Frontrunner Robin Williams ensured he was not just hiring the lead on the final day of the Fortress Invitational at Glendower Golf Club on Sunday, shooting an impressive four-under-par 68 as he strode to an emphatic six-stroke victory and his maiden Sunshine Tour title.
Williams went into the last round with a four-shot lead, having been co-leader after the second round, and he seized even firmer control of the tournament when he collected four birdies in five holes from the fifth. Showing maturity and focus beyond his years, the 22-year-old then made par through his final 11 holes as he never showed any signs of faltering on the biggest day of his career so far.
Tremendously long and accurate off the tee, and with a putter that was red-hot, Williams ensured he kept an iron-grip on proceedings, winning in style in just his 16th Sunshine Tour start.
“I’m over the moon and I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a couple of days,” a quietly delighted Williams said after he finished on 19-under-par 269 on the tree-lined Glendower course that always provides a stiff challenge.
“At the start of the season, you always set your sights on winning, but we know in golf that things don’t always work out the way you want them to. But I knew if I keep working hard, then I would give myself a good chance.
“I had a very good front nine that extended my lead, which made the back nine easier. I just had to keep my cool and my concentration, and I made some very good four, five-footers to stay in front, keep the momentum going and not open the door for those behind me.
“I used my length off the tee well, I hit my driver very good, which gave me short irons in and lots of opportunities. But this win was really down to the flat stick, especially down the stretch,” Williams said.
American Dan Erickson used the services of a pinpoint six-iron to notch a maiden albatross on the par-five fourth hole, and he also eagled the par-five 17th as he posted a superb 66 that saw him finish alone in second place on 13-under-par.
Danie van Niekerk closed with a par-72 to claim third place on 10-under, while Jacques P. de Villiers (68), Nikhil Rama (72) and Michael Hollick (74) shared fourth on nine-under-par.
Williams has used this triumph to vault into eighth place on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and he can now forget about pre-qualifying events and can focus on being fully prepared for the lucrative co-sanctioned tournaments coming up in the summer.
“This win means everything to me and it takes a lot of stress off me. I can now play with freedom, not worry about qualifying, and get my game as good as I can for the big events coming soon,” Williams said.
Steven Brown, the CEO of Fortress Real Estate Investments, was full of praise for Williams, the tournament and Glendower Golf Club.
“Our second year of 2023 Fortress Invitational was an exceptional display of talented golfers on their journeys toward greatness. We thank the fans, friends and families that lined the fairways to support them.
“To Glendower Golf Club: You were exceptional hosts in every way and the pristine course made the pros work hard to earn their right to victory. To the Sunshine Tour, who genuinely and wholeheartedly serve the game of golf, our partnership with you is grounded in our shared belief – powering growth. We firmly believe in our local players and their unwavering determination to succeed and we are excited to be sponsoring the Fortress Rookie of the Year too.
And lastly to Robin Williams and indeed the entire field: We are in awe of the way in which you performed over the last four days, and it is our honour to have witnessed golf of the very highest standard,” Brown said.
