Ockie Strydom was as precise as he was devastating on Sunday as he fired a superb bogey-free nine-under-par 63 to win the DP World Tour’s Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort Club by a single stroke.
The Alfred Dunhill Championship winner made his last bogey on the 10th hole of his third round, and, in the end, it was a delicate little chip up the embankment behind the 18th green to inside a foot for his 12th birdie in 22 holes that won him his second DP World Tour title in six starts since December last year.
His tournament total of 19-under beat Finland’s Sami Välimäki, who failed to make a birdie in the final five holes, and could not get up and down for birdie on the 18th to force a play-off.
When Strydom flew the green with a lengthy approach to the par-five 18th, he had short-sided himself, was 10 feet below the surface of the green, had a slightly fluffy lie, and had water on the other side of the narrow sliver of green when the flag was. And he had the pressure of knowing it was birdie or bust as far as his chances of winning the tournament were concerned.
“I said to my caddie if it goes up in the air to land it on the fringe, and you hit a little bit behind it, it’s going in the water,” said Strydom. “I decided on the safe shot and took a wedge. It actually came out phenomenally well. I didn’t think it would come out that well. But it came out and ended up where it was.”
He made the easy putt, and waited for a birdie to materialise from Välimäki, who had three holes to play. It didn’t, and Strydom was able to celebrate a win that seemed unlikely after an opening round of 71, a second round of 68, and even after a third round of 67.
“It’s just the mindset that’s changing at the moment,” said Strydom, who has a lengthier list of runner-up finishes than most people would ever be comfortable with. “I’ve been in the situation before and I know I can do it again. It’s actually a funny thing: I was thinking of giving this week a miss. I’ve been hitting it so badly. My coach flew in, and my wife said it might be my week, and look what happened!”
What happened was he showed once again that he is able to ride the momentum wave as well as anyone when it starts breaking for him: He took what he gained from three consecutive birdies after his last bogey in the third round, and he pieced together five of the best on the front nine in the final round.
And, as the cliché goes, it all starts on the back nine on Sunday. He made four more on his way home, and they showed off the range of his skills from straight driving, to accurate approaches, and, on 16, even a delicate downhill putt that fell into the hole as if it could never go anywhere else.
Behind him, Zander Lombard closed with a six-under 66 to climb inside the top 10 on 14-under-par for a share of sixth. Deon Germishuys, the only other South African to make the cut, signed off with a four-under 68 which lifted him into a share of 42nd on seven-under for the week.
