– Including the Magical Kenya Open which concluded this Sunday at the Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi, a total of 10,262 different players have participated in at least one DP World Tour tournament throughout history. Among them, Jacques Kruyswijk (-18) had the honour today at the age of 32 of becoming the 605th player to boast at least one victory. It doesn’t reach six percent. Exactly, 5.895 percent of golfers who participate win.
– Kruyswijk’s celebration is a true reflection of this statistic. How difficult it is to win and how well players do to enjoy the moment as if there were no tomorrow. The South African triumphed in Kenya with a final round of 67 strokes. He started Sunday with a one-shot lead over John Parry (-16) and ended up winning by two over the English golfer. It’s his first victory on the European Tour in 139 attempts. The most important of his career.
– The final round was a head-to-head between Kruyswijk and Parry with some attempts to crash the party (insufficient) by Deon Germyshuys (-13). Benjamin Hebert, once again, what a cross to bear, withdrew early from the battle and even finished outside the top twelve. If one had to find a key to his victory, it would be his putting and his play around the green. He recovered better than anyone, as evidenced by his 36 bogey-free holes over the weekend, a true feat on a course as treacherous as Nairobi’s. With the putter, he was also lethal. It’s as if John Parry had passed on his inspiration after Friday. No one putted better than the Englishman the first two days, and no one did better than Kruyswijk the next two.
– The decisive moment of the tournament came on holes 14 and 16. They reached that point with a one-shot lead for Kruyswijk, who had managed to withstand his rival’s initial attack. Parry missed the tee shot on this tough par 4, which cost the Spaniard Albert Boneta, for example, no less than nine strokes over the weekend. He ended up on the left, poorly positioned, and couldn’t even get back to the fairway with his second shot. Bogey and a two-shot lead for Kruyswijk. The sentence came on 16. A gigantic birdie putt of about six metres and a three-shot margin with two to play. Game over.
– Kruyswijk achieves his first victory at a very significant moment, just a week before the Open de Sudáfrica. In light of his celebration in Kenya, dedicating the victory to his entire country, it’s not hard to imagine what it could mean for him to repeat success in seven days at the Durban Country Club. John Parry, winner in Mauritius, couldn’t secure his second victory of the year, but his solo second place brings him very close to the Number One ranking held by Tyrrell Hatton.
– Nacho Elvira (-9) was the best Spaniard in the tournament. He finished with a very good round of 68 strokes, including an eagle on the 18th hole. He finished in eleventh place, continuing his good form at Muthaiga, where he finished second last year. Meanwhile, Ángel Ayora (-7) and Eugenio Chacarra (-7), with rounds of 69 and 70, finished in twentieth place. Chacarra’s result doesn’t qualify him for next week’s Open de Sudáfrica. He needed to finish at least in the top ten, something achieved by Gregorio de Leo, Zihao Jin, Joshua Berry, and Freddy Schott.
– As for the rest of the Spaniards, special mention goes to Jorge Campillo (-6), who bid farewell to Kenya with the best round of Sunday tied with Schott (64 strokes). The putter worked very well today, and he hit some great shots like on holes 10 (the second), 11 (off the tee), or 18, where he even considered an albatross with the 4-iron. The bounce of his ball on the green, which was on line to the hole, was terrible, leaving him with an impossible eagle putt that had to go over the first cut of rough. He couldn’t even make the birdie. Still, good feelings to finish after a Saturday where everything went wrong.
– Similarly, it’s worth highlighting once again the grit and competitive spirit of Albert Boneta (-2). The Barcelona golfer pulled off an absolutely incredible par round after making ten strokes on the 14th hole. He finished with four consecutive birdies to tell the course that, at least today, it wouldn’t defeat him.
