Another South African gets his US PGA tour card

Dawie van der Walt will compete on the PGA Tour in 2016, a feat he achieved by finishing third on the Web.com Tour’s Money List this season.

The two-time European Tour winner, who also claimed the 2013 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, wrapped up a stellar season on the American feeder tour with a share of 26^th at the Portland Open last week.

While his result at the weekend was nothing to write home about, he had produced the goods earlier in the year, firstly with a victory at the season-opening Chile Classic in March.

That week Van der Walt carded rounds of 64, 66, 68, 65 to clinch his maiden title on the Web.com Tour and then backed up the result with a share of ninth at the Louisiana Open a week later, solidifying his status as a contender on tour.

He continued to add good results over the next three months, including a share of sixth at the Air Capital Classic in June, but needed something big to secure his spot in the top 25 on the earnings list.

His day would come at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in August, where he finished the week on 23-under-par and sealed his second win of the year.

The victory placed Van Der Walt firmly within the top five on the Web.com Tour Money List and effectively guaranteed his playing privileges for the PGA Tour.

Over the last fortnight he has added two further top 30 results to end the season in third place on the Money List, so expect to see Van Der Walt on the PGA Tour next year.

He took to social media to express his happiness.

“All the travel bags, hotels, and seemingly endless lonely nights on the road, when all you want to do is hold the people you are playing for, wash away on days like these. Today I fulfilled a dream and got my PGA Tour card. Missed birthdays, weddings, and years of sweat, struggle, and sacrifice went into reaching this goal. Thank you to all my friends and family, and most of all my girls BJ, Allie, and Mia for supporting me – I couldn’t have done it without you,” he wrote on Facebook.