Scores:
269 – Robin Williams 66 67 68 68
275 – Dan Erickson 70 70 69 66
278 – Danie Van Niekerk 72 64 70 72
279 – Jacques P de Villiers 70 68 73 68, Nikhil Rama 68 67 72 72, Michael Hollick 63 72 70 74
280 – Heinrich Bruiners 65 68 75 72, Estiaan Conradie 67 68 72 73
281 – Jason Roets 70 71 69 71
282 – Ruan Conradie 72 74 69 67, Callum Mowat 67 71 74 70
283 – Daniel van Tonder 70 68 77 68, Pierre Pellegrin 72 71 72 68, Gerhard Trytsman 74 69 69 71, Gregory Mckay 71 69 70 73, Ulrich van den Berg 69 72 69 73
284 – Martin Rohwer 70 76 73 65, Jean Hugo 71 74 70 69, Anthony Michael 70 69 75 70, Kyle De Beer 69 74 68 73
285 – Chris Cannon 73 70 74 68, Matthew Spacey 74 72 71 68, Luke Jerling 72 71 72 70
286 – Trevor Fisher Jnr 63 74 80 69, Jordan Burnand 71 73 72 70, Luke Brown 69 76 70 71, Merrick Bremner 72 71 71 72, Jake Redman 72 72 70 72, Keenan Davidse 69 73 71 73
287 – Adam Breen 69 76 74 68, Altin van der Merwe 75 69 74 69, Keagan Thomas 74 72 71 70, Malcolm Mitchell 72 68 75 72, Haydn Porteous 73 72 70 72, DK Kim 75 71 68 73, Joe Long 73 65 75 74, Kyle Barker 73 69 71 74
288 – Robson Chinhoi 72 70 76 70, Kyle McClatchie 68 71 76 73, Rhys West 71 75 69 73
289 – Jovan Rebula 75 71 77 66, Karabo Mokoena 73 69 76 71, Combrinck Smit 72 71 70 76
290 – Jack Hawksby 72 72 75 71
291 – Franklin Manchest 71 73 76 71, Sean Bradley 67 77 76 71, Dayne Moore 76 70 74 71, Toto Thimba Jnr 71 70 78 72, Fredrik From 70 71 77 73, Gerard du Plooy 73 71 72 75
292 – Ricky Hendler 72 68 77 75
293 – Ruan Korb 70 76 76 71, Nyasha Muyambo 73 71 76 73, Gerhard Pepler 73 73 71 76
294 – Wade Jacobs 72 73 78 71, James Mack 69 77 75 73, Jacques Blaauw 75 71 73 75
295 – James Pennington 71 75 75 74, Sentanio Minnie 73 70 77 75
297 – Luke Trocado 76 70 79 72, Stefan Wears-Taylor 72 73 75 77, Erhard Lambrechts 76 70 73 78
298 – Siyanda Mwandla 74 72 78 74
299 – Marcel Steyn Scholtz 73 72 73 81
301 – David Wicks 71 75 80 75
Missed the cut:-
147 – Riekus Nortje 71 76, Ruan de Smidt 75 72, Albert Venter 76 71, Aneurin Gounden 76 71, Jared Harvey 72 75, Willie Olivier 71 76, Richie O’Donovan 74 73, Ryan Tipping 77 70, Keelan van Wyk 71 76, Wynand Dingle 73 74, Jonathan Broomhead 73 74, Tristen Strydom 76 71, Makhetha Mazibuko 70 77
148 – Hayden Griffiths 74 74, Nicholaus Frade 74 74, LB Boshoff 80 68, Madalitso Muthiya 75 73, Jacquin Hess 71 77
149 – Adriel Poonan 79 70, Leon Visser 72 77, Vaughn van Deventer 74 75, Doug McGuigan 72 77, Sean Cronje 76 73, Christiaan Basson 75 74, Allister de Kock 73 76, Ryan Cairns 72 77, Hunter Epson 74 75, Stuart Krog 73 76, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 78 71
150 – Siphiwe Siphayi 74 76, Sydney Joseph Wemba 75 75, Tyron Davidowitz 78 72, Steven Le Roux 76 74, Thabang Simon 71 79
151 – Mandla Dlamini Jnr 77 74, Travis Ladner 75 76, Conner Mackenzie 74 77, Drikus Joubert 75 76, Jaco Van Zyl 80 71, Richard Joubert 80 71, Sipho Bujela 78 73
152 – Ben Firth 76 76, Reinhardt Blaauw 76 76, Jonathan Waschefort 78 74
153 – Mutahi Kibugu 75 78, Keelan Africa 76 77, Alphius Kelapile 74 79, Alex Haindl 75 78, Quintin Wilsnach 75 78, Rourke van der Spuy 75 78, Brian Gondo 72 81
154 – Teboho Sefatsa 79 75, Evance Vukeya 78 76
155 – Clancy Waugh 79 76
156 – Omar Sandys 78 78
157 – Michael Kok 77 80, Shalan Govender 80 77, Jastice Mashego 79 78
158 – Brandon-Jude Rennie 80 78, Ronald Rugumayo 82 76
161 – Irvin Mazibuko 83 78, Slenda Sithebe 74 87
162 – Fezekile Kana 83 79
