The tournament might not have panned out exactly as hoped, but five magical minutes at the Alfred Dunhill Championship has given Deyen Lawson an unexpected Christmas bonus.
The Geelong professional, playing his fourth European Tour event on the bounce after earning his card at Q-School in November, finished in a share of 47th in the final leg of the South African swing before the tour takes a month’s break.
Lawson, had stumbled through the early stages of the final round at the Leopard Creek Country Club, falling from his overnight position of T60 with four bogeys through 10 holes.
But even birdies on the 11th and 14th holes weren’t a sign of what was to come.
An eagle on the par-five 15th put him back to even par for the day in one fell swoop, but with an 8-iron from 152m on the par-three 16th, his day went to an entirely new level.
The former Curlewis trainee landed his tee shot about 4m shy of its target, but it never deviated from the back right pin and trickled in for his first hole-in-one as a European Tour pro.
And, capping a memorable year for Lawson, whether he keeps it or sells it, he won a car that will be valued at in excess of $200,000 when BMW releases in Australia its 8-Series range at some point next year.
It certainly puts the 7500 Euros he made for his one-over total in the shade.