Wire-to-wire win for dominant Burke at Modderfontein
The GolfRSA National Squad celebrated a clean sweep at Modderfontein Golf Club as Christiaan Burke claimed his 2nd successive Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour title with a four-stroke victory. The North West amateur was backed up by stablemates Casey Jarvis and Kyle de Beer, who also fired final round 69s.
4 August 2021 – Christiaan Burke took his second title in as many weeks on the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour when he claimed the Chase to the Sunshine Tour #30 at Modderfontein Golf Club on Wednesday by four strokes with a 54-hole total of 10-under-par.
The North West amateur, who led from start to finish, closed with a three-under-par 69 with five birdies and two bogeys.
That gave him the equal best round of the day as Casey Jarvis also carded a 69 to finish on six-under for the tournament. Jarvis, the reigning African Amateur Stroke Play champion, shared second with yet another squad member.
Kyle de Beer also carded 69 to secure a clean sweep for the GolfRSA National Squad on the final day.
“I played pretty well today,” said Burke. “I looked at a scoreboard early on the front nine, and I saw that someone was on five-under, so I knew I had to keep up the pressure. When I made my birdies on six and nine, I moved to 10-under and seven shots clear at that stage. I felt pretty safe at that stage.”
That someone was Slade Pickering, another amateur out of North West, who claimed his maiden Big Easy Tour title at Pecanwood in May.
Pickering made eagle on the first, and birdies on three and six, however, bogeys on eight and nine saw his charge stall. He made two birdies, a bogey and a double on the homeward nine to finish the third round in one-under 71, and on two-under for the tournament in a share of fourth with Kyle McClatchie.
For Burke, it’s a question of riding the wave.
“I hope I can keep riding this form in the Southern Cape Open next week at Mossel Bay Golf Club to claim some important ranking points,” he said.
“All the work I’ve put in over the past year is paying off,” he said. “I feel confident every time I tee it up, and I feel as if I can score well all the time. My bogeys today came from a bit of bad luck on the 11th, where I got a hard bounce with my tee shot off the back of the green, and then I three-putted the last, which was really just a little careless.
“I think the biggest difference now is that I don’t feel that same pressure to chase a trophy like I did before the first win. It took some time to learn to win, but it’s like the pressure has been replaced by a quiet confidence that I know how to do it. Now I just stay in the moment; I forget about the score board and I play each hole as best I can to put the best score possible on my card.”
Written by Mike Green / www.satourgolf.com; edits GolfRSA