Justin Walters came up short of his dual agenda at the Portugal Masters, falling one shot short of tying the winner Steven Brown, but he secured his card with a final lap of 5-under-par 32-34=66 to total 16-under 268 and finish T2 with Brandon Stone.
Another astonishing week at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura for the South African who entered it ranked 121st on the Race to Dubai and needing a big finish. He looked set for that after flying through 42 holes, but then made bogey at five holes in the last two-thirds of round three. Which makes what happened next all the more impressive. He ticked 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 17, only stumbling a little in squaring the 16th and 18th. “I left it all out there,” he said afterward. “Pity about the last but it’s a hard hole. If you’d given me that at the start of the week I’d have taken it. Yesterday I went through the hardest part and felt very vulnerable. I putted very well today. I seem to be pretty good at this ...” He then halted, overcome by emotion. He lost his mother ahead of saving his card at this tournament in 2013 and he lost his father earlier this season; a remarkable effort, therefore, and one to be proud of.