MENA TOUR EVENT IN SOUTH AFRICA LEADING FINAL TOTALS

PRETORIA, June 24 — His putter on form, a cool-headed Riekus Nortje left his closest rivals trailing in his wake to capture The Roar, the MENA Golf Tour’s third and final event in South Africa, on Friday.

Starting the day four in front, the talented South African closed with a two-under 70 to reach 13-under for the tournament, four clear of his compatriot Teaghan Gauche as rising star Darin de Smidt topped the amateur division on eight-under, thanks to a sparkling 67 — the best score of the day.

It was Nortje, who held his nerve to finish strongly despite a mid-round wobble and seal his fourth title on the Big Easy Tour.

“Well, the nerves were there from the first hole. There were a couple of bad tee shots and that was basically it. For the rest it was still okay,” said Nortje.

“I didn’t hit the ball great, but I still got it around and made some good putts when I needed to,” he added.

Nortje, who currently teaches golf at the Buhrmann Du Toit Academy, said he will have some serious thinking to do regarding his future, however it’s a process that will take time.

“It means a lot to be honest. I’ll have to sit down and think a little bit this weekend. For now I’ll still go on with the job and play a little bit here and there. I’ll take it from there. I’ve still got a lot of room to improve in my golf,” said Nortje.

The mid-round stutter when Nortje dropped three shots generated some nerves, but his ability to slow it down and cope with the stress came in handy.

“It was a little bit of a tiring day, but I did enjoy it. I’m glad it’s over – the stress was a little bit hectic in the middle of the round – I got through it and kept my head and my cool,” he added.

Claiming the title at Waterkloof Golf Club may have been stressful for the 25-year-old, but the win comes as the most important one to date for Nortje.

“It was a big sigh of relief. It’s the most important victory by far. The other three were in my first year and I still did okay on the Sunshine Tour. This victory – I mean I’ve had two bad years in a row – all of a sudden things are coming back together. It’s very important and probably by far the most important.“

Elsewhere, MENA Golf Tour’s Aaron Leitmannstetter of Germany finished in a tie for fourth on seven-under after carding a final round 71, two strokes ahead of the English duo of Elliott Oxlade and Scott Campbell.

Paul Doherty tied for 13th place on 212

The Dubai Creek Open will be the next stop on the MENA Golf Tour when it resumes after taking a summer break in September. 

                        FINAL TOTALS (par 216 (3x72)

	1		Riekus Nortje	-13	F	65	68	70	203
	2		Teaghan Gauche	-9	F	73	64	70	207
	3		Darin De Smidt [Am]	-8	F	71	70	67	208
	4		Aaron Leitmannstetter	-7	F	66	72	71	209
	4		James Kamte	-7	F	72	69	68	209
	6		Jason Viljoen	-6	F	67	71	72	210
	7		Roberto Lupini	-5	F	70	68	73	211
	7		Elliott Oxlade	-5	F	71	71	69	211
	7		Scott Campbell	-5	F	72	70	69	211
	7		Werner Van Niekerk	-5	F	73	69	69	211
	7		Jacquin Hess	-5	F	71	70	70	211
	7		Siphiwe Siphayi	-5	F	69	70	72	211
	13		Paul Doherty	-4	F	72	70	70	212
1416	13		Stephen Ferreira	-4	F	71	73	68	212
2307	13		Jeff Inglis	-4	F	69	74	69	212
2361	13		Francois Coetzee	-4	F	72	69	71	212
2378	13		Derik Ferreira	-4	F	72	68	72	212
2382	13		Eddie Taylor	-4	F	75	66	71	212
2296	19		N.J. Arnoldi	-3	F	73	68	-	141
1247	19		Lee Corfield	-3	F	73	72	68	213
2293	19		Desne Van Den Bergh	-3	F	70	71	72	213
2301	19		Jason Froneman	-3	F	71	71	71	213
2317	19		Hennie Du Plessis	-3	F	72	70	71	213
2359	19		Bradford Vaughan	-3	F	73	71	69	213
2410	19		Callie Swart	-3	F	68	75	70	213
2138	26		Fredrik From	-2	F	68	75	71	214
2320	26		Etienne Bond	-2	F	71	69	74	214
2330	26		Kevin Rundle	-2	F	71	69	74	214
2362	26		Justin Turner	-2	F	70	72	7