Branden Grace secured his first victory on the PGA Tour as Luke Donald came up short once again in the RBC Heritage in South Carolina.
Donald, who already had three second-place finishes at Harbour Town to his name before this weekend, took a one-shot lead into the final day but carded a 71 to finish joint runner-up alongside Scotland’s Russell Knox on seven under par.
The Englishman has struggled this season, managing only one top-25 finish and missing out on the Masters after dropping to 92nd in the rankings, and his inability to make headway allowed Grace to take full advantage.
Grace, who had an impressive 2015 by placing third at the PGA Championship and tied fourth at the US Open, posted a near-perfect 66 to finish nine under par and win by two shots.
Grace, who finished tied seventh in last year’s RBC Heritage, told Sky Sports: “This is pretty much where my year kicked off last year, this put me on the map a little and I was really happy to get back.
“I like the type of golf you have to play at this place and it has worked this week.”
Donald, who has now made six top-three finishes since 2009 in this event, had kept his cool despite mounting pressure around him to par each of the first six holes.
The Englishman holed a 25-foot birdie on the seventh before an errant tee shot on the eighth cost him a shot.
The former world number one then birdied the ninth and bogeyed the 10th but his failure to pick up a shot on the back nine proved costly.
Grace, who had made the turn at four under for the day, continued his charge on the back nine.
Having already posted five birdies and a bogey on the front nine, the South African then birdied the 12th and 13th to move three shots clear of Donald and four of Knox at 10 under par.
An equally impressive couple of pars on the 14th and 16th holes cemented Grace’s lead still further and, despite a bogey on the 17th, he went on to claim the title.
Grace added: “I knew I was in there with a chance after a couple of nice putts on the back nine. I just had to stay patient and grind it and that’s what I managed to do.”
Knox had briefly forced his way into a three-way share of the lead with four birdies on the front nine but a bogey on the 12th left him with too much to do.
He did, however, pull a shot back on the 16th and sunk a superb par putt on the 17th to finish the tournament at seven under, level with Donald.
Knox said: “I played great all day, and made some nice putts at the end. I was happy with the way I conducted myself and the shots over the last few holes.”
Bryson DeChambeau, in his first tournament as a professional, tied for fourth with fellow American Kevin Na on five under while world number one Jason Day recovered from a third-round collapse to finish one under for the tournament in a tie for 23rd.
