Westlake, Louisiana - There must be something in the cajun food that Dawie Van Der Walt (Cape Town, South Africa) enjoys.  In took four playoff holes, but he is your champion at the 2011 Souhwest Louisiana Lions Club Open.  This is his second title at this event, and his third victory in Louisiana over the last three years on the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series.

Van Der Walt started the day three shots back.  He opened his round with a birdie on the par 5 hole #1 and finished with a birdie on the par 4 hole #18.  This helped capitalize on a bogey-free round which included a total of six birdies and a score of 6-under-par 66.

Watching the on-course leaderboards late in his round,  Van Der Walt knew he needed to finish strong to keep pace with then leader Travis Woolf (Fort Worth, TX).  He was one shot behind coming into the par 5 hole #17.  He was able to reach it in two shots, but took three putts and finished with par.  On the final hole, he took advantage of a good tee shot and hit his approach to within 8 feet of the hole.  He would make the birdie putt to finish in a tie for first place at 13-under-par.  However, he needed to wait for co-leader Woolf to finish to see where they stood.

Woolf was in the group behind Van Der Walt all day.  If there was one shot that Woolf could take back it would be any of his four putts on the par 4 hole #9.  He started the round just one shot back, but quickly made-up ground with birdies on holes #1 and #2.  He went on to birdie the difficult par 3 hole #5, and added two more birdies at holes #7 and #8.  Then came hole #9.  After hitting the left-side of the green in two shots, he left himself a long, delicate putt up a hill and back down the slope to the hole.  It ended with Woolf needing four putts to hole out and he finished with a double-bogey.  Even though he still held the lead through nine holes, he failed to capitalize on some opportunities on the back nine to expand his lead.  He shot 1-under-par on the back nine, but could not make birdie on the reachable par 5 hole #17 coming in.  He would make par on his final hole and finished in a tie with Van Der Walt at 13-under-par.

The playoff started on the par 4 hole #18 where both players made par.  They replayed #18 only to tie again with par.  The third playoff hole was moved to the difficult par 4 hole #16.  Van Der Walt found the green in two, while Woolf found the front, greenside bunker.  Woolf made a great third shot to within 5 feet of the hole, and made a clutch putt to tie Van Der Walt with par.  The final playoff hole was the par 5 hole #17.  Woolf hit a poor tee shot and his ball found a group of pine trees on the right side.  He did not have a clear path to the green and elected to hit a low punch shot to within 125 yards.  Meanwhile, Van Der Walt found the middle of the fairway off the tee, which put himself in position to reach the green in two shots.  His second shot ended within 25 feet of the hole and a chance for eagle.  Woolf's third shot was good, but not good enough.  He left himself a 20 foot putt for birdie, but barely missed by inches on the high side.  Van Der Walt took two putts to finish with birdie and seal the victory.

Dustin Risdon (Strathmore, Alberta Canada) is no stranger to being atop the leaderboard.  He played on the Nationwide Tour in 2009 and 2010, and has won three times on the Canadian Tour.  He finished the final two days with rounds of 67-67, an overall score of 12-under-par and alone in third place.

Third round leader Steve Saunders (Albuquerque, NM) started in the wrong direction after shooting 2-over-par on the front nine.  He was able to make three birdies on the back nine, but it was not enough and he finished alone in fourth place at 11-under-par.

Zack Reeves (Arlington, TX) continued his steady play.  After finishing in a tie for seventh at last week's Coca-Cola Walmart Open, he shot a 4-under-par 68 to finish in sole position of fifth place.

The Southwest Louisiana Lions Club Open is hosted at The National Golf Club of Louisiana in Westlake, Louisiana.  The tournament is in it's third year and helps benefit the Crippled Children's Camp and I-Foundation associated with the Lake Charles Elite Lions Club.

Dawie Van Der Walt                 71-71-67-66--275    $10,100.00
Travis Woolf                               69-70-68-68--275    $5,700.00
Dustin Risdon                           71-71-67-67--276    $4,410.00
Steve Saunders                        70-71-65-71--277    $3,800.00
Zack Reeves                             70-70-70-68--278    $3,265.00

Purse = $67,300

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