It’s been a miserable four years since he won the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open, so the relief for Benjamin Follet-Smith was palpable on Sunday as he eased his way to a one-stroke victory at Royal Cape Golf Club.
The Zimbabwean had just two top-10s on the Sunshine Tour since that win, and they both came in team play. He missed 32 cuts during that time, and yet he looked in complete control throughout the week as he closed things out with a two-under-par 70. That allowed him to edge France’s Ugo Coussaud and Jaco van Zyl of South Africa by one.
He laughed when it was suggested it was a calm final round in the tournament co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the Challenge Tour. “Today wasn’t very calm, I’d say,” he said. “I felt anxious every now and then, and that up-and-down on 17 was key to the win.”
He’d managed to hit a straightforward approach to a short par-four over the back of the green right next to a small log which was part of the surrounding of a water fountain. He got relief, but still needed to pull off a precise chip shot to a pin which was at the top of a green sloping away from him, and was on the short side. He pushed that shot 15 feet past the hole, and, when he seemingly nervelessly sank the par putt, he could go up the final hole with a degree of confidence.
In truth, his approach on the tough par-four 14 was probably more of a key to his win. He’d pushed his tee shot right, and had to hit a four-iron long and low beneath the trees to reach the green. He was able to stop the ball 12 feet left of the pin, and made the birdie putt to take the lead.
It was vindication of rededication to the process that produces tournament victories for Follett-Smith, who has seen the fruits of his first win in Cape Town and of qualification for the Asian Tour two years ago frittered away. “I didn’t realise things would come together this fast,” he said of what may be a defining win for him. “Last year was a learning curve – the last two years, in fact. I came out and won in my first year, and everything was good. I guess practice took a bit of a back seat. I eventually realised I had to work harder and harder and harder.”
That he could get things back on track at the scene of his maiden victory was extra sweet: “This week has always been a nice week coming to Cape Town,” he said. “It’s one of the best places in Southern Africa and I always like coming here. When I come to this golf course, there is that kind of calmness, and I feel comfortable.”
The triumph vaulted him from 148th on the Luno Order of Merit on the Sunshine Tour to 25th – and, as importantly, to the top of the standings of the Challenge Tour after its first event of the season, together with status on that circuit for the rest of the season.
