Liam Grehan carded a level-par 72 in testing conditions to finish in a share of 31st place in the final round of the Sunshine Tour’s historic Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship, while Deon Germishuys added his name to the roll of honour in the second oldest professional championship in the nation.
Having made the cut on the number, Grehan climbed 17 places with a three-under 69 on Saturday, and made two birdies on his front nine in Sunday’s final round to climb to within striking distance of the top 10.
A costly double bogey-seven on the par-5 13th at St Francis Links was followed by a bogey on 14, but he regrouped to birdie the 16th and par the final two to get into the clubhouse at -3 and his T31 finish saw him climb to 87th on the Order of Merit.
With a final round of 69, Germishuys finished on 14-under-par, one stroke clear of Samuel Simpson and Hennie du Plessis.
He earned the right to have his name engraved on a trophy alongside the names of Gary Player, Dale Hayes, John Bland, Corey Pavin, Ernie Els, David Frost, Nick Price, Louis Oosthuizen and so many others.
But even more than this, he earned the right to keep doing what he does inside the ropes on the Sunshine Tour for his family, and his new baby.
After playing his heart out on the DP World Tour but still coming short and losing his card there, he returned to home fairways with no playing privileges.
He was hoping for tournament invitations into some of the bigger tournaments. But then came this Sunday in one of South African golf’s most prestigious tournaments, and suddenly the fairways have opened up before him.
“This means a lot to me. I didn’t think I was ever going to win at this golf course. For some reason I never knew how to play it, but it seems like I figured it out now. With all the great names on this trophy, it’s really an honour,” said Germishuys.
And with his young family looking on, he broke down in tears as he added, “It means a lot to have them here”.
Thousands of kilometres away, his father-in-law James Kingston sat in Cambodia at a Legends Tour event and was in tears. Kingston could not have wished for a better present for himself than to have his son-in-law claim such a significant victory on his 60th birthday.
Because Kingston knows what one week like this can mean.
In 2007, after nearly 20 years of trying, he claimed his first DP World Tour title in the South African Open. That Sunday he beat a field including Darren Clarke, Greg Norman and Ernie Els. And when the win came, he too broke down in tears.
Decades later, Germishuys showed his own character to add his name to an illustrious trophy in South African golf.
As Sundays go on the Sunshine Tour, this was indeed a memorable one for a family in golf.
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