Robin Williams will rue his decision to putt for par from off the back fringe of the 17th on Sunday as he ended up squandering a two-stroke lead and losing the SDC Championship at St Francis Links to American Jordan Gumberg.
Williams had started exhibiting signs of tightness thanks to nerves with a breathless par-save at the 16th when he over-clubbed his way in to the final par-five. Only an embedded ball saved him from dropping at least one shot there, as well as some superlative skill as he babied a chip from thick rough to within 15 feet from where he made the putt.
When he pulled his tee shot on the normally benign par-three 17th into a greenside bunker, all was not lost – until he saw the stance he would have to take. He blasted his bunker shot right over the green, and elected to putt through the rough off the fringe. An admittedly difficult downhill chip would still have been a better option, leaving him like to drop just one stroke.
But the ensuing double-bogey dropped him into a share of the lead going down the 18th, while up ahead of him, Gumberg missed an opportunity to put the thing to bed with a makeable birdie putt staying just above the hole.
Williams had to save par from behind the green on the 18th to force the play-off, and after that, Gumberg always seemed more likely to get things right in the ensuing two-hole sudden-death confrontation.
He did just that with a putt from a similar spot to his putt on 18 in regulations, and the celebrations began.
The 28-year-old American started the day three shots off the lead but fired a flawless 68 in the final round before holing his birdie putt from around 15 feet at the second extra hole to enter the winner’s circle.
Frenchman David Ravet, who won the Dimension Data Pro-Am finished alone in third place on 10-under after signing for a closing 70.
It was a poor week on home soil for South Africans in the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned event as Thriston Lawrence and Jbe’ Kruger were the only other local players to join Williams in the top 10. Casey Jarvis, Keenan Davidse, Thomas Aiken and Daniel van Tonder made it inside the top 20.
An emotional Gumberg said at the trophy presentation: “I’m so thankful to be standing here. It means everything. I never really got this far in my dreams. So I’m kind of at a loss for words but it means everything.
“It’s what we fight for every day, it’s what we practise for, it’s the early hours, the late hours, everything. This is incredible.
“I want to thank my fiancée, first and foremost, she’s amazing. I wouldn’t be here without her. And my family back home. My dad has put so much into my golf game and just to be standing here for him and my mum and everybody just means the world.”
