Pepler made his talent and mental strength public on Friday as he came from four strokes behind to claim a thrilling victory in the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge at the White River Country Club and earn his maiden win on the Sunshine Tour.
The 23-year-old rookie fired his third consecutive round of 66 to finish on 15-under-par for the R2 million event, two shots clear of James Hart du Preez and Hennie Otto.
“It's a dream come true to win in my rookie season, but it feels unreal as well, like I’m going to wake up. Of course now I can look forward to playing at the Gary & Vivienne Player Invitational at The Lost City as well. For any South African golfer growing up, it’s always about Mr Player and it’s amazing what he has done for our golf, he’s the reason this all happens,” Pepler said.
The tournament’s most consistent golfer won out in the end, but he had to weather a rollercoaster back nine.
Pepler sealed victory in spectacular fashion with an eagle-three on the 16th hole and then a chip-in for birdie on the par-three 17th. That took him to 16-under and he could even afford a bogey on the par-four closing hole.
Having won three times on the Altron Big Easy Tour since July last year, Pepler brought the same composure to Friday’s final round. He started well with a birdie on the par-five first hole, and an eagle on the par-five seventh hole saw him turn in 32. His back nine included three birdies and three bogeys, but also the crucial eagle on the 16th.
“This course sets up nicely for me and I’m long enough to hit it past the trees. So going for the flag on 16 was always on the cards once I hit the fairway. I had 134 to the flag and hit a sand-wedge in, aiming a bit short of the hole, and then I sunk the 10-foot putt,” Pepler explained.
“That eagle helped a lot and then the chip-in on 17 nailed the win. I’d be lying if I said the nerves were not there. I had a bit of bad luck on the back nine with the swirling wind not pushing the ball back on 11 and ending in the hazard, and then a plugged lie in the bunker on 14. And then the nerves made it feel much more difficult.
“I’ve knocked on the door a couple of times already this season, but just one hole would take me out of it. But I’ve been working very hard with my mental coach on not staying in the past, not thinking about your mistakes the whole time but just the next hole. So I did not lose my cool. I was able to stay in it after making a small mistake today.
Kyle de Beer, who had led after the first two rounds, started the final round solidly with two birdies in his first seven holes to move to 16-under. But he bogeyed the next two holes and then also dropped shots on 11, 12 and 14, to post a 73 for 12-under-par.
Dylan Naidoo began the final round two behind De Beer and was one-under at the turn. But he also bogeyed the 11th and 12th holes, and dropped a shot as well on the final hole, to finish with a 71. He and De Beer shared fourth place.
SCORES:
198 - Gerhard Pepler 66 66 66
200 - James Hart du Preez 70 66 64, Hennie Otto 64 69 67
201 - Dylan Naidoo 66 64 71, Kyle De Beer 63 65 73
202 - Merrick Bremner 68 67 67
203 - Rhys West 66 69 68
204 - Richie O'Donovan 67 71 66, Willie Olivier 70 66 68, Doug McGuigan 68 67 69, Christiaan Basson 68 66 70
205 - Wynand Dingle 68 72 65, Rupert Kaminski 69 70 66, Anthony Michael 67 72 66, Jonathan Broomhead 69 68 68, Karabo Mokoena 70 67 68, Jacques Blaauw 68 69 68, Ruan Korb 67 69 69, Jovan Rebula 68 68 69, Luke Brown 68 65 72
206 - Reinhardt Blaauw 71 69 66, Danie Van Niekerk 71 68 67, DK Kim 68 70 68, Ruan Conradie 68 69 69, Keenan Davidse 64 71 71, Trevor Fisher Jnr 72 63 71
207 - Robin Williams 67 71 69, Tristin Galant 66 72 69, Luca Filippi 70 67 70, Jean Hugo 64 73 70, Malcolm Mitchell 72 64 71, Richard Joubert 69 67 71, Hennie O'Kennedy 69 65 73
208 - Nikhil Rama 73 67 68, Pierre Pellegrin 72 67 69, Rourke van der Spuy 68 70 70, Nyasha Muyambo 69 68 71, Louis Albertse 67 68 73
209 - LB Boshoff 73 67 69, Martin Vorster 68 71 70, James Mack 71 68 70
210 - Jacques P de Villiers 67 73 70, Nicholaus Frade 72 67 71, Keagan Thomas 69 69 72
211 - Luke Jerling 72 68 71, Sentanio Minnie 70 70 71, Jastice Mashego 70 70 71, Conner Mackenzie 69 70 72, Jason Roets 69 70 72, Paul Boshoff 74 64 73, Matthew Spacey 70 67 74, Jack Hawksby 67 68 76
212 - Caylum Boon 65 73 74
213 - Evance Vukeya 73 67 73, Tyron Davidowitz 71 69 73, Martin Rohwer 67 69 77
214 - Mutahi Kibugu 72 67 75
Photo Credit: Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour.
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