Maas goes wire-to-wire to claim Altron Big Easy Tour title at Blue Valley

Christiaan Maas carded a final-round 69 to claim a wire-to-wire victory in the first tournament of the Altron Big Easy Tour that was held at Blue Valley Golf Estate on Thursday.

Following his first two rounds of 65 and 69, the GolfRSA Elite Squad member knew the tournament was his to lose as he stepped onto the first tee on day three. A third-round three-under-par 69 took his tournament total to 13-under-par and earned him a three-shot win over Bradley Diggeden.

“I think I played well in the first round to set myself up nicely,” said an elated Maas after the round. “But yesterday wasn’t that good for me tee-to-green but my putter wasn’t too bad. Today, my putting was terrible. I think I had 35 putts today but luckily I’d set myself up very nicely on the first day to be in this position.”

A glance at his scorecard doesn’t suggest a player struggling with the short stick despite the two bogeys he made on the day. He opened with pars on the first and second holes before a welcome birdie found its way onto his scorecard. He gave a shot away on the next hole but bounced back swiftly on the fifth; making a birdie that was followed by two pars. His second dropped shot was on the eighth and that was followed by a par as he turned level-par on the front nine.

After the turn and three straight pars, the impressive amateur who is headed for the United Kingdom for a GolfRSA tour there next week made further gains. He made back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 while his last birdie of the round was on 18 as he walked off victoriously.

“Winning here gives me a lot of confidence as we go into the UK tour this Saturday,” Maas added, “so, to get this win just before that tour is a big boost for my confidence and hopefully, I will continue playing like this in the UK.

“To be able to win on this Tour says something about the level of my game as well because the guys here play top-quality golf. You need to play three solid rounds to stand a chance and I’m glad I was able to do that this week.”

Taking the second spot this week was Diggeden who was every bit as impressive too. A strong front nine on day three propelled him to a runner-up finish while veteran Ryan Tipping finished third on nine-under-par.

The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els and counts current international star Christiaan Bezuidenhout among its former Order of Merit winners.