Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty battled the elements and his own inner demons to capture
the Nashua Nedtel Cellular Masters title at the Wild Coast course
with a six-under par total of 274 on Sunday.
It was the fifth time
McNulty has won the South African Masters title and the sixth time
as a professional that he has tasted victory on the Wild Coast course.
In a final round that
saw the leaderboard fluctuate from the first hole, the 47-year-old
held off South Africans Retief Goosen and Des Terblanche who both
finished a stroke back on 275, five-under par.
McNulty started the
final round in the worst fashion with a double-bogey at the par-four
first and a bogey on the par-four second, dropping from nine-under
to six-under in dramatic fashion.
"On the first hole
I hit an eight-iron over the back from 158 yards," McNulty said.
"I was in bushes behind the hole and I had nowhere to go so I hacked
it out sideways and then chipped it up to six feet and missed the
putt.
"On the second I hit
a sand wedge onto the green, which just trickled down a little way
and I three-putted and suddenly I was under pressure.
"It was a frustrating
day because most of my shots were good but nothing was happening
out there. It's all about emotions and I couldn't control them after
the start that I had.
"I was very tense
the whole day, which came about because of the way I started. I
suppose you only need to win by one shot, but the only sad thing
is that I don't like to shoot over par to win a tournament."
It might have been
a frustrating day for the winner, but it was his 49th career title
and once the reality of this achievement - and the fact that he
is second only to Gary Player in Masters titles victories - sets
in, McNulty will forget about the final day frustrations and look
back with pride.
On a day when few
players could put a meaningful run together, McNulty trailed Des
Terblanche by a three-strokes after five holes before somehow composing
himself enough to grind out a victory that looked a certainty after
the third round.
Bogies on 11 and 14
for Terblanche coming down the stretch enabled McNulty to reclaim
the ascendancy, which nearly ended on the 18th when an errant tee-shot
found the fairway bunker.
"I hit my drive too
softly and landed in the bunker which I really should have cleared,"
McNulty said. "I was lucky though, because a few inches behind my
ball was a big hole in the sand from poor raking. If I had landed
in that it would have been impossible to make the green."
History will record
that he put the ball safely on the green and two-putted to take
the title, more to feelings of relief than elation.
