South Africa’s Anton Haig has been named as The European Tour Golfer of the Month for March following a memorable few weeks which re-emphasised the diverse and cosmopolitan nature of The European Tour International Schedule.
The 20 year old from Johannesburg birdied the 72nd hole and also the first in a sudden-death play-off against another South African, Richard Sterne, and England’s Oliver Wilson to capture the Johnnie Walker Classic at Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, Thailand.
“To be named The European Tour Golfer of the Month is a fantastic honour for me,” he said. “With so many good players on The European Tour, to be part of it alone is something special and therefore to come out on top is even better. Hopefully this will be the first of many.”
Haig, clearly another South African star in the making, was one of six different nationalities currently in Membership of The European Tour who won titles during the month of March in worldwide competition.
China celebrated a second victory on The European Tour International Schedule when Liang Wen-chong claimed the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters at Laguna National Golf Club; Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat completed a pillar to post win in the TCL Classic at Yalong Bay Golf Club while Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik won the Madeira Islands Open BPI at Santo da Serra.
Fiji’s Vijay Singh claimed his 31st US PGA Tour win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, presented by MasterCard, while Adam Scott of Australia succeeded the following week at the Shell Houston Open.
To complete a remarkable four weeks, another 20 year old from another country – Spain’s Pablo Martin – triumphed against the odds in the Estoril Open de Portugal at Quinta da Marinha Oitavos Golfe. As an amateur, the Spaniard was not eligible to win the Award but received a deserving mention from the judging panel.
The Golfer of the Month Award is presented to a European Tour Member each month for his performance on The European Tour International Schedule and in worldwide competition. At the end of the year, the panel will select The European Tour Golfer of the Year. Winners so far in 2007 have been: Retief Goosen of South Africa (January) and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (February).
