Jayden Schaper rounded out a good week on the DP World Tour with a closing three-under-par 69 on Sunday taking him to a share of 17th in the DP World Tour’s Thailand Classic at Amata Spring Country Club near Bangkok.
Schaper, one of five South Africans playing in the tournament on a dispensation granted to Sunshine Tour players, made four birdies and a bogey in the final round, and that saw him climb three places on the final leaderboard. The tournament was dominated by Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, who closed with a six-under 66 to take him to 24-under for the tournament and a four-stroke victory. Germany’s Yannik Paul was second, with Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and another German in 2022 Dimension Data Pro-Am champion Alexander Knappe in a share of third on 18-under.
It was a solid performance from Schaper, who will probably look back on his second round with a smidgeon of regret for only being able to card a level-par 72. And, despite a closing double-bogey in his third round, that 66 put him in position to get his top-20 finish. That also saw him climb 14 places on the Race to Dubai rankings to 67th. With two home DP World Tour events ahead of him on the Sunshine Tour schedule, he has an excellent chance of getting into position to push to be able to earn his full playing privileges in Europe at the end of the season.
Schaper shared 17th with Zander Lombard, who closed with a level-par 72. Thomas Aiken, another who got into the tournament through the Sunshine Tour, closed with a fine five-under 67 for a share of 22nd on 11-under. South African Open champion Thriston Lawrence closed with a two-under 70 to move to eight-under and a share of 38th. Justin Walters and Louis de Jager were in a share of 46th on seven-under, and Daniel van Tonder was on five-under in a share of 57th after a 74 in the final round.
The other South Africans who got into the tournament through the Sunshine Tour were Albert Venter, Jake Redman and MJ Viljoen, who all missed the cut.
