Austin Bautista’s brilliant 62 during Friday’s final round of the Sunbet Challenge hosted by Wild Coast Sun secured the Australian his first title on the Sunshine Tour with a one-stroke victory on 14 under par.
Related: Michael Hollick chasing second Sunshine Tour title in four weeks
“I am ecstatic and super happy to have won this week. It was a hard week but securing the title was definitely worth the wait,” said Bautista.
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He even managed to win despite drawing the short straw with his roommates this week.
“The boys I’m staying with gave me the worst bed, actually they put me on the couch. But I walked away with the silverware, so it was worth it in the end,” Bautista joked.
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Bautista’s form improved as the tournament progressed. He followed up his first round 69 with a second round score of 65. Heading into the final round only three shots behind the overall leader, Bautista opened his final round with five birdies in the first eight holes, followed by four more on the back nine. He dropped only one shot during his round.
“The Sunshine Tour is a great tour. We get to come to amazing places. The Wild Coast Sun is a beautiful layout – it’s so challenging.”
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Bautista has been threatening a win this year, with two top-three finishes as well as an eigth-place finish leading up to this week.
Michael Hollick (66), who started the day with a one-stroke lead, finished second on 13 under par.
Samuel Simpson (66), the winner of the Mopani Zambia Open in June, shared third place with Lyle Rowe (67) on 10 under par.
