Rory McIlroy's conqueror in the SA Open playoff yesterday shouldn't have been eligible to compete. Graeme Storm has been a regular on the European Tour since 2005.
He won the French Open in 2007 and he led the USPGA after one round that same year. Last year, he finished 112th in the European Tour Order of Merit.
He fell €100 short of the target needed for retaining his tour card. The Portugal Masters was the final tournament of 2016 in which it was possible for 'rank and file players' to retain their cards for the next season.
Storm bogeyed the 72nd hole and missed out.
He was condemned to a year slaving away on the Challenge Tour. But then a lifeline. The Turkish Airlines Open was due to be played in early November in the Antalya region. A week beforehand, a car bomb exploded outside the Antalya Chamber of Trade and Commerce. Ten people were injured but mercifully no one was killed.
It was enough to convince fist-pumping Texan Patrick Reed to give the event a miss. Currently ranked 8th in the world, Reed enjoyed membership of the European Tour. However, the rules stated that to retain his European Tour card, he had to play five counting events on the Tour outside of the major championships and World Golf Championships. By November, he'd only played the Scottish Open, the Olympics and, of course, the Ryder Cup.
Reed did play the final tournament of the year in Dubai but events in Turkey prevented him from playing the required five tournaments.
Storm was delighted.
I'm fully relieved. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster couple of weeks, and I was fully aware of the situation regarding Patrick Reed and the fact he hadn't quite played his numbers.
I was waiting to see if he had taken an invite to South Africa this week, but I got a call from the European Tour and it was a really nice phone call to take.
Yesterday, Storm beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff to win his second European Tour event, and his first in ten years. He now enjoys exemption on the tour until the end of 2018.
Even his competing rival was delighted for Storm.
Great playing @stormygraeme! What a great story after last year. Thanks to @TheBig_Easy and everyone in SA for making this week so special.
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) January 15, 2017
Golf is a funny old game, made up for my good pal @stormygraeme #winnerwinner
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) January 15, 2017
Here's the finale.
