Clark wins South African Open

REUTERS STATS REVIEW FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS OPEN - 20-23 JANUARY

Local boy Tim Clark's six-shot victory for his second South African Airways Open title was built on the back of an impressive display of all-round skills and course know-how.

Clark, 29, who also won in 2002, was born and raised not far from the course and won Natal junior titles there before embarking on his successful pro career.

That local knowledge again came to the fore with a near-flawless performance over the four days for a 15-under-par 273 tally (68-71-68-66), to leave him way out of sight of the field led by Frenchman Gregory Havret and fellow South African Charl Schwartzel.

Clark's victory on Sunday was even more impressive than his success here three years ago.

As ever on this treacherous course, accuracy was the vital commodity and Clark ranked second in the overall Reuters Stats in this department, finding 56 out of 72 greens in regulation during the week (77.8%).

CLARK'S STATS Greens in regulation: 77.8% (position 2nd) Fairways in reg. 57.1% (7th) Driving distance: 281.6 yards (23rd) Putts per round: 28.2

Only eighth-placed Frenchman Gregory Bourdy bettered that, reaching 58 greens in regulation (80.6%).

Even when Clark's radar was slightly out, he made up for his misses with some gutsy scrambling.

The Stats showed that of those 16 greens missed in regulation during the week, he managed to get up and down for par on all but three occasions.

Additionally, he had five sand saves from six visits to bunkers during the event to ensure he conceded just three bogeys, which came on the first and second rounds.

Two of those, including a double-bogey six, were given up on the par-four 460-yard fifth but he grabbed revenge on the hole with a pair of birdies on the final two days. He had 19 birdies in all.

Like most of the field, Clark struggled somewhat to find the fairways at Durban, hitting 32 out of 56 over the tournament (57.1%), a return nevertheless good enough to rank him seventh in this category in the Reuters Stats.

But it was his putting which closed the deal for the �80,492 first-prize cheque.

He averaged a tidy 28.2 putts per round, one-putting 31 times and two-putting 42 greens. He did not three-putt once.

Clark is no big hitter - he rated just 23rd in the Stats for driving distance with an average of 281.6 yards - but when his all-round game is in this kind of nick, lack of yards off the tee rarely leads to a lack of Rand for him come pay day.