Golfer bags maiden pro title at IGT CMR Pro-Am
He boxed a 12-foot putt to end the three-way tie in the final round
Twenty-year-old rookie, Luke Brown, produced a sterling eagle finish to seal his first pro win on the IGT Challenge Tour in the CMR Golf Club Pro-Am.
He was composure and confidence personified, as he held his nerve to box a 12-foot putt for an eagle to end the enthralling three-man final round battle at the 18th hole.
Luke closed with a six-under-par 66 to beat Jason Rossiter by two strokes on 19-under 197. Joint overnight leader, Ruan Korb, finished a further stroke back.Over the first 17 holes, there was little to separate the trio. Ruan edged into an early lead with a birdie start and moved to 16-under with back-to-back birdies at four and five. Luke birdied on four and Jason had an eagle at the par five to stay in touch at 14-under. Luke and Ruan headed into the final round tied on 13-under, with Jason just one off the pace.
“It was a tight fight from start to finish. The three of us were still neck-and-neck after 17 holes and it could have gone either way. When I won my first IGT Challenge Tour title last year, I was still an amateur, so it feels unbelievably good to get this first pro win under the belt,” said an elated Luke.
The last three holes decided the outcome of the tournament after Ruan made it a three-way tie on 17-under with a birdie at 16.
“I birdied 16 to pull clear, but dropped at 17 with another three-putt bogey,” Luke explained. “I thought for sure we’d have a play-off. Then Ruan bogeyed 17 and made par at the last minute, for a 69. The last hole has a tough tee shot, with trees on both sides and water trouble. I hit a pretty good tee shot and only had 170 metres left for my second. I hit a soft 7-iron 12 feet into to the wind and holed the putt. It was especially sweet making that putt after the three-putt bogeys.”
Jason also had an eagle chance, but the Krugersdorp rookie three-putted for par and had to settle for second place, after a final round 67.
Luke’s victory lifted him to ninth on the IGT Challenge Tour Money List. He hopes this bodes well for his goal to compete on the Sunshine Tour next season.
“I’m really pleased that I kept calm and composed during the round. It just goes to show how much I’ve learned this season to cope with the pressure. This gives me a lot of confidence and hopefully I can play my way into the Top 10 on the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour in the last five events to go straight to the Sunshine Tour. But if I don’t, this still helps me to build experience for Q-School. Ultimately, my goal is to step it up to the next level,” Luke concluded.
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