Hennie du Plessis was left to rue a 72nd hole bogey which cost him an outright second place finish and a place in The Open later this year.
It was all going according to plan for Du Plessis until it didn’t.
Du Plessis chipped in for birdie at the 17th to cut eventual winner Casey Jarvis’ advantage to two but then found the water with his approach into the final green and carded a bogey.
That drop moved him from second alone to a share of second and thus he cruelly missed out on securing a place at The Open due to his lower placing to Francesco Laporta and Frederic Lacroix.
The consolation, of course, is that Du Plessis did add $100 000 for firing a new club record earlier in the week.
Italian Laporta, who spent three years on the Sunshine Tour, described South Africa as his “second home” and he will be grateful for his adopted country after earning his first Major appearance in Southport.
Lacroix carded an eagle, five birdies and a double bogey in his final-round 65 to reach under 11 as he was the beneficiary from Du Plessis’ late bogey. The Frenchman will make his second start at a Major after appearing at the 2025 U.S. Open Championship.
Article Link: Du Plessis misses out on Open spot