adminTakudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
BRENDON de Jonge faded badly and blew away a golden chance to win his first tournament at the US PGA Tour at the Valspar Championship at the Innisbrook Resort after having led at the halfway stage. The event, which was held at Palm Harbour in Florida, had winds which made scoring difficult on day two of the tournament but De Jonge carded a two-under 69 to take over the lead at the halfway stage.
The Zimbabwean recorded four birdies and two bogeys and opened a one-shot lead over a group of five players, including eventual winner Jordan Spieth of the United States. Spieth won after a play-off with Patrick Reed and Sean O’Hair.
“It’s tricky out there,” De Jonge told the official USPGA tour website.
“It’s one of those golf courses where it’s tough enough to get it on the fairway when it’s still and when the wind blows it’s added difficulty. “It’s difficult to pick it out there. It gets in these tress and swirls around so you’ve got to try and stay patient as best you can.” A five-over in the third round made life difficult for the burly Zimbabwean who went on to finish on position 33 after one-under 283 overall. He pocketed US$30 511.43, taking his season’s earnings to US$928 759, having played 12 events and making 10 cuts.
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