 74, Keanu Pestana AMA 70 66 80
217 – Dino di Carlo AMA 74 71 72, Andre Bezuidenhout AMA 71 71 75, Michael Steyn 76 70 71, Ryan Wingrove AMA 72 70 75
218 – Louis Albertse AMA 76 68 74, Adam Botha AMA 72 71 75, John McClean (NIR) 74 73 71
219 – Mpho Mafishe 74 72 73, Thabi Ngcobo 75 72 72, Theunis Bezuidenhout AMA 71 68 80
220 – Albert Venter 75 69 76, Juan Langeveld 73 73 74, Tertius van den Berg 74 72 74, WM Coetzee AMA 77 72 71
221 – Gian Scarola 72 72 77, Shaun van Tonder 78 70 73
223 – Jason Gilliver AMA 73 72 78, Justin Turner 75 71 77, Luke Kelly 79 69 75
224 – Romano Saincic 75 72 77
225 – Francesca Cuturi 77 72 76, Matthew Vogel 75 74 76
226 – Ricardo Towell 72 74 80, Scott Chambers AMA 75 71 80, Eric Park (KOR) 74 75 77, Marco de Beer 73 77 76, Duan Nagel AMA 76 74 76
227 – Vian van Blerk AMA 77 73 77
228 – Haydn Driver AMA 75 74 79
233 – Adrian Brabson AMA 78 72 83
234 – Matthew Rossouw AMA 78 72 84
