Germishuys rises to play-off challenge to claim Stella Artois Players Championship
For a man who isn’t fond of play-offs, Deon Germishuys certainly looked at home in one as he pulled off an incredible shot to win the Stella Artois Players Championship at Glendower Golf Club on Sunday.
Germishuys and Cole Stevens finished regulation play tied for the lead on 19-under par.
Stevens led going into the final round, while Germishuys was five shots behind him.
Germishuys surged through the field with a final round of 68 while Stevens signed for a 73 to take them into a play-off that at one point could also have included Jonathan Broomhead.
On the first play-off hole, Germishuys hit his second to less than half-a-metre from the hole and tapped in for a birdie, while Stevens made par.
“I don’t have a very good record in play-offs,” said Germishuys. “I’ve lost in one earlier this year so I wasn’t very positive going into this playoff. It’s very surreal. I can’t really explain it to anyone. As soon as the ball came off the clubface I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do but you never know as the wind swirls here on the 18th hole. When I saw it pitch and spin back to the hole it was just a lot of relief. But overall I played the back nine nicely and fought hard, my putter was also quite hot and that helped. I just stuck to the basics, stayed patient and got the deal done.”
This was Germishuys’s fourth victory on the Sunshine Tour, coming almost a year after his last win in the South African PGA Championship.
“It feels great. I’m very happy as it came a lot quicker than I thought. Up until now it was a tough year and it wasn’t easy out there. I am glad I could get it done,” Germishuys said.
While he came up short for a maiden win on the Sunshine Tour, the week was still a rewarding one for Stevens as he claimed the top spot on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings in what has been an outstanding rookie season for him so far including two runners-up finishes and a third place finish. He also moves into fifth place on the Courier Guy Order of Merit.
Broomhead earned a fourth top-five finish this season, finishing third on 18-under par.
The medallion for the winning caddie was awarded to Brett Whitehouse.
Scores
269 - Deon Germishuys 67 67 67 68 WN
269 - Cole Stevens 62 70 64 73 KO
270 - Jonathan Broomhead 72 67 64 67
272 - Luke Brown 66 67 66 73
273 - Herman Loubser 69 69 70 65
275 - Malan Potgieter 70 65 70 70
276 - Martin Rohwer 70 67 71 68
277 - Austin Bautista 72 70 69 66
277 - Malcolm Mitchell 68 69 72 68, Rowan Lester 70 66 70 71, JJ Senekal 69 70 67 71, Graham van der Merwe 68 67 68 74
278 - Kyle Barker 71 69 70 68
278 - Ruan Korb 69 66 74 69, Nikhil Rama 68 71 69 70
279 - Tyran Snyders 70 67 72 70
279 - Jordan Burnand 73 67 69 70, Agustin Errazuriz 70 72 67 70
280 - Gerhard Pepler 69 73 66 72
281 - Jacques Van der Merwe 74 66 73 68
281 - George Coetzee 75 66 67 73
282 - Allen John 73 68 70 71
282 - Simon du Plooy 70 70 70 72
283 - Daniel van Tonder 75 66 72 70
283 - Brandon Stone 71 71 69 72, Kyle De Beer 72 68 68 75, Warwick Purchase 69 68 69 77
284 - Haydn Porteous 71 69 72 72
284 - Conner Mackenzie 71 71 70 72, Doug McGuigan 69 70 71 74, Jaco Prinsloo 71 72 67 74
285 - Luke Jerling 75 68 69 73
285 - Tomas Gana 72 70 69 74, Christiaan Burke 72 70 68 75, Ockie Strydom 67 71 70 77, Rupert Kaminski 71 71 66 77, Keagan Thomas 67 72 68 78
286 - Quintin Wilsnach 72 69 75 70
286 - Robson Chinhoi 70 68 75 73
288 - Hayden Griffiths 69 72 76 71
288 - Dian Kruger 69 74 71 74
289 - Heinrich Bruiners 72 71 74 72
289 - Gabriel Morgan 72 70 74 73, Rigardt Albertse 69 67 75 78
290 - Callum Bruce 69 71 72 78
291 - Jacques P de Villiers 72 71 75 73
291 - Altin van der Merwe 68 73 75 75, Jason Roets 75 64 73 79
292 - Keelan Africa 76 67 73 76
292 - Steven Le Roux 67 74 71 80
293 - Anthony Michael 73 70 78 72
293 - Keenan Davidse 72 69 75 77
295 - Vuyisani Makama 69 74 77 75
295 - Pierre Pellegrin 70 72 75 78
296 - Dillon Germshuys 67 74 79 76
296 - Travis Ladner 72 68 72 84
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