Kyle McClatchie continued his preparation for a return to the Sunshine Tour on Wednesday as he carded a closing four-under-par 66 at Centurion Country Club to win the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour’s Race to Q-School #9 by three shots.
McClatchie, who won the IGT Big Easy Order of Merit for 2021/22 to earn back his playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour, wobbled slightly towards the end of the second round at Centurion with bogeys on the 14th and 16th, but when you’ve opened with an eight-under in an event cut to 36 holes from 54 because of weather, you’re kind of tough to catch.
In the end, four-under was enough to get him to 12-under and three shots clear of Slade Pickering and Gerhard Pepler. Amateur Christopher Long was fourth on eight-under and Nicholaus Frade fifth on seven-under. Five players shared sixth on six-under.
McClatchie laid down a marker early on with a birdie on the first. He didn’t pick up another shot until the seventh, and then he picked up yet another on the ninth to turn in three-under. Birdies on 10 and 13 took him pretty much beyond reach, despite the drops which came on 14 and 16. By way of emphasis, he birdied the par-three 17th to keep himself well clear.
