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Murless triumphs in play-off to win Mount Edgecombe Trophy

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UMHLANGA, 2 March 2008 – The final round of the Mount Edgecombe Trophy, sponsored by Investec Private Bank, was a little more work than he expected, but the result was the one Mark Murless had been dreaming of all or summer…

After so many near-misses, he finally left the post-tournament celebrations with a gleaming glass trophy and a cheque; all his to take home.

Considering that he achieved a five-under-par 67 with a cracked driver, it’s little wonder that Murless himself was a little surprised at the outcome.

“I wasn’t really expecting anything today,” said Murless, who now owns four titles on the Sunshine Tour, the latter coming just three months after his Nedbank Affinity Cup triumph in November.

“I was hoping for a good round and maybe a top-5 or top-4 finish. Playing with a cracked driver that was going everywhere, but where I was aiming, was a bit of a challenge.

“After the disappointments of the summer, of not being able to pull it through, this is truly a great feeling.”

What ended as a play-off between Murless and Darren Fichardt, actually started as a two-horse race between Fichardt and Adilson da Silva, the joint overnight leaders, with Murless five-shots back and playing two groups ahead.

But while the front-runners agonised over frozen putters, the popular Blue Valley pro launched a silent attack on the leaderboard.

Murless reduced the gap dramatically with four birdies on the front nine to give himself a shot at the title.

“After my tee-shot at the third, I realised something was very wrong. I had been hitting the driver poorly for two days, but this time the ball went nowhere near where I aimed. I checked the driver and saw that the graphite was cracked at the back of the head.

“Nothing for it but to carry on. In a sense it helped, because it took the stress off knowing it wasn’t me hitting the ball so badly. When we got to the 10^th, I realised I had a shot at the title,” said Murless.

In fact, the 32-year old Joburg pro had pulled one shot ahead of Fichardt at the turn and was one behind Da Silva, who wiped out an early birdie with a two-putt bogey at the ninth.

After birdies at the 11th, 14th and 16th, Murless was in the driving seat - the outright leader at 15-under - with a par-5 and par-3 to come.

Meanwhile Fichardt found some much-needed pace and got it back to 13-under with back-to-back birdies at the 13^th and 14^th, but Da Silva’s tee-shot at the par-5 14^th went out of bounds and he signed for a brutal seven.

The Brazilian’s title hopes further diminished after another three-putt bogey at the 15^th.

After a near miss for birdie at the 15^th, Fichardt hit a good tee-shot and an excellent approach into the 16^th green, but his ball stopped short, resting on the first cut. Unable to clean the ball, he putted but the ball did a quick 90-degree detour and Fichardt did well to clean up for a bogey from 18-foot.

Murless raced his tee-shot at the 17^th, found the hazard, but managed to up-and-down for six.

At the 18^th, he hit it to the safe side of the green, leaving himself a monster putt for birdie to catch up to Fichardt.

“I left it way right, about 25-meters from the pin. The hole was cut behind the water and we had 215m to the flag. I hit a terrible pull on the putt, started it way off line and never caught the break.

“Final hole and I lose concentration. I think, with Darren one-up behind me, I didn’t think I was in it any more. I went to have a shower, next thing the officials are yelling at me to come back for a play-off.”

But Fichardt found a similar spot on the green. Unlike Murless, Fichardt hit it online but left the par-putt on the edge of the hole – story of his day.

After regulation play, both Murless and Fichardt both pushed their tee-shots way right, with Fichardt finishing about 8-feet inside of Murless, who was just inside the fringe at the outer edge of the green.

This time Murly made no mistake, read the break and got the pace perfect to have his ball stop dead one foot below the hole. Fichardt, again, lagged his short, facing another impossible 12-footer with a frozen putter in his hand. Again, he left the putt short

His tap in was almost for record purposes and propriety’s sake only, because Murless knew, this time the trophy was his.

“I knew hitting that putt, that it would be good. It was a great feeling standing over a one-footer for a victory, I can tell you that.

So, Murless was the proverbial third dog that ran away with the spoils.

Fichardt finished alone in second on 13-under with a grinding 74, while Jaco van Zyl (72), Trevor Fisher JNR (69) and Michiel Bothma, who matched Murly’s 67, all shared third on 10-under.

“This is an awesome tournament. It’s one of our most favourite stops all year and to win at possibly the best Estate Course and on one of the best original designs in the country….. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the summer.”

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