Tremendous US win for Trevor
Brad Morgan
10 July 2006
On a weekend where there was an inevitability that Roger Federer – born of a South African mother – would win Wimbledon for the fourth year in succession, something else that was inevitable came to pass: Trevor Immelman claimed his first US PGA Tour title.
Competing in the Cialis Western Open, the man many thought of as the logical successor to Gary Player and Ernie Els held off Tiger Woods and Matthew Goggin to claim victory by two shots.
With rounds of 69, 66, 69, and 67, he finished in 13-under-par 271. Woods closed with a 68 and Goggin with a 69 to share second spot.
Tim Clark
Another South African, Tim Clark tied for fourth on 275, with Stephen Leaney, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Vijay Singh, and Carl Petterson. It is surely just a matter of time before he too wins his US PGA Tour title.
With the victory, Immelman moved up to fifth on the US PGA Money Winners List, with earnings of $3 030 746. His
winner's cheque from the Cialis Western Open was worth $900 000.
Further down the Money Winners List, Rory Sabbatini is in eleventh-place, Retief Goosen occupies eighteenth, Tim Clark is in twenty-first position, and Ernie Els is down at fiftieth.
The wait to win
It was Immelman's fifty-seventh US PGA tournament, and it brought him his first win on the tour following European Tour victories at the 2000 Vodacom Players Championship, the 2003 and 2004 South African Airways Open, and the Deutsche Bank – SAP Open TPC of Europe.
The victory brought with it a number of benefits. Immelman earned exempt status on the US PGA Tour through the 2008 season, while it also procured for him exemption into a number of invitational tournaments for the 2006 season, including the PGA Championship.
For the 26-year-old, his win comes as the culmination of a run of good form. He started the year by missing the cut at the Buick Invitational. He
followed that with a tie for twentieth at the FBR Open and a tie for seventh at the Nissan Open, but then his results began to slide.
Out of form
He finished way back at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson and at the Ford Championship at Doral. It didn't get any better as he then missed four cuts in succession, including at the US Masters.
The turning point came at the Shell Houston Open where he tied for eleventh. After that he grabbed second at the Wachovia Championship, followed by another runner-up finish at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.
At the Memorial Tournament, he again finished in the top 10, claiming a share of seventh spot. After that he finished thirteenth in the Barclays Classic, tied for twenty-first at the US Open, and then shared sixteenth at the Buick Championship.
Then came his maiden win.
How it felt
It came because of a strong finish, which saw him birdie three of the last
four holes. Describing how it felt to finally get the monkey off his back after he birdied the eighteenth, Immelman said it felt incredible.
"It was a fantastic day. I really enjoyed every minute of it. Obviously to hole that putt on the last was just…it gives me goosebumps thinking about it,"’ he said.p>
Woods, the world number-one, who couldn’' quite catch the young South African, said he had been expecting Immelman to win a tournament for some time. "It was just a matter of time before he won," he said. "I mean he came close at Wachovia this year and obviously he has an inordinate amount of talent."
After his great win, things appear as if they will only get better for Immelman. Next stop for him is Orlando. He's heading home to his wife who is expecting the couple's first child on 27 July.
Life at the top sure looks good.
| 
