Weather-forced delays did little to deter Daniel Cronje as he marched to a dominant six-shot victory in the Betway Big Easy Tour Play Off event held at Modderfontein Golf Club.
Wednesday’s second round had to be suspended twice before play was eventually called for the day, thanks to dangerous weather in the area. At 13-under par and with two holes to play in round two, Cronje was already ahead of the field at this point, and had a healthy three-shot cushion.
When the third round started, immediately after the conclusion of the second on Wednesday morning, Cronje was ready to pick up from where he had left off. A bogey-free final round of six-under-par 66 – characterised by four birdies and an eagle – took Cronje’s total for the week to 20-under-par 196 while his closest challenger, Tristan Leonard, finished the tournament at 14-under.
“That was a lot of fun,” said an elated Cronje in the aftermath of his victory. “Anytime you take a nice lead into the final round, it’s quite stressful, so it was really nice that I was able to get the job done today.
“I feel like this was some of the best golf I’ve played. I’ve tended to, in the past, make a few mistakes on the golf course. So, I went and cleaned it up this week and I think it showed on my scorecard.”
Cronje’s dominant win at Modderfontein marked his second of the season, having claimed a win at Killarney Country Club earlier in the season.
“I’ve won a few times now in the last couple of months,” reflected Cronje, also referring to victories he claimed on the Blu Label Bushveld Tour. “Winning is never easy but I’ve been putting myself in those positions and today proved that just being there in those positions in the last few months helped me today and I was able to get it done.”
With his win at Modderfontein, Cronje has now moved to second on the Order of Merit standings, led by England’s Joe Sullivan. Cronje knows this and also knows that that top spot can be his after The Final in March.
“That’s sort of the goal,” he declared when quizzed about his ambition to win the Order of Merit. “Coming into the Play Off was trying to finish as high up as I can, and try to chase him (Sullivan) down. Obviously, this is a big step, a big stepping stone. I know there are some bonus points and there’ll be more points up for grabs at The Final. So, we’ll try to etch more onto that lead out there,”
The Play Off event was the penultimate tournament of the season before the final. Only the top 40 players on the Order of Merit competed at Modderfontein and only the top 30 after that will be eligible for the final which is scheduled for March.
