WILTSHIRE pro Steve Surry was just four shots away from winning his first South African Sunshine Tour tournament at the Vodacom Origins of Golf event played on the St Francis Links, Port Elizabeth last week.

Surry led after the opening round with a brilliant 64 and continued with a 73 and 70 to finish on a nine-under-par total of 207 and a share of third place behind the winner Doug McGuigan.

McGuigan came from off the pace to snatch the prize with a final round of 66.

Surry had finished 15th on the first Sunshine Tour event of his latest spell in South Africa the previous week. Another Englishman Scott Campbell shared third prize with Cumberwell Park GC-based Surry, who is coached by South Cerney pro Tom Motley.

Surry spoke about how his eight-under par opening round could have been even better.

“I got a bit excited about trying to get to 10-under (62) and I hit my first putt on the 18th hole four feet by,” he said. “I just missed the one coming back, which was a bit of a shame, but it was a good round of golf.”

Surry is a regular on the Sunshine Tour, and his best finish was a share of second in the 2015 Lion of Africa Cape Town Open.

“I was just quite solid today, really," he said. "I didn’t hit many bad shots and holed a few putts. It was just one of those days where everything went well.”

Surry had travelled to South Africa at the top of his game having finished fourth in the Jessie May Trust World Snooker Golf Championship on the PGA Europro Tour with a 11-under par total of 205.

He also won the Pro-am at the Jessie May tournament with a 66.