Marcus

Kinhult

The 25-year-old Kinhult, who won the 2019 British Masters for his lone DPWT victory, carded a 1-under 71 in the final round at Doha Golf Club and ended at 5-under 283, tying for T-3 with Poland’s Adrian Meronk. Meronk had held a share of the 54-hole lead before ballooning to a 3-over 75 on Sunday. Kinhult has made four cuts in five starts this season, placing T-8 in his last start – at the Magical Kenya Open. His last top 10 came nearly two years ago at the Scottish Open (T-6) and his last podium came in 2019, when he lost in a playoff to Tommy Fleetwood at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Regular-season DPWT action will break until after the Masters (April 7-10) and will resume with the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain, April 21-24.

That’s just one swing back from leader Andy Sullivan. A couple of things stand out on Kinhult’s scorecard at Education City Golf Club today. First, he had three deuces, those birdies coming at 12, 15 and 4. Secondly, he posted a first eagle of the week, taking just three swishes on the par-5 2nd hole after a birdie at 1. His other gains came at 10 and 14 while he dropped shots at 16 and 8 having started his day at No. 10. Kinhult finished runner-up at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on his penultimate start of 2019 but has been slow out of the blocks in 2020 with MC-56-69 in Dubai, Saudi and the WGC-Mexico. After rounds of 68-65 so far here, he’ll hope his season is now fully up and running.

The Swede is a fine player, but he’ll be a tricky one for many to judge this week because after ending 2019 in highly consistent form (five consecutive top 20s, only twice failing to better par in that stretch), he has opened 2020 in somewhat volatile results. He missed the cut in the Dubai Desert Classic and a week later in the Saudi International he opened 67-68 and ended with a 69, but threw a 78 into the mix on Saturday. However he was ill in Abu Dhabi and perhaps that explains the up-and-down efforts. The numbers don’t suggest he is a straight driver, but he told Rotoworld ahead of the 2018 season that he likes a tough test from the tee.

The Swede made the top 20 at Royal Greens G&CC last year and he looks set to give it a good shot at making it back-to-back quality efforts as he heads into the weekend on 5-under 135 and tied for fourth in the live scoring, albeit early on Friday. His first nine (the back) was a sluggish affair with eight pars and a bogey-6 at the 18th, but he was refreshed at the turn and ticked the first, fourth and seventh to lift himself ten spots on the leaderboard (at least temporarily). The 23-year-old had opened the season with an early withdrawal in Abu Dhabi (before play started) and a missed cut in Dubai, having ended the 2019 season with five consecutive top 20s.

The Swede had missed two cuts in the fortnight before he arrived here 12 months ago, but brushed that away to post T18 with three rounds of 67 and a 71 on Friday. Oddly he followed with another four missed cuts and then won the British Masters! Interestingly he was solid enough but nothing special in traditional putting stats on that course debut, but he ranked fourth for SG Putting (7.617) when many found the greens tricky. This Desert Swing he had to withdrew in Abu Dhabi with illness and missed the cut in Dubai carding 75-74.

That’s seven back from leader Mike Lorenzo-Vera. A runner-up in South Africa last week, the Swede opened with a 68 in round one but, like everyone today, found the conditions tougher as the wind kicked up. It affected him early and he walked to the 8th tee at +2 for the day after bogeys at the par-5 2nd and par-4 5th. However, back-to-back circles at 8 and 9 balanced the books for the 23-year-old and he made further progress by splashing red at 13 and 15. There was a late sting as he took five swishes on the tough par-3 17th but at least he responded with a walk-off birdie to break par for the day. He started the week at 13th on the Race to Dubai and is now projected to finish 12th.

The Swede’s hinted at hot form when compiling three consecutive top 20s ahead of last week, but his runner-up effort there, only foiled by a charging Tommy Fleetwood, and this lap confirm the quality. He’ll find himself inside the top ten at round’s end – he was T6 when signing his card, five swings back of the pace-setter Mike Lorenzo-Vera – and that’s not a new position for him; he was T10 after an opening 69 12 months ago prior to recording T22 in his tournament debut. The 23-year-old’s circuit was an up-and-down affair. Initially he flew with birdie braces at the first and second, then seventh and eighth. Three errors followed, at the ninth, 12th and 16th, somewhat atoned by more birdies at the tenth and 12th, before he signed off with a birdie-4 at the last.

Anguish but also pride for the Swede who wins his largest-ever pay check and will exit Sun City proud of his Sunday display. He started like a train with birdies at the first, second and third, then added another at the sixth. There was a bogey at the seventh but he was bang in-contention and coping well. He drained a birdie putt from off the green at the 15th to tie the lead and then parred his way home in some style, his second shot to the 17th green from rough especially impressive. But an errant drive on the extra hole led to a losing bogey, although he holed with ice cool nerve from 6'0" to push Fleetwood. He’s had five top 20s since his win in May but this was the first top ten. He’s made genuine progress this year.

The Swede was struggling closing in on the turn having opened his campaign with a pair of 69s. He made bogeys at the first, fourth and sixth and he would have been surprised to learn he would end the day ready to play in Sunday’s penultimate group. But he found form and quickly. Initially he made birdies at the ninth and tenth, he added a third birdie of the week at the 14th and then closed with back-to-back gains at the 17th and 18th. He’s looking for a second title of the season, after the British Masters win at Hillside. He’ll also be relieved that he bettered his Saturday lap of 83 last year. He’ll start the final round three swings back of Zander Lombard’s lead.

This has already been quite a contrast with the Swede’s debut at the Gary Player CC in Sun City some 12 months ago. On that occasion he carded a pair of 74s to lie T52nd, but after a couple of 69s he finds himself in a much healthier T4 on the live leaderboard nearing the end of play on Friday. On both nines he experienced set-backs, but he poured out the birdies too. There were three red numbers on the front nine (at the second, sixth and ninth) and two coming back (at the tenth and 14th). The errors came at the seventh and 18th holes, on the latter he found early trouble, failed to drop a 25’0" look at par and had to drain a nasty 4’0" for bogey. He will hope the contrast with last year continues because then he carded 83-72 at the weekend.