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Kingston captures SAA Open

James Kingston has won several times both in South Africa and Asia, but on Sunday he claimed the South African Airways Open title to become a winner on the European Tour for the first time.

The 42-year-old's one-shot victory over England's Oliver Wilson not only ensured a South African winner of the SAA Open for the eighth straight time, but it also allowed him to vault to the top of the final Order of Merit for the Sunshine Tour.

Finishing top of the standings guarantees him entry into several lucrative tournaments, most notably the Open Championship, the American Express World Golf Championship event and the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City.

Two-horse race
Except for brief spurts from South Africans Garth Mulroy, Louis Oosthuizen and Andrew McLardy, Kingston and Wilson were never really challenged at the top of the leaderboard.

Fittingly for the tournament, the 72nd hole was where it was all decided.

Wilson was one stroke behind Kingston and a fine approach shot left him with a 15-foot putt for birdie on the par-five closing hole. But his nerve deserted him and the ball finished short of the hole, allowing Kingston, who had hit his third to 10 feet, the luxury of two putts to win.

Front nine struggles
The front nine was where it all went wrong for Wilson as he bogeyed the first, sixth and ninth holes. It required a tremendous pair of birdies on the 10th and 11th holes for him to stay in touch with Kingston, who had been hampered by a double-bogey five on the par-three fourth hole.

The Rustenburg professsional bounced back immediately by with birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, but he bogeyed the ninth and was never able to really lay down the law.

Darren Clarke shot a four-under-par 68 on Sunday to soar into a tie for third position, alongside Welshman Kyron Sullivan and South Africans' Louis Oosthuizen and Garth Mulroy.

Oosthuizen pushed Kingston hard for the Order of Merit honours, but a lip-out with his approach shot on the par-four 17th hole cost him third place on his own.

Emotional champion
An emotional Kingston dedicated the win to his mother, who was present to see his greatest triumph.

"It was tough, but it's a dream come true. My mother is here, which is really nice because I lost both my father and my brother on the golf course and I wish they were here too.

"I've come close before in the South African Open and I always think about Glendower in 1993 when Clinton Whitelaw won. We were tied for the lead going down the 11th and I made a stupid bogey and ended up losing by three strokes.

"It boiled down to the same situation today, but I came into today with such a positive state of mind after the physios gave me a video on positive thinking. I've been in these situations before and somewhere I guess you learn from the times you don't finish the job," Kingston said.

Late start
Play was delayed by three-and-a-half hours by rain and Kingston had to wait until 15:46 before teeing off.

"I was nervous when I woke up this morning and the delays made it tougher. Your mind plays havoc with you and I'm grateful we were able to finish today. I don't know if I could have faced the 17th tomorrow morning," Kingston said.

Greg Norman, the former world number one, used his tremendous experience to go round the tortuous Pearl Valley course in level-par after a one-under 71 on Sunday, which left him in a tie for seventh with American campaigner Craig Lile, England's Robert Rock, the first-round leader, and Nic Henning, whose uncles Allan and Harold both won the SA Open.

England's Simon Dyson shot the low number of the day, a five-under 67 to finish in a tie for 11th with Alan Michell and McLardy, who took a disastrous seven at the par-five 13th.

But the glory was all Kingston's and he may well have made a telling psychological breakthrough. Who knows what victories will come now for the veteran?

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