South Africa’s JC Ritchie made it back-to-back wins on the Challenge Tour after he secured a six-shot victory at the Jonsson Workwear Open held at Durban Country Club.
The ten-time Sunshine Tour winner posted a one-under-par final round of 71 to reach a 26 under total and claim his second victory in as many weeks after successfully defending his Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open title just seven days ago.
Ritchie admitted he found it much tougher in the final round, after sitting on a 10-shot overnight lead, but he remained resilient to record two closing birdies and finish six shots clear of Belgium’s Christopher Mivis, who at one stage came within touching distance of the lead, reducing Ritchie’s advantage to two after an eagle at the 14th hole.
“It was tough out there,” he said. “I’ve never played this course with this much wind before so I knew it was going to be different and the course showed its teeth today. I found it tough early on, but luckily towards the end of the round I was able to figure it out and get the job done.
“My girlfriend came up to me after the 14th hole and asked me if I wanted to know the scores,” he added. “She told me Mivis was 22 under and that surprised me. I had a game plan for the last three holes for the week and that was to make par at 16 and run, I felt like I could create a birdie opportunity at 17 and then 18 owed me one. I wanted to birdie it yesterday but found a bad lie in the bunker. Getting two birdies on the way home made it extra special.”
He added: “It feels special to win back-to-back on the Challenge Tour,” he said. “Playing the whole of last year on the Challenge Tour, I know how tough it is and you could rock up thinking that five-under will be enough to win and someone will shoot 20 under par. To beat these guys means everything to me and shows how far I’ve come. This gives me a lot of confidence for the season. I have always felt my game was good enough to win in Europe and take the next step.”
Mivis posted a closing 66 to claim second place for the second consecutive week, one shot ahead of Iceland’s Haraldur Magnus who claimed third on 19 under. England’s Ross McGowan and South African duo Jaco Prinsloo and Keenan Davidse shared fourth on 16 under.