Two more birdies; two fewer dropped shots.
They are the two equations Jason Scrivener will ponder on his return home after the West Australian narrowly missed out on qualifying for this week’s European Tour finale, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Scrivener recorded his sixth top-25 finish in his past eight starts at the Nedbank Challenge overnight but his tie for 16th left him 43,000 Race to Dubai points and four spots short of qualifying for the 60-man field.
A final round of eight-under 64 propelled England’s Lee Westwood to his first European Tour title in more than four years at Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, three shots clear of Spaniard Sergio Garcia who finished one shot ahead of South African Louis Oosthuizen.
Rather than his final-round 71, it may well be the second round that Scrivener rues the most.
Among the front-runners after an opening round of three-under 69, Scrivener made a double-bogey five at the par-3 fourth and dropped two more shots on the par-4 18th to sign for a second round of 76.
Starting the final round in a tie for 14th, Scrivener had recorded four birdies through 10 holes but a bogey at the par-4 15th dropped him back to one-under on his round and two shots shy of the top-10 finish that could have extended his European Tour season by one more week.
While Scrivener missed out, there will be two Australians and one Kiwi who make the trip to Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai for the season finale.
Tied for 50th at Sun City, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox is the most prominent in the rankings in 20th position with Lucas Herbert and Wade Ormsby 42nd and 45th, respectively.
Ormsby finished the week at Sun City level with Scrivener in a tie for 16th, vaulting 21 spots up the leaderboard courtesy of a five-under 67 that featured six birdies and just the lone bogey at the par-4 15th. Herbert also made a positive move up the leaderboard on Sunday, a three-under 69 advancing his position nine places to a tie for 35th, the 22-year-old bogey-free in his final round up until the par-4 17th.
* On the Japan Golf Tour, Won Joon Lee recorded his sixth top-20 result of the year at the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters, he and Kiwi Michael Hendry leading the Australasian contingent.
Tatsunori Nukaga received a sponsor’s invite to play in the tournament and promptly recorded the first Japan Golf Tour win of his career with a two-shot victory, seven shots clear of Lee and Hendry who finished the week in a tie for 17th at two-under par.
For the second week in succession, a full round was lost due to rain, the highlight of Lee’s final round an eagle at the 346-metre par-4 15th after driving the green.
Brad Kennedy remains the leading Aussie on the moneylist in 13th position after finishing tied for 22nd, one shot clear of countryman Matthew Griffin who birdied his final two holes to be tied for 28th. Brendan Jones was the only other Australian to make the cut, his round of one-under 70 resulting in a tie for 38th.
