Van Pelt claims victory in Perth
A dominant performance from American Bo Van Pelt has seen him win the inaugural ISPS HANDA Perth International with a tournament total of 16-under par.
Starting the final round with a one stroke lead Van Pelt was in control of the tournament throughout the day, posting a final round of 5-under the card to secure the win by two shots.
“It’s a great feeling to come out on top, I have a lot of respect for Jason and his game, he’s a world‑class player and I knew it was going to be tough today,” said Van Pelt.
“I knew he was going to keep the pressure on me, and I needed to play well if I was going to come out on top.”
Van Pelt was pleased to come away from his week in Perth with a win, his first this year.
“In golf, no matter how great of a player you are, you lose more than you win, even the best players of all time, they don’t win 50 percent,” said Van Pelt.
“Any time you get a win, it’s special; to come this far and to play against a great field, a co‑sanctioned European Tour event and PGA Tour of Australasia event, it’s something that I’ll cherish forever.”
“I’ve won a tournament in the States and I’ve won a tournament in Malaysia, and now to win one in Australia, as much as golf means over here, it means a lot to me to come to a country that treasures
golf and to win a title.”
Today’s win was particularly poignant for Van Pelt who dedicated it to his friend and PGA TOUR caddy, Scott Steele, who sadly passed away yesterday.
“It was tough news this morning, I found out off of Twitter, some of the other caddies and players that I follow,” said Van Pelt.
“I knew he had had a heart attack earlier in the week in a Champions Tour event and they didn’t know how he was going to come out of the coma, to see that he had passed on was tough news.”
“The best way to honour a guy like that was to have a great attitude and have a lot of energy, that’s how he lived his life. This one is for him.”
Van Pelt now heads to China where he will defend the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur.
World Number 10 Jason Dufner was the only player in the field to challenge Van Pelt but found each of his birdies was answered by the eventual champion.
“Bo played really good today, put a lot of pressure on me to make something happen and I couldn’t quite do it,” said Dufner.
“The par 5s are probably the difference on the back nine, probably the par 5s all day. I had a chance for eagle on 3 and we ended up tying the hole with a chip‑in on 4, and he makes a 20‑footer, we tie the hole.”
“So you do those things, little things here and there each day, which I did each day, you’re going to have a hard chance winning when someone plays as well as Bo did.”
Both Americans sung high praises for the PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour co-sanctioned ISPS HANDA Perth International and Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
“You know, the weather was fantastic, the people were great and I really enjoyed the golf course,” said Van Pelt.
“I’ll be spreading the word of what a great event this is and guys need to come and check it out.”
Greg Chalmers finished the leading Australian in 10th position at 7-under for the tournament and while disappointed he wasn’t able to make more of a run at the leaders he is looking forward to the rest of the Australian summer of golf.
“I’ve had a great week and really enjoyed all the local support and it’s been a really exciting week for me. I have not played professional golf here for so long and it’s been just fabulous,” said Chalmers.
“I was never going to win the golf tournament after about nine holes I figured out but I was in a good position to have a strong finish, top three or five and I blew it over the last couple of holes.”
“I’m going to play the Open and the PGA to defend what I won last year. I’ll be back and I’ll be playing. I come back every year and I enjoy it,” he added.
Portugal’s Alejandro Canizares finished the tournament well in outright third at 11-under the card.
A further two shots back was New Zealand’s Michael Hendry, who after leading at the conclusion of the first round finished the tournament outright 4th at 9-under par.
Rounding out the top five at 8-under the card was a group of five players including second round leader Emiliano Grillo, Englishmen Paul Casey and David Howell, Scotsman Scott Jamieson and Welshman Rhys Davies.
The PGA Tour of Australasia will stay in Perth for the John Hughes Geely / Nexus Risk Services WA Open Championship the last of the three tournament West Australian swing.
This tops off a super consistent year for Bo Van Pelt.
No surprise to see him win here as he’s been knocking on the door several times this year on the PGA tour.