Leon Visser carded a final-round 71 on Saturday to total 11-under and claim a two-stroke victory in the King’s Cup held at Ezulwini Golf and Country Club.
Born in South Africa but raised in Eswatini, Leon was in familiar surroundings at Ezulwini, a place where his golfing journey began. His knowledge of the course and the area showed last week, as he held the lead from the first round through to the final round.
“I got off to a slow start but, luckily, I found some rhythm on the back nine,” said Leon, whose last victory came eight years ago in the now-defunct IGT Tour. ”But, again, my short game and putter helped me a lot this week.”
The final round proved a lot trickier for Visser whose 71 in the final round contrasted the rounds of 66 and 68 he had signed for in the first two rounds.
“I felt the conditions were a little tougher today,” Visser noted. “The ball went flying but luckily, I got used to it quite quickly. I got fortunate on hole nine, almost went OB but luckily, I made a massive putt for par. Thinking about it now, that’s probably where everything changed and the belief was still there that I can get over the line.”
Making things even tougher and interesting was the challenge that Zachary Chegwidden was mounting, as the Englishman also battled hard to claim his maiden Betway Big Easy Tour title.
“Zach played really well but I knew that I had to focus on my own game,” said Visser of his playing partner. “It was tough, so to get it done is very special to me. I’ve been in contention a couple of times and sometimes, when you don’t get over the line, you begin to ask why you can’t get it done.
“For me it’s special because it happened where I started playing golf. To get over the line here is just amazing. It was my grandfather that started everything for me here. I used to play rugby and then he got me started in golf, brought me here and took me to places like Nkonyeni. So, to get it done here makes you realise that there’s somebody bigger and all glory to Him.”
The King’s Cup was making its return to the Betway Big Easy Tour schedule nine years since it was last played on this Sunshine Tour feeder circuit. It also represented the biggest purse in the campaign, with the total prize fund of R700 000.
The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s feeder circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els, among other patrons.