A cool head and mental fortitude helped DK Kim withstand a back-nine scare from Belgian Gary Daoust and earn the Korean a second IGT Challenge Tour title at Reading Country Club in Alberton on Wednesday.
The Randpark golfer closed with a one-under-par 71 to triumph by three shots on 11-under 202.
‘I’m incredibly proud of this victory, because it’s the first stroke play event I’ve won since I joined the pro ranks and I did it under huge pressure from Gary,’ said Kim, whose maiden win on the country’s premier golf development circuit in 2013 was in a match play event.
‘I believe all the experience I’ve built and the confidence that comes with experience gave me the mental strength to stay in the moment. This is a big mental breakthrough for me.’
Kim and Daoust both fired rounds of 65 on day two, but the Korean golfer carried a two-shot lead on 10-under into the final round.
‘I was a little nervous at the start, because it was the first time I led going into the final round. It was positive tension, though and I was excited to see how I would cope,’ said Kim.
‘I started with a great par. I bogeyed the opening hole in the first and second rounds, and even Allister (de Kock), who played the first two rounds with me, gave me a high five.’
Kim made birdies at 2nd and 4th, but dropped back to 11-under after a three-putt bogey at 6th. He took a four-shot lead into the back nine after Daoust dropped two shots at the par-four 6th and his lead grew to five after he birdied 10th and Daoust had another bogey.
‘Then Gary caught fire and he piled on the pressure with four birdies in a row from 11th. Just like that, he got to 10-under,’ said Kim.
With his Wanna Be A Champion Academy stablemate suddenly just two shots off the pace, the 28-year-old Kim responded to the pressure with the poise of a veteran.
‘Every time I thought about the lead shrinking or Gary catching me came into my head, I told myself to just play shot for shot. I stayed calm and I stuck to my game plan,’ Kim said.
‘I wanted to play the course the way I played it in the first two rounds. I didn’t want to be over-cautious and just play to protect the lead. Doing that got me through the first 14 holes, so I stuck to it. I trusted my swing and my strategy and I stayed in the moment.’
Daoust got a little too aggressive in his bid to catch Kim and paid the price with a double bogey at the par-four 16th.
‘I had a four-shot lead playing the last hole and I hit the worst tee shot of the day,’ said Kim. ‘I pushed my drive way right under the trees and all I could do was to punch it out. But I hit a good third into the green. I was on the edge and gave the par putt a bit too much and it rushed past the hole, but I just slowed things down and made the return for the win.
‘It was totally different to my first win and I’m really proud that I kept it together. I felt like I dealt with things well. I didn’t play fantastic and it was an ugly way to finish, but hopefully, I’ll have some prettier ones in the future. I am just really happy to see the hard work I’ve put into my game pay off.’
Daoust parred the final two holes for a 71 to take second on 205.
Gilson Filho from Brazil fired three successive rounds of 69 to finish third on six-under, while Gary Player School of 2018/2018 members De Kock and Derick Petersen shared fourth on four –under after closing with respective rounds of 71 and 70.
Final Results
All competitors RA unless otherwise specified; amateurs indicated as AMA
202 – Dongkwan Kim (KOR) 67 65 70
205 – Gary Daoust (BEL) 69 65 71
207 – Gilson Filho (BRA) 69 69 69
209 – Derick Petersen 69 70 70, Allister de Kock 70 68 71
213 – Ruan Korb 76 69 68, Jason Diab 71 73 69, Jaco van der Merwe AMA 66 74 73
214 – Luke Brown 72 73 69, Clinton Grobler 74 69 71
216 – Slade Pickering AMA 72 73 71, Juran Dreyer 69 75 72, Stephan Erasmus 73 69 74, Adriel Poonan 73 68 75
217 – Christopher van der Merwe AMA 75 70 72, Garth Wolter 72 74 71, Michael Pfeifer 75 71 71, Keelan van Wyk AMA 71 73 73
218 – Hanish Nagrani (ZIM) 77 69 72, Makhetha Mazibuko 70 75 73, Stefan Wears-Taylor 74 72 72, Omar Sandys 74 71 73, Eric Wowor AMA 70 78 70, Richard Maree 74 74 70
220 – Hendrikus Stoop 74 72 74, Michael Kok 73 72 75, Matthew Rossouw AMA 71 76 73
221 – Neal Herman 73 70 78, Ruhan van Dijk 77 73 71
222 – Stals Swart AMA 67 74 81, Llewellyn Grobbelaar AMA 74 75 73
223 – Bradley Diggeden AMA 70 75 78, Tyler Johnston AMA 72 74 77, Franklin Manchest 76 68 79, Patric Dowling AMA 74 78 71
224 – Maverick Faber AMA (FRA) 76 73 75
225 – Peetie van der Merwe 77 69 79, Neville Mitchell AMA 71 75 79, Keanu Pestana AMA 74 74 77, John McClean (NIR) 74 74 77, Jacquin Hess 74 75 76
226 – Shalan Govender 76 71 79, Tumelo Molloyi 73 75 78, Jason Rossiter 69 80 77
227 – Landon Ferguson AMA 75 75 77, Warric Dyers 78 74 75
228 – Leon Vorster 77 73 78, Francois Blaauw AMA 75 77 76
233 – Kyle Murphy AMA 76 74 83
236 – Marcus Smal AMA 81 70 85, Michael Louth 77 74 85