Ramsay breaks through in SA Open
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2009 South African Airways Open | Round Four | 21 Dec 2009
Scotland’s Richie Ramsay is the 2009 South African Open champion, a final round of 65 forcing a playoff with India’s Shiv Kapur before Ramsay two putted for birdie at the first extra hole at the Pearl Valley Golf Estates in Western Cape. Kapur found trouble from the tee and could only watch on as Ramsey secured the time honoured title.
For the 2006 US Amateur Champion, it was his first European Tour victory although he won two European Challenge Tour events in 2008 enabling him to gain access to his first full European Tour season in 2009. Ramsay managed to regain his status for 2010 with a an impressive 4th place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links two months ago but will now enjoy the experience of playing with exempt status for two full European Tour seasons.
Kapur, too, was looking for his first European Tour victory and appeared as if things might go his way when he made a fast start to his final round moving clear when he birdied the 13th to reach 13 under. He was however unable to secure the one all important birdie over the final five holes.
Kapur played collegiate golf in the US during a highly successful amateur career and has clung to his card in each of the years he has played in Europe since 2006. During his rookie season on the Asian Tour in 2005 he was named the Rookie of the Year after winning the Volvo Masters of Asia that year.
Anders Hansen birdied four of his last six holes to finish alone in third and in doing so secured the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit title having won the Joburg Open in January and finished third at last week’s Alfred Dunhill event. Hansen, the leading world ranked player in this week’s event, finished well ahead of the second placed Charl Schwartzel on the money list.
Edoardo Molinari shared 4th with Fredrik Andersson-Hed and is now likely to find himself inside the top 50 in the world when the rankings are revised assuring him of a return to Augusta National in April. As the 2005 US Amateur Champion, Molinari played The Masters in 2006 but will head back there as one of the most improved players in golf in 2009.
The only Australian in the field, Andrew Tampion, missed the cut, completing an unproductive visit to South Africa after missing the cut last week at the Alfred Dunhill.
The next European Tour event will be the Africa Open at the East London Golf Club in Eastern Cape starting on January 7th.
