Sullivan gifts himself late birthday present with maiden Big Easy win

England’s Joe Sullivan gifted himself the perfect birthday present, albeit a little late, when he clinched the Betway Big Easy Blue Label Invitational at Killarney Country Club on Wednesday.

Sullivan, who turned 23 on May 6, claimed his maiden Betway Big Easy Tour title in some spectacular fashion on Wednesday, defeating Tristan Leonard on the first hole of sudden-death after both players finished three-under in regulation.

Leonard opted to tee off first, landing his shot in the middle of the fairway, while Sullivan pushed his to the left of the fairway, where he had some trees and water to negotiate with. His second show was a thing of beauty, with the ball skipping across the water that guards the 18th green, landing 75 feet from the flag. Leonard found the edge of the green with his second shot, necessitating a chip-in for birdie, which he missed.

Sullivan stood over his ball for his birdie-putt, read his line to perfection and drained the long putt to end the contest.

“As I said previously, I stick to my process,” said the Sussex native, Sullivan, when assessing his final round. “I have a process that goes into every week but unfortunately, I can’t reveal what it is. The process is important to me and it keeps me calm and in the moment.

“That play-off is one for the history books, for sure. It was not my best tee shot; down the left-hand side, I had 190 yards to the pin and decided to hit it right of the bunker. It, somehow, skipped across the water and onto the green, to 75 feet and I holed it. I couldn’t complain about that one, the putter was hot this week.”

Having finished in a share of second in the last event, Sullivan admitted that he felt his time would come sooner rather than later.

“What a moment,” he remarked. “I’ve been grinding hard and it felt like the win has been coming over the last couple of weeks, so it’s nice to finally get it done.”

Sullivan, still in his rookie season, joins fellow Englishman Harry Konig, veteran Ulrich Van Den Berg and member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, Lyle Pedro, in the winner’s category for this season, an achievement he hopes will help accelerate his pursuit of a Sunshine Tour card for next season.

“This is a great place for starting your professional career,” he said of this Sunshine Tour feeder circuit. “The competition is good, the golf courses are good and everything is good. This is a great steppingstone in the right direction.

“This win is important because the more points I get, the easier it will be for me to finish inside the top 12 and get my Sunshine Tour card at the end of the year; that’s what we are all playing for here. I’m just happy that I can get the points early on in the season.”

With his win at Killarney, Sullivan has now climbed to the summit of the Order of Merit. The top 12 players at the end of the season will earn their Sunshine Tour playing privileges for next season.

The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s feeder circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els among other patrons.

Scores

207 - Tristan Leonard 68 71 68, Joe Sullivan 67 69 71 (won in a play-off)

208 - Makhetha Mazibuko 69 72 67, Keelan van Wyk 70 70 68, Haydn Porteous 70 65 73

209 - Ulrich van den Berg 71 71 67, Luke Joy 70 66 73

210 - Jason Froneman 70 71 69, Austin Cherichella 70 69 71, Karabo Mokoena 70 68 72, Thabiso Ngcobo 68 68 74

211 - Andre De Decker 70 71 70, Leon Visser 68 71 72, Matthew Rushton 71 67 73

212 - Johnathan Ackerman 71 70 71, Slade Pickering 71 64 77

213 - John-George Pringle 72 70 71, Travis Procter 73 69 71, Merrick Bremner 70 71 72

214 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi 71 72 71, Louis Liebenberg 74 68 72, James Pennington 70 72 72, Therion Nel 74 68 72, Brandon-Jude Rennie 72 68 74

215 - Ruben Van Der Berg 70 73 72

217 - Dillon Germshuys 72 70 75, Thanda Mavundla 72 69 76

219 - Lwazi Gqira 73 70 76

220 - Jacques Van der Merwe 76 67 77

221 - Reece Mc Kain 71 72 78

222 - Keagan Crosbie 70 73 79, Keelan Africa 68 71 83

223 - Jason Broomhead 71 72 80