Golf: Nicholas Lawrence earned a lucrative date with Tiger Woods later this season by winning the South African Tour Championship by one shot at Malelane yesterday. Lawrence fired a one-under 71 to finish with a 14-under-par total of 274, one shot clear of order of merit winner Tim Clark and America's Bruce Vaughan in joint second place.
Vaughan fired a three-under 69 in the Sunshine Tour's season-ending event, while Clark, the leader before a double- bogey at the 17th, returned a 71.
The victory earned the 21-year-old Lawrence a place in the World Golf Championship (WGC) NEC-Invitational at Washington's Sahalee Country Club in August, where he is guaranteed a minimum $25,000.
"I'm dumbstruck, I can't believe what's happened - it hasn't sunk in yet," Lawrence said after collecting the 317,000 rand ($27,710) winner's cheque.
"When I stood on the first tee my hands were shaking. I struggled with my swing all day, but I just kept plugging away.
"Oh my word, I'm going to be playing in the same tournament as Tiger Woods," added Lawrence, who only turned professional four months ago.
Leading by one at the start of the day, Lawrence saw Clark open a one-shot lead with a 15-foot putt for par at the 16th, after he had made bogey at the same hole.
But the South African Open champion's chances of victory ended with a double-bogey at 17 when he drove his ball into an awkward lie in a fairway bunker.
What had been a one-shot lead for Clark turned into a one shot lead for Lawrence with just the par-five 18th of the Leopard Creek golf club to play.
"My heart goes out to Tim (Clark)," added Lawrence, who finished the season seventh on the Sunshine Tour order of merit.
"I couldn't believe what happened at the 17th. He really gave it everything out there."
Clark can take consolation from winning the Sunshine Tour order of merit ahead of England's Justin Rose, who finished back in 23rd spot. With total prize money of 1,669,900 rand ($145,900), Clark's order of merit crown also earned him an invitation to the 2002 British Open at Muirfield and the lucrative WGC American Express Championship at Mount Juliet in Ireland.
(South African unless stated, a denotes amateur): 274 - N Lawrence 68 68 67 71; 275 - B Vaughan (US) 67 68 71 69, T Clark 69 68 67 71; 276 - N Henning 66 71 71 68, A McLardy 71 67 69 69; 282 - H Otto 69 70 71 72; 283 - M Maritz 73 72 68 70; 284 - D McGuigan (Britain) 66 72 74 72, M Murless 70 70 72 72; 285 - R Sterne 73 71 72 69, R Wessels 74 69 71 71, T Immelman 67 76 71 71, S Drummond (Britain) 71 70 71 73, L Slattery (Britain) 67 75 67 76; 286 - N van Rensburg 74 72 71 69, S Pappas 68 71 75 72; 287 - D van Staden 72 68 73 74, D Terblanche 72 73 68 74; 288 - D Lambert (South Africa) 77 76 68 67, M Cayeux (Zimbabwe) 73 73 73 69, M McNulty (Zimbabwe) 70 69 75 74, B Vaughan (South Africa) 65 77 71 75; 289 - J Rose (Britain) 69 74 71 75.
