#TuksGolf: Albertse edges Van den Berg for Copperleaf win

Posted on February 22, 2018

PRETORIA, 21 February 2018 – Rustenburg amateur Louis Albertse held his nerve over the last three holes of The Els Club Copperleaf to capture his second IGT Challenge Tour title by one shot on a very wet Wednesday in Pretoria.
 
The 21-year-old fired a second 64 to grab a share of the overnight lead and headed into the final round with fellow HPC Tuks Golf Academy player Tokkie van den Berg for company on 11 under.
 
“It was the first time that I shared the lead going into a final round,” said Albertse, who closed with a 69 to win on 14-under 202. “It was quite a daunting experience, but I am proud of the way that I kept my composure throughout the round.
 
“It rained overnight and the conditions were tough. I made birdies at one and four, dropped a shot at five and birdied eight to turn two under. I was happy to have a two shot lead, especially when it started pouring as we turned.”
 
Albertse parked his tee shot at 10 in the left bunker, but made a great up-and-down. His tee shot at 12 veered right into the dam but once again, he made a great recovery to save par.
 
“I took a drop and had 150 metres to the flag,” he said. “The hole was downwind and I hit a sand-wedge to 25 feet and boxed the putt. For me, saving par at 12 swung the momentum my way. It kept the round going.”
 
He made another good up-and-down for par at 13 from the greenside bunker while Van den Berg bogeyed 13 and 14,
 
Both players birdied the par five 15th, and Van den Berg closed the gap with a birdie at 16. Race to Q-School Order of Merit leader Ruan Conradie also entered the mix with birdies at 15 and 16 and the pressure mounted when Van den Berg birdied the 17th, as well.
 
“The 17th is a really tough hole,” said Albertse. “Ruan and Tokkie hit great shots in, but Ruan missed his birdie chance, but Tokkie knocked his putt in for birdie. I was 35 foot left of the pin. I left my first putt five foot short, but made the par save.”
 
With a one shot reserve, Albertse got a grip on the nerves.
 
“Holing that clutch-putt gave me a huge injection of confidence,” he said. “I felt calm and in control over my tee shot at 18, I hit a good drive down the right of the fairway, but then the adrenaline hit.
 
“I had 120 metres to the flag. The green was uphill, but the shot was down-wind. I hit a gap-wedge, but it pitched 128 metres. Ruan and Tokkie were both in the bunkers, so I knew a good par would seal the win.
 
“I had a 10-footer left, but I pushed it three feet past the hole on the first go. It wasn’t ideal and I felt the nerves, but I had a little breathing room and cleaned up with a par for the win.”
 
The victory nudged Albertse to eighth in the Race to Q-School Order of Merit.
 
“My goal for the Race to Q-School Series was to break into the top 10 so I would be exempt straight into the Final Stage of the Sunshine Tour Qualifying School in March,” he said.
 
“It feels unbelievably good to have reached that goal. I had to choose between playing the Sanlam SA Amateur, or playing the last two Race to Q-School tournaments. It was a tough choice, but this win is a confirmation of all the hard work my coach Llewellyn van Leeuwen and I have put in since I moved from Dundee to Pretoria at the end of 2015.
 
“It has been a really hard and long journey, but that’s what so gratifying about this win. I’ve seen the improvements pay off on the amateur circuit and then on the IGT Challenge Tour. Winning my second title means even more, because most of the guys playing IGT at the moment are heading to Q-School, so the standard is much higher and way more competitive than when I won in June last year.”
 
 
 
Final Result
 
All competitors RSA unless otherwise specified and amateurs are indicated as AMA:
 
202 - Louis Albertse AMA 69 64 69
 
203 – Tokkie van den Berg 65 68 70
 
204 - Ruan Conradie 68 66 70
 
207 - Maritz Wessels 68 69 70
 
208 - Basil Wright 71 69 68, Pieter Moolman 71 68 69, Conway Kunneke 67 70 71, Roberto Lupini 72 64 72, Fredrik From (SWE) 67 69 72, Steven Lecuyer (CAN) 68 68 72
 
209 - Kyle Barker 70 69 70
 
210 - Jason Roets 70 71 69, Richard Joubert 71 69 70, Tristen Strydom 68 72 70
 
211 - Ruan Korb 67 70 74
 
212 - Carlo Heunis AMA 68 75 69
 
213 - Matt Bright 75 67 71
 
214 - Paul Boshoff 72 74 68
 
215 - Duane Keun 71 70 74, Michael Schutz 70 69 76
 
217 - Ruhan van Dijk AMA 72 74 71
 
218 - Clinton Grobler 70 74 74, Mark James (ENG) 68 77 73, Dylan Mostert AMA 66 74 78, Jack Duthie 72 75 71
 
219 - Thabi Ngcobo 69 74 76, Wayne Stroebel 70 71 78
 
220 - Louis Botha 71 74 75, Estiaan Conradie 71 74 75, Peetie van der Merwe 69 76 75, CJ Levey 74 71 75, Leon Visser 70 78 72
 
221 - Jade Buitendag 72 71 78, Michael Pfeifer AMA 76 70 75, Gilson Filho (BRA) 74 73 74, Leon Vorster AMA 70 79 72, Rafael Parra (VEN) 74 75 72
 
222 - Wayne du Toit 74 74 74
 
224 - Marco de Beer 77 73 74
 
225 - Evance Vukeya 74 70 81, Jonathan Waschefort 74 72 79, Handre Truter AMA 74 75 76
 
226 - Juan Langeveld 79 70 77, Zabastian de Jager 75 74 77
 
228 - Dylan Docherty 78 66 84, John Bele 73 77 78
 
229 - Neville Mitchell AMA 73 72 84
 
230 - Lance Ellerbeck AMA 74 75 81, Christopher de Beer AMA 74 75 81, Eric Nel 73 77 80
 
232 - Ruben Labuschagne 71 78 83
 
 
 
- Author Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the IGT Challenge Tour.

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