By Michael Vlismas.
Johannesburg, (Gauteng) – Australia’s Austin Bautista won his second Sunshine Tour title this season by clinching the Fortress Invitational at Houghton Golf Club by five shots from defending champion Warwick Purchase on Sunday.
“I love winning golf tournaments. I love competing. I want to continue to play well and continue to work hard and put myself into a position to win tournaments. I know I am pretty good at closing,” a delighted Bautista said after capping his final-round 67 with a birdie on the last.
He finished on 16 under par overall, with Purchase his nearest challenger on 11 under following his closing 68.
Zander Lombard, Altin van der Merwe and Jonathan Broomhead shared third place on 10 under par.
Bautista, who started his round with a two-shot lead, opened with a run of three birdies from the second to the fourth holes, before giving one back on the ninth hole.
“After bogeying the ninth, I was just trying to get back into a good position and frame of mind. I had a good eagle putt on the 10th hole but three-putted that. Normally, years ago when I was a young amateur, I probably would’ve let that get to me. I just know losing your head and losing your cool now doesn’t do you any good – just lock into the next shot and hit a good one,” he said.
It was another confident performance from the Australian, who is pushing hard for Courier Guy Order of Merit honours in second place behind leader Samuel Simpson.
“I like seeing my name up near the top. There is a lot of golf to play and a lot of points still to get. The support of the Sunshine Tour has been fantastic. I love playing in South Africa and Africa. There’s a reason why I like playing in South Africa – the players are so supportive and so friendly. I am very grateful for being able to play on this Tour,” Bautista said.
Bautista’s performance capped another impressive edition of the Fortress Invitational.
“What an exciting few days of golf at beautiful Houghton. The day began with everyone asking, ‘Who could it be?’ It was fantastic to see our former rookie, Jonathan Broomhead, come in third and defending champion, Warwick Purchase, come second. But today belonged to Bautista—congratulations on becoming the fifth Fortress Invitational champion. The quality of golf and spirit of competition made this year’s event truly special. Thank you to all the players, supporters and everyone who helped make the Fortress Invitational such a memorable occasion,” Steven Brown, CEO, Fortress Real Estate.
Charles Dlamini was awarded the Sunshine Tour caddie medallion as the winning caddie of the tournament.
And Tristen Strydom enjoyed some good fortune as he aced the par-three 14th hole to become the ninth player this season to be added to the Airlink Aces Shoot-Out at the end of the season. He also earned 100 000 Skybucks courtesy of Fly Airlink.