Wilco Nienaber produced the most dominant performance of his career as he won his second NTT Data Pro-Am title by seven strokes at Fancourt on Sunday.
Nienaber closed out a wire-to-wire victory that began with a 60 in the first round and ended with a 70 on the Montagu course on Sunday for a winning score of 27-under-par.
Jean-Paul Strydom finished second on 20-under-par with a closing 66.
It was an emotional day for Nienaber, who paid tribute to his ill grandfather after his win.
“It’s not going well with my grandfather. He’s currently in a step-down facility and has been diagnosed with cancer. It’s been a tough time because we are a tight family. I went and saw him on Monday before this tournament. He has played a big role in my career. He was always there and has always loved his sport. He would’ve been here today if he could’ve been,” said Nienaber.
With his victory Nienaber joins an exclusive list of only four players to have won this title twice in its 30-year history, including Nick Price, Darren Fichardt and Oliver Bekker.
It was a victory made even sweeter by the fact that, unlike his last win in this event which came amidst the COVID pandemic, he could have his family with him to celebrate.
“It’s very cool to have them all here. This was a good performance. I wanted to get to 30-under-par, but I’m proud of myself,” he said.
This was arguably Nienaber’s finest exhibition of golf considering the hold he had on this tournament from day one, and the fact that he came through 72 holes with only one bogey.
He was delighted to get his hands on the iconic eagle trophy once again. “I’m feeling so relieved and I’m also very proud of myself,” he said. “It’s been a while since I won but I knew that I could do it again and I’ve just proved that to myself.
“I tried to keep my focus, but it was at the back of my mind that a had quite a nice lead. Jacques (Blaauw) was putting very nicely and made a few very nice birdies. I could only relax after my tee-shot on 18.
“I was a little bit more conservative with my approach play into the greens but it’s a strong golf course and I knew anything could happen. It got a little bit windy towards the end too. This win feels so different to 2021 and it’s pretty cool.”
Nienaber, who earned his DP World Tour playing privileges at Qualifying School at the end of last year, was delighted to triumph on home soil and heads into next week’s Magical Kenya Open full of confidence.
“It’s awesome. You dream of it. It’s nice to have a big lead like I did but you can’t really ever settle. It’s always in the back of your mind to not make a mistake. It’s nice to win early in the year though.”
Blaauw finished third alongside Sam Jones from New Zealand and Swede Per Längfors on 18-under-par, while South Africa’s JC Ritchie and English duo Eddie Pepperell and Jamie Rutherford were a shot further back in sixth.
Nienaber catapults to second place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 408.2 points, while Daniel van Tonder remains in pole position on 742.4 following his back-to-back victories at the start of the season. Rutherford occupies third position on 386.66 points, while Jones and Liam Nolan from Ireland make up the top five.
