It is part of the illustrious history of the Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship that this tournament changes lives. It shapes careers. It builds legends. It’s one of those enduring icons of South African professional golf.
On Sunday at St Francis Links, Deon Germishuys became a part of this great story.
With a final round of 69, Germishuys won South Africa’s second oldest professional golf tournament on 14 under par — one stroke clear of Samuel Simpson and Hennie du Plessis.
He earned the right to have his name engraved on a trophy alongside the names of Gary Player, Dale Hayes, John Bland, Corey Pavin, Ernie Els, David Frost, Nick Price, Louis Oosthuizen and many others.
But even more than this, he earned the right to keep doing what he does inside the ropes on the Sunshine Tour for his family and his new baby.
After playing his heart out on the DP World Tour but still coming short and losing his card there, he returned to home fairways with no playing privileges.
He was hoping for tournament invitations into some of the bigger tournaments. But then came this Sunday in one of South African golf’s most prestigious tournaments, and suddenly the fairways have opened up before him.
“This means a lot to me. I didn’t think I was ever going to win at this golf course. For some reason I never knew how to play it, but it seems like I figured it out now. With all the great names on this trophy, it’s really an honour,” Germishuys said.
With his young family looking on, he broke down in tears as he added: “It means a lot to have them here.”
Thousands of kilometres away, his father-in-law, James Kingston, sat in Cambodia at a Legends Tour event and was in tears. Kingston could not have wished for a better present for himself than to have his son-in-law claim such a significant victory on his 60th birthday.
Because Kingston knows what one week like this can mean.
In 2007, after nearly 20 years of trying, he claimed his first DP World Tour title in the South African Open. That Sunday he beat a field including Darren Clarke, Greg Norman and Ernie Els. When the win came, he too broke down in tears.
Decades later, Germishuys showed his own character to add his name to an illustrious trophy in South African golf. As Sundays go on the Sunshine Tour, this was indeed a memorable one for a family in golf.
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