MJ Daffue fell just two shots off glory after he finished third on the Visit Knoxville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour after a final round of five-under-par 67 for a total of 18-under-par in Knoxville, Tennessee on Sunday.
The South African was only three shots off American Ander Anderson’s lead after a strong third round of 68 to stay in touch with the lead. The American eventually carded a 66 to win the tournament on 20-under-par 260 and two ahead of Daffue.
Daffue, however, was always going to put up a fight, especially after the good first three rounds he’d managed to weave together.
He opened with two pars on the trot but gave a shot away on the third as he tried to find his feet in the final round. Then, after two more pars, Daffue found a birdie on the sixth. He backed that up with another on the eighth and would not drop any more shots en route to his 65.
On the homeward stretch, Daffue found a birdie after the turn and then kept things steady for the next two holes, refusing to make any bogeys there. He found further joy on the 13th as a birdie there got onto his card to revive his chase for the top spot.
Sensing an opportunity now, Daffue was happy to make pars on the following 14th and 15th holes as he navigated along. He birdied the 16th and made par on the 17th before closing off with a birdie on the last to finish the tournament on 18-under-par and two behind the winner, and taking the third spot after Carl Yuan.
