Sabbatini's biggest golf win yet
Brad Morgan
20 February 2006
The eyes of most South African golf fans were on Tim Clark and Ernie Els in The Nissan Open at the Riviera Country Club, but another South African, Rory Sabbatini, claimed victory in the US PGA Tour event, pocketing $918 000 - his biggest pay cheque yet of .
In 2005, he made a little less than $3 000 more over the course of the entire season.
Sabbatini's win has moved him past the $10-million mark in career earnings, and to the top of the money list, with $2.18-million to his name after his fourth top-10 finish in six 2006 events so far.
The Durbanite took a four-shot lead into the final round after carding 67-65-67 over the first 54 holes. He then closed with a one-over-par 71, enough to keep him one shot clear of runner-up Adam Scott.
The Aussie started the final round nine shots adrift of Sabbatini, but closed strongly with a seven-under-par 64, while Craig Barlow ended third a further shot back.
South
African results
Trevor Immelman tied for seventh on 276, Tim Clark shared twelfth on 278, while Ernie Els finished on 280 to share twenty-third place. Els won the Nissan Open in 1999.
Sabbatini's victory was his third on the PGA Tour in his twenties, placing him behind only Sergio Garcia, who has won six times, and tied for second place with Scott at three wins apiece, which is indicative that South African golf's depth goes much deeper than Els and Goosen.
Comparing his previous titles in the Air Canada Championship in 2000 and the FBR Capital Open in 2003, Sabbatini reckoned his win at the Riviera Country Club was probably the biggest victory of his career so far.
A rough day
"It was a rough day out there, there's no denying it," he said of his final round. "That was definitely the hardest round of golf I have ever played. Every time I felt like I hit a good shot, things were going wrong."
Sabbatini reckons he
used the support for crowd favourite Fred Couples, which included cheering his own misfortunes, to get himself back on track on the back nine.
After dropping a shot at the 15th, he found himself in a four-way tie for the lead. But on the very next hole, he fired his tee shot on the par-three sixteenth to within five feet of the pin to set up a birdie and retake the lead for good.
The win came at a good time for the South African star. Sabbatini's 2005 season was his worst since his rookie season in 1999, so it shows he is back on track and ready to do some damage on the most prestigious golf tour of them all.
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