Sunshine Tour rookie David Wicks fired a bogey-free five-under-par 67 on Saturday for a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Zanaco Masters at Lusaka Golf Club, but even though a victory would make a world of difference for the Englishman’s career, he said winning is not that important for him on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Wicks previously competed on the EuroPro Tour, but last year decided to give up his professional career, before his management agency suggested he try the Sunshine Tour. Coming to Southern Africa has been a game-changer for Wicks, as he finished sixth in Q-School and then enjoyed his best performance as a professional in finishing in a tie for 15thin the season-opening FBC Zimbabwe Open a fortnight ago.
A congested leaderboard now stands between him and a remarkable maiden victory, with at least a dozen golfers in with a shout for the title. While Wicks is on 15-under-par, Sean Bradley (-14), Robson Chinhoi (-13) and Stefan Wears-Taylor (-12) are leading the chasing pack.
Gerhard Trytsman and the in-form Neil Schietekat are on 11-under, while six golfers are on 10-under, including seasoned champion Hennie Otto and previous Tour winners in Jake Redman, Ryan van Velzen and Martin Rohwer.
“I’m not sure how I’m going to handle the nerves and emotions in the final round, but I am in a really happy spot at the moment and a happy golfer is tough to beat,” Wicks said.
“It doesn’t matter if I win or lose, as long as I stick to my process and keep smiling. If I do that, then it doesn’t matter to me if I win the tournament of not. I will still look back on the week as a success, because I’m confident that if I stick to my process then it will yield a win at some stage.
“It’s about building a foundation and winning for me is really irrelevant, it’s about sticking to my process, having fun, enjoying what I’m doing. And then I will add up my score at the end and see where I stand,” Wicks said.
While the likes of Bradley, who followed up his 64 in the second round with a 69 on Saturday that included two eagles and four birdies, Chinhoi (70, four birdies) and Wears-Taylor (71, five birdies) produced some scintillating play, Wicks showed there is sometimes no replacement for good, old-fashioned error-free golf.
“Going bogey-free was very important for me, both mentally and for my score. When other people are making lots of birdies and eagles, dropping even one shot can feel like a double-bogey,” Wicks said.
“Fortunately I did not make any silly mistakes to drop back, while amidst all the birdies on the rest of the leaderboard there were lots of bogeys and doubles too.
“My plan was to first and foremost make par and then go for birdie,” Wicks said.
It sounds like the sort of plan which could yield a life-changing victory on Sunday.
SCORES:
201 – David Wicks 65 69 67
202 – Sean Bradley 69 64 69
203 – Robson Chinhoi 66 67 70
204 – Stefan Wears-Taylor 67 66 71
205 – Gerhard Trytsman 70 67 68, Neil Schietekat 65 69 71
206 – Hennie Otto 68 70 68, Siyanda Mwandla 72 66 68, Ryan Van Velzen 67 70 69, Martin Rohwer 72 64 70, Jake Redman 67 69 70, Malcolm Mitchell 70 65 71
207 – Peter Karmis 69 71 67, Trevor Fisher Jnr 68 67 72
208 – Gerhard Pepler 76 66 66, Rupert Kaminski 70 70 68, Nikhil Rama 70 69 69, Yurav Premlall 69 69 70, Hennie O’Kennedy 70 68 70
209 – Jacques Blaauw 69 73 67, Jaco Ahlers 72 68 69, DK Kim 68 72 69, Kyle Barker 70 69 70, Ruan Conradie 68 71 70, Christiaan Basson 71 65 73
210 – Herman Loubser 72 71 67, Chris Cannon 72 70 68, James Mack 73 68 69, Sydney Joseph Wemba 69 72 69, Danie Van Niekerk 73 68 69, Robin Williams 71 70 69, Nyasha Muyambo 70 70 70, Kyle McClatchie 73 66 71, Christiaan Burke 69 70 71
211 – Doug McGuigan 71 71 69, Rhys West 71 70 70, Tristin Galant 72 66 73, Keegan Mclachlan 69 68 74, Lyle Rowe 70 67 74
212 – Nicholaus Frade 74 67 71, Stuart Krog 69 72 71, Luke Jerling 71 70 71
213 – Luke Trocado 67 75 71, Ricky Hendler 69 73 71, Jovan Rebula 69 72 72
214 – Willie Olivier 76 65 73
215 – Heinrich Bruiners 69 74 72, Ben Firth 70 73 72, Keelan van Wyk 73 70 72, Tyron Davidowitz 73 68 74, Vaughn van Deventer 71 70 74, Keagan Thomas 72 66 77
216 – Conner Mackenzie 73 70 73, Hayden Griffiths 71 71 74, Paul Boshoff 73 68 75
217 – Wynand Dingle 76 67 74, Callum Mowat 74 69 74, Aneurin Gounden 72 70 75, Steve Surry 72 70 75, Albert Venter 74 68 75, Drikus Joubert 72 70 75
218 – Gregory Mckay 71 72 75
Missed the cut:-
144 – James Pennington 74 70, Luke Brown 72 72, Anthony Michael 70 74, Ronald Rugumayo 74 70, Jack Hawksby 74 70, Adam Breen 74 70, Jacquin Hess 76 68, Jason Roets 70 74, Warwick Purchase 76 68, Visitor Mapwanya 72 72
145 – Ruan de Smidt 73 72, Jean-Paul Strydom 70 75, Jacques P de Villiers 78 67, Madalitso Muthiya 71 74, MJ Viljoen 75 70, Philip Geerts 79 66
146 – Louis Albertse 72 74, Travis Ladner 75 71, Fredrik From 75 71, Ethan Smith 72 74
147 – Morton Muwowo 72 75, Michael Kok 77 70, Aaron Simfukwe Jnr 72 75, Clancy Waugh 73 74, Brian Gondo 73 74, James Kamte 76 71
148 – Jared Harvey 74 74, Dayne Moore 76 72, Toto Thimba Jnr 77 71, Paul Adam Chidale 74 74, Merrick Bremner 75 73, Timothy M Sondashi 73 75
150 – LB Boshoff 79 71, Marcel Steyn Scholtz 74 76, Keelan Africa 73 77, Thabang Simon 78 72, Jonathan Broomhead 77 73, Dezzie Ngandu 78 72, Gabriel Chibale 75 75, Biggie Chibvuri 71 79, Promise Sombrero 72 78
151 – Jonathan Waschefort 77 74, Teboho Sefatsa 76 75, Reinhardt Blaauw 74 77, Ryan Tipping 74 77, Neil Bothma 77 74, Ryan Cairns 73 78
152 – Omar Sandys 75 77, Leon Visser 78 74, Francois van Staden 78 74
153 – Alphius Kelapile 76 77
154 – Morton Kombai 81 73, Raphael Phiri 78 76, Shankar Natarajan 82 72
155 – Gaita Rodell 76 79, Ntengwa Mukosa 79 76, Kelly Tembo 76 79
156 – Patrick Mwendapole Snr 78 78, Del Piero Daniels 77 79, Mwivwanji Simukoko 79 77
157 – Mandla Dlamini Jnr 78 79, Musambo Kapoma JNR 84 73, Leonard Chibwe 82 75, Denmark Mulambo 81 76
161 – Sebastain Stobart 82 79
162 – Bruce Chanda 81 81, Joshua Mwendapole 82 80
163 – Keagan Bwalya 80 83
167 – Ricco Motsa 85 82
WDN – Ignatius Mketekete 84 WDN
RTD – Johan Theron 78 RTD
Photo by Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour
