It had been over a decade since Shaun Norris last won a golf tournament on South African soil but all that changed on Sunday as he romped to a three-shot victory over compatriot Dean Burmester in the Steyn City Challenge at The Club in Steyn City.
In so doing, Norris also claimed his maiden DP World Tour title, and in quite a spectacular fashion, at it too.
His last victory on the Sunshine Tour was the 2011 Nashua Masters where he defeated Tyrone Mordt by one shot on nine-under 271 after 72 holes.
He then ventured to the East where he has been plying his trade on the Japan Golf Tour and Asian Tour for the most part. There, he lifted six trophies on the Japan Golf Tour and two on the Asian Tour. After many attempts at winning another title whenever he’s teed it off on the local circuit, and after as many attempts to claim European glory, Norris finally got the job done in Fourways.
Having led for the preceding two rounds after some scintillating golf on home soil, Norris’ final-round start was shaky by the standard of the previous 54 holes where he’d made at least one birdie in the first three holes in each of those rounds. On Sunday, Norris opened with a par, then a bogey and another drop on the fourth to go two-over after just four holes.
He needed to keep a cool head after those bogeys and did exactly that as he went around the remaining holes of the front nine bogey-free, even as birdies were hard to come by. Realising that the chase was heating up and that it was now all to play for, with Burmester piling the pressure, Norris let loose.
He found a birdie on 11 and soon followed that up with another on 14 before making back-to-back gains on the 16th and 17th to sign for a two-under 70 and to win it by three shots on a tournament total of 25-under-par.
His win at Steyn City adds to the Africa Open and the Nashua Masters he won on the Sunshine Tour and marks what could possibly be the beginning of his conquest of Europe through the DP World Tour, now that he has status on that circuit. While Burmester battled hard to a round of 69 which took his total to 22-under, the big-hitter had to settle for second while Oliver Bekker’s 67 saw him finish in a share of third with Germany’s Matti Schmid at 19-under.
