Brett Rumford wins World Super 6 Perth golf tournament
Brett Rumford prevailed on the final day of match play to win the World Super 6 Perth.
After a tumultuous couple of years Brett Rumford has got his full European Tour card back after winning the inaugrual World Super 6 Perth golf tournament at Lake Karrinyup today.
Western Australian Rumford has been playing on the European Tour on medical exemption after a couple of years of battling injury and illness. Rumford was almost forced to quit the game in 2015 after 30 centimetres of his small intestine was surgically removed after an apple caused to it become blocked.
“It’s great to be back. I’ve done a lot of reflection these past few months after missing my Tour card last year.” Rumford said. “I had a tough year and didn’t see my family that much, only four weeks in six months. It was a gruelling six months but I’m back and I couldn’t be happier.”
Rumford was leading by five strokes after three rounds, but it counted for nothing as 24 players played rounds of 6-hole matchplay to determine a winner on Sunday.
As one of the leading eight players, Rumford was afforded a bye in the opening round of matches and went on to beat Japan’s Hideto Tanihara 2&1, Wade Ormbsy after two holes of sudden-death and Adam Bland to set up the final against Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai.
Khongwatmai had only scraped through to the final day after beating out three other players including New Zealand’s Ryan Fox in a three-hole playoff on Saturday, but the 17-year-old is a future star of the game and played some fantastic golf to get himself into the final.
Rumford showed his experience to win the final. An opening birdie put the pressure on Khongwatmai and when Rumford hit his tee shot to four feet at the par-3 5th it would need something special from the teenage prodigy to get back in the match.
An errant tee shot found the short-side bunker and Khongwatmai tried to putt out to get it close to the hole. The ball ran up the lip and stayed in the bunker all but handing the match and the trophy to Rumford.
