South African Jacques Kruyswijk shot 18-under to claim his first win on the DP World Tour at the Magical Kenya Open. His win was nothing short of magical, as he wasn’t on the leaderboard during the first two rounds.
In the first round, John Parry and Benjamin Hebert shared the lead at 8-under, with Kruyswijk in 33rd after shooting 2-under. The second day saw Parry take the lead at 14-under, one shot ahead of Hebert.
During the third round, the 32-year-old South African Kruyswijk made a comeback, shooting a bogey-free 7-under to take the lead by one after Parry dropped a stroke.
The final round was a neck-to-neck competition as the South African and Englishman battled to claim victory at Muthaiga Golf Club. Parry made back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes to take the lead, but Kruyswijk made two birdies on the sixth and seventh, overtaking Parry by one stroke.
Kruyswijk landed in the bunker on the tenth but chipped out beautifully and putted for birdie, moving ahead by two strokes. Parry, not one to be left behind, birdied on the 12th to close the gap but dropped on the 14th after making a bogey.
Kruyswijk sunk the putt on the 16th hole for birdie, widening the gap by three strokes. He made par on the 18th to win the Magical Kenya Open, while Parry finished in second.
South African Deon Germishuys and Jayden Schaper followed on the leaderboard, with Italy’s Gregorio De Leo and England’s Jamie Rutherford next at 11-under.
“I’m happy that I can keep the trophy on African soil and obviously bring it back to South Africa. It makes me very proud,” Kruyswijk remarked. Next week, Kruyswijk heads back home to compete in the Investec South African Open Championship.
