Jean Hugo added to his already illustrious history in the Vodacom Origins of Golf when he claimed a record 12th victory on the series after beating Jonathan Broomhead by one stroke at the Highland Gate Golf and Trout Estate on Sunday.
The 48-year-old Hugo birdied the par-five 18th hole, thanks to a brilliant chip-shot, for a two-under-par 70 that left him on 13-under-par for the tournament. Broomhead’s fantastic final round of 65, which included nine birdies but a costly double-bogey on the par-four sixth hole, had lifted him to 12-under-par.
Overnight leader Louis de Jager was also on 12-under as he teed off with Hugo on the final hole but he ended up making double bogey on 16 and then bogey on 18 to finish in a tie for third on 11-under.
Hugo clinched an astonishing 12th victory on the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series and his 20th Sunshine Tour title overall. And he did so with a third shot on 18 that was a superb chip to a foot from the hole from the right of the green.
“Fortunately I hit a good drive and I was in two minds whether to lay up or go for the green with 216 metres to the flag. I took a chance and went over the water, hitting it on the other side of the sluit down the right with a gripped-down four-iron. I then hit a brilliant chip,” Hugo said.
“My best putt of the day was on 16 though, where we all struggled. Louis lost his ball and I had to hack out of the rough a couple of times, we were on the clock as well and I sank a putt for bogey from more than 15 feet. And on 17 I made another clutch putt for par.
“We made it tough for ourselves with those stumbles and there was a bit of pressure. But I’ve been playing well lately, if I could just putt well then my scores would be even better. I used to be the best putter on tour but now anything under 30 putts for a round is good. I was bogey-free the first two rounds and my first bogey today was on the ninth, so I was hitting the ball very well,” Hugo, who only had 27 putts on Sunday, said.
De Jager was in hot form on the front nine, going out in three-under, but he bogeyed the par-five 11th and dropped two shots on the 16th, before closing with another bogey, having hit his drive into the left rough.
Between 2006 and 2015, Hugo was probably the hottest golfer on the Sunshine Tour with 16 victories. But Sunday’s triumph was his first since 2019.
“To have 12 Vodacom Origins of Golf titles and 20 overall on the Sunshine Tour is what I’m most proud of. I got to 17 quite quickly but then only won again in 2019 and then there was Covid and in 2020 I had a massive ankle operation.
“But I’ve been working hard and it’s nice to see the results. I can now aim to hit a certain shot and pull it off, it’s about technique and trust way more than just relying on talent. I’ve come close to winning these last few years but I’m just delighted that I didn’t give it away today. As long as you fight out there, you can be happy,” Hugo said.
Luke Brown (70) and Kyle de Beer (71) shared third place with De Jager, while 20-year-old Gabrielle Venter shot an outstanding five-under-par 67 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 16th on six-under-par, leading the way for the Sunshine Ladies Tour players.
Danielle du Toit (70) finished tied-29th and Lora Assad (71) was in a share of 44th place.
Scores
203 - Jean Hugo 66 67 70
204 - Jonathan Broomhead 68 71 65
205 - Luke Brown 67 68 70, Kyle De Beer 64 70 71, Louis de Jager 65 67 73
206 - Lyle Rowe 69 70 67, Keenan Davidse 70 67 69, Nikhil Rama 66 70 70, Martin Rohwer 67 69 70, Jacques Blaauw 66 70 70
207 - Ryan Van Velzen 68 73 66, Rupert Kaminski 74 67 66
208 - Brandon Meads 71 71 66, Graham van der Merwe 73 68 67
209 - Daniel van Tonder 72 69 68
210 - Gabrielle Venter 71 72 67, James Hart du Preez 71 71 68, Joe Long 67 74 69, Heinrich Bruiners 73 68 69, Danie Van Niekerk 68 71 71, Ricky Hendler 69 69 72
211 - Jbe' Kruger 73 71 67, Albert Venter 71 72 68
212 - Ruan Groenewald 70 73 69, Hennie O'Kennedy 73 69 70, Louis Albertse 65 77 70, Trevor Fisher Jnr 71 71 70, Rhys West 68 72 72
213 - Otto Van Buynder 70 74 69, MJ Viljoen 75 69 69, Christiaan Burke 69 74 70, Danielle du Toit 74 69 70, Kyle McClatchie 67 74 72, Thanda Mavundla 69 70 74
214 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 71 73 70, Quintin Wilsnach 75 69 70, Pierre Pellegrin 75 69 70, Keelan van Wyk 72 72 70, Travis Ladner 73 70 71, Conner Mackenzie 73 70 71, Ethan Smith 72 71 71, Jacques P de Villiers 69 73 72, Stuart Krog 71 71 72
215 - Adam Breen 75 69 71, Ruan de Smidt 71 73 71, Lora Assad 73 71 71, Sean Bradley 75 68 72, Werner Deyzel 74 69 72, Callum Mowat 74 69 72, Wynand Dingle 73 69 73
216 - Rourke van der Spuy 72 70 74
217 - Yurav Premlall 74 68 75, Hayden Griffiths 73 69 75, Gary Kemp 73 68 76
219 - Stephen Ferreira 70 74 75, Keegan Mclachlan 69 75 75
220 - Malcolm Mitchell 77 66 77
224 - George Coetzee 74 68 82
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