After 13 holes of the final round of the 2022 Investec South African Open Championship on Sunday, 4 December, Thriston Lawrence held a five-shot lead over France’s Clement Sordet.

Lawrence had been in control all week. After opening the tournament with an eight-under-par 64, he had led after every round at the Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate in Lanseria. The tournament victory, and a third DP World Tour title, seemed a formality.

But everything was about to change.

Thriston Lawrence celebrates winning the Investec SA Open Championship at Blair Atholl in Centurion, Gauteng. (Photo: Carl Fourie / Gallo Images)

The collapse

Sordet, in search of his first DP World Tour title, made birdie at the par-four 14th and Lawrence bogeyed, which saw the lead cut to three.

Standing in the middle of the fairway at the 15th, Lawrence misjudged his approach shot and flew the green, with his ball bounding into the water hazard below. The mistake would ultimately cost him a double bogey.

On the other hand, Sordet made a miraculous par save after hitting his second shot into the long grass, and suddenly the lead was down to one.

Lawrence’s run of missing in the wrong places continued with a bogey at the 16th, and after Sordet made par, the two were tied at the top with two holes to play.

Closing the deal

At the par-three 17th, Lawrence hit his approach shot just off the green, whereas Sordet found the greenside bunker. The Frenchman hit a stunning bunker shot to five feet, while Lawrence lagged his birdie putt to tap-in range, securing a much-needed par to stop the bleeding.

Crucially, Sordet missed his putt, giving Lawrence a one-stroke lead heading to the par-five 18th.

Lawrence found the middle of the fairway on 18 and hit a cracking approach to set up an eagle chance from just off the green. Sordet, meanwhile, found a fairway bunker off the tee and was forced to lay up with his second shot.

The Frenchman spun his third shot to 10 feet, and Lawrence left his eagle attempt three feet short. But after Sordet missed his birdie attempt, the pressure was off.

Thriston Lawrence on day four of the Investec South African Open at Blair Atholl in Centurion, Gauteng. (Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images)

Although Lawrence’s short birdie-putt lipped out, a surprise considering his near-flawless putting this week, he was able to tap in for the title, sealing a one-stroke victory over Sordet and a third DP World Tour title — just one day after celebrating his 26th birthday.

Lost for words

“It felt easy going through the round, and golf happened at the end, you know,” Lawrence said after his final round 74. “Clement was playing really well, and I was playing well, and then, like I say, golf happened.

“[I] made a few mistakes, missed it on the wrong side, and couldn’t score from there. [Sordet] made a good bounceback. Unfortunate double for me on 15 but, you know, there’s no remarks column on the scorecard. I managed to get it done and I’m overly pleased,” he said.

Lawrence had his family and friends in attendance all week, something he described as “unbelievable”.

“I want to cry, I’ve got no words,” he said. “This is what you strive for, this is what you play for every single day and as a kid you dream for the moments to win such a prestigious event in front of an amazing crowd. Just so pleased, words can’t describe it.”

A future champion

Christiaan Maas (19) won the Freddie Tait Cup, awarded to the low amateur at the SA Open.

Maas finished T35 with rounds of 69, 65, 72 and 77 to finish at five under par for the tournament.

He finished two strokes ahead of fellow GolfRSA team member Yurav Premlall (-3), while reigning amateur champion Aldrich Potgieter finished at level par.

After three rounds, Maas found himself in a tie for fifth place, but a final-round 77 sent him plummeting down the leaderboard.

 “Today was terrible… I started off with a three-putt and then just didn’t get better from there. My touch on the greens was terrible, and I compounded errors. So that kind of capped off the day,” Maas told the DP World Tour after his round.

“But to win the Freddie Tait Cup is still a highlight. I would have loved to have played a lot better today and finished higher up on the leaderboard, but yeah … winning the Freddie Tait is not too bad [after] playing bad on the last day,” he said.

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Maas is in his first year at the University of Texas, and he is in no rush to turn professional.

“I just started with college golf and the PGA University is making it very likely [I will] stay four years,” he said. The player who finishes at number one at the end of their fourth year will receive a PGA Tour card. “So, most probably, I am going to stay the four years. I think that’s going to be that, and we’ll see how it goes in America.”

On to the next

With his victory, Lawrence moves to the top of the Race to Dubai rankings, just ahead of Poland’s Adrian Meronk, who claimed his maiden win on the DP World Tour with a commanding performance at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, sealing a five-shot victory over Adam Scott earlier on Sunday.

The DP World Tour now heads to Leopard Creek for the Alfred Dunhill Championship from 8 to 11 December. The tournament was last played in 2020, when Christiaan Bezuidenhout claimed a four-stroke victory.

A stellar field, including defending champion Bezuidenhout, hall of famer Ernie Els and major champion Louis Oosthuizen, among others, will take to the fairways in the final event of the DP World Tour’s three-week South African swing. DM 

Final scores

272 — Thriston Lawrence 64 67 67 74
273 — Clement Sordet 68 66 66 73
274 — Jens Fahrbring 65 70 69 70
277 — Matti Schmid 66 73 69 69
278 — Chase Hanna 69 73 69 67, Daniel Brown 71 70 69 68, Marcel Siem 69 68 70 71, Dean Burmester 70 71 66 71
279 — Charl Schwartzel 68 74 69 68, Jayden Schaper 68 72 70 69, Hennie du Plessis 70 72 67 70, Jaco Prinsloo 70 71 68 70, Edoardo Molinari 67 70 70 72, Ashun Wu 71 67 67 74