His second round of six-under-par 66 was enough to give amateur Willem Stals Swart victory in the Bushveld Tour’s Hamilton’s Series #1 at Glendower Golf Club on Thursday.
Swart carded a closing round of one-over-par 73, but it was enough to keep him two shots ahead of Slade Pickering, who signed off with a three-over 75 to miss out at six-under-par for the tournament. Another amateur, Gareth Matthysen was in third on five-under, Therion Nel was fourth on two-under and Andre van Dyk fifth on one-under.
Swart made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine in his final round, and he needed to hold things together coming down the stretch after he birdied the 12th. He made bogeys on 16 and 17, but a birdie on the 18th assured him of his victory.
Swart carried off the R15,000 first-place purse and went to the top of the Order of Merit for the four-event series, which carries a purse of R40,000 for the player who tops it at the end of the series – provided he’s played two events or more. The series ends on June 1.
