Maiden golf victory

CAPE TOWN -- Lindani Ndwandwe scored his
maiden victory on the Sunshine golf tour when he captured the R200000 Western Cape Classic at the Rondebosch Golf Club on Saturday.

The Durban Country Club professional, 26, held his nerve with a difficult six-foot par putt on the 18th to hold off Houghton's Richard Kaplan by a stroke.

Ndwandwe finished on nine-under par 207 after a final round of one-under 71, while Kaplan returned a two-under 70.

Ndwandwe, who headed the tour qualifying school last season, earned R31 400 for the victory, which elevated him to 16th on the order of merit after two top 10 finishes in the two weeks leading up to the Western Cape Classic.

Ndwandwe follows other black players Sammy Daniels and John Mashego as winners on the winter section of the Sunshine tour. Daniels won twice in 1998 and Mashego once in 1991.

Ndwandwe's victory is another addition in an increasingly impressive resumé, which had humble beginnings when he started out as a nine-year-old caddie. He became the first player to win the Natal stroke and matchplay titles as an amateur and his potential was spotted by two top European golfers, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke, who head a consortium which sponsors him. -- Sapa