For the first time in tournament history, extra holes were required to decide a winner of any category at Geoff Ogilvy’s Sandbelt Invitational, with Ryan Peake triumphing over David Micheluzzi at Royal Melbourne to claim the overall prize.
Joined at the presentation by Kayun Mudadana, Caitlin Peirce and Amelia Harris as winners of the men’s amateur and women’s pro and amateur sections, respectively, it was all eyes on Peake as he defied a back nine struggle to lift the trophy.
Having jokingly asked members of the following crowd for the best lines off some of the West course’s tees having last played the course as a 14-year-old, Peake limped into the clubhouse in regulation, including bogeying the 72nd hole after authoring a remarkable start to today’s final round.
Three straight birdies from the first tee were followed by an eagle at the fourth and another birdie at the fifth as Peake made the turn in six-under on a day when Royal Melbourne member Tom Power-Horan equalled the professional course record of 63.
West Australian Peake signing for a 67 and three-under total before having some lunch as he waited for what he thought was a foregone conclusion of Micheluzzi winning the title.
“Seventeen years ago, I think. So I can’t remember anything,” Peake said of when he last played Royal Melbourne.
“That front nine was pretty straightforward. What you see is what you get. Obviously, I’d just done everything right, not knowing that I was doing everything right. Just I guess a bit of luck my way.
“Then on that back nine, you’ve got to play this course a bunch of times to know your lines, know what’s good, what’s bad. I made I think three bogeys and a double out of nowhere, and I didn’t really feel like I hit bad shots.
“To be honest, I’m a bit lost for words. I’m still trying to figure it all out myself. I don’t really know what happened there, but you’ve got to expect that when you’ve never played it before.”
Far more experienced around what many consider the best course in Australia, and a previous winner at Royal Melbourne, it was another day of Micheluzzi’s score not necessarily reflecting the quality of his play, with the DP World Tour player two-under through 16 holes before finishing bogey-bogey to match the three-under mark and head back for the 18th tee.
Peake finding the fairway, while Micheluzzi’s tee shot missed right and found a sandy lie that resulted in a 60-metre wedge for this third as Peake found the front-left portion of the green.
Micheluzzi taking two putts, but unable to send it to more extra holes after his left handed opponent rolled in his second putt to celebrate his first victory as a pro with one-hole fill-in caddie Jye Pickin.
“Events turned around really quickly. I guess when you’re in that position, you just expect the best and I guess hope for the worst, but expect the best. And ‘Micha’ being Micha, I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s going to make a par,’” Peake said of the closing stages.
“I went to the bar and I bought the boys a round of beers and the refs come in and just said, ‘Mate, you’re required for a playoff’.
Peake speaking again of his plan to enjoy the event and Sandbelt as a first priority having spoken with coach Ritchie Smith about how quickly things can turn.
“It’s a bit of self-belief. I mean, you can only beat who you’re playing against, but I think just in an event like this, like I said, at the start of the week, I really just wanted to embrace the whole, the Sandbelt culture and just really enjoy being out here.
“Even when things weren’t going my way, I was still really enjoying it. I knew what I was here for, but to get an invitation into something like this that not many people get, and then to be able to play some good golf as well.
“My coach, Ritchie Smith, he said I’m pretty much in the same predicament as Elvis [Smylie]. It was so close to switching. You just don’t know when, and then Elvis just went bang, bang, bang… He told me after a missed cuts at the Open and PGA. He said, just hang in there. Because it’s so close to switching.”
Peake joking earlier in the week that he would need to win to pay for his pricey Monday night dinner. Perhaps less of a concern when he returns to the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia at the Webex Players Series Perth at Royal Fremantle in early January.
“I’m not too sure what the whole thing is,” he said of the potential cash injection from winning.
“I haven’t looked too into it, but that trophy looks amazing. I think it’s a pretty unique and a pretty special one. So yeah, that’s the only thing I really kind of thought about. If I was to win, I just really wanted that trophy.”
Matias Sanchez finishing third alone on one-under and one shot ahead of Cameron John and Richard Green, with Mudadana on one-over and taking plenty away from the week.
“It was going to be always tough having never played here, but I started pretty well,” Mudadana said.
“I was two through eight and missed a short part on nine and made bogey on 10. I was a bit on a back foot there, but it’s all right. I had a lot of fun out there.”
Peirce closing out her week with a 70 to finish six-over for a second triumph since turning pro in November.
“Not really, but it’s nice to get the wins,” she said when asked if she was finding professional golf easy having won a NSW Women’s Open Regional Qualifier in recent weeks.
“It was more being able to play four rounds on four good Melbourne Sandbelt courses. I played it twice as an amateur, so playing it as a pro, I guess the money’s a little bit of a bonus, but the format and the places you get to play is probably the key highlight of it.”
Headed for a drive back to Adelaide tomorrow, Peirce will take only a slight break before teeing it up across the Australian summer and heading for the Epson Tour in America.
It will be a similar story for Harris heading into year 12 with her eyes on the adidas Australian Amateur on the Sandbelt in January before moving to America and the University of South Carolina.
“It feels really great to be able to get the title back. Obviously it feels great playing against really good amateurs, but it’s as special as my first win,” Harris said.
“I think it helps boost my confidence a lot. I hadn’t been playing good as of recent, so I think winning this is really going to help me in my big tournaments.
Tournament host Ogilvy surmising a fourth successful staging of his and “tournament director” Mike Clayton’s brainchild having taken in all the action over four days.
“It was unique for me to watch on this year and truly host the Sandbelt Invitational and I have loved the experience,” Ogilvy said.
“The courses and clubs have been magnificent, and our four champions exemplify the word. Hearing Ryan’s words about the event is exactly why we do this.”
Final scores available at www.sandbeltinvitational.com
