Immelman uses local knowledge to triumph after play-off

SOUTH AFRICA’S Trevor Immelman used all his local knowledge to claim his first European Tour title with a thrilling play-off victory over compatriot Tim Clark in the South African Airways Open.

Immelman conjured up a superb birdie on the final hole of regulation and repeated the trick on the first hole in sudden death after an approach to within inches of the pin to claim the £79,000 first prize.

The 23-year-old, who carded a closing 67 for a 14 under total of 274, was a member for five years at the tournament venue of Erinvale, in the Cape Town suburb of Somerset-West where he was born, and said: “It’s a dream come true for me.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked down these fairways dreaming about a chance to do this.

“I’ve birdied the last two holes plenty of times in my dreams, it was incredible. I said to my caddie on the 18th I’d had that putt so many times and knew exactly where to hit it.”

Clark had carded a flawless last round 69 but was left to rue, not the birdie chances on the 18th in regulation and the play-off, but a disastrous quadruple-bogey nine on the 16th on Saturday.The 27-year-old duffed four consecutive chips, the last of them a complete air shot, during his third round when he was 14 under and two shots clear of the field.

Clark and overnight leader Jean Hugo were locked together for most of the afternoon with Immelman’s hopes suffering a major blow when he double-bogeyed the sixth.

Immelman responded with two birdies in the next three holes, however, and four more on the way home gradually reeled in the leaders.

Clark took the lead outright for the third time when Hugo bogeyed the 16th, and when Hugo also double-bogeyed the next, it was down to Immelman to produce a last-hole birdie to try to force a play-off.

The 23-year-old did so in some style after his drive finished near the base of a tree off the right edge of the fairway

A pitching wedge from 180 yards finished 12 feet from the hole and Immelman rolled in the putt as he had so many times before celebrating with a Tiger Woods-style uppercut.

Clark had a chance to win it on the last but saw his birdie putt slip agonisingly wide, and had a similar-length putt on the first play-off hole.

By then Immelman had hit his approach to tap-in range and after Clark missed, Immelman had the simplest of tasks to seal the win.

South African quintet Hugo, Bobby Lincoln, Bradford Vaughan, Charl Schwartzel and Tjaart van der Walt shared third place three shots behind with England’s Justin Rose and Brian Davis, Ireland’s Gary Murphy, Welshman Stephen Dodd and Scot Andrew Coltart among those another shot back.