CHARL SCHWARTZEL claimed his fourth European Tour title after a final-round 67 was good enough to help him secure the Africa Open title in East London yesterday.
The South African, the highest ranked player in the field at 66 and one of the favourites heading into the tournament, finished on 272, 20 under par, to edge out co-overnight leader Thomas Aiken by a stroke.
Aiken, who shared the lead with Trevor Fisher Jr, failed to reproduce the promising form he showed earlier in the week, which included a pair of 67s and a 69, and had to settle for a 70.
Possibly his most decisive moment came on the par-four fifth hole, which he double bogeyed to slip back.
Another South African, Jbe’ Kruger, finished in third on 18 under after a 70, while Fisher Jr’s 72 – the worst among the leaders – dropped him into a share of fourth with Chris Swanepoel and the two highest placed foreigners in the field, England’s James Morrison and Rick Kulacz from Australia.
The quartet finished on 275, while Branden Grace ended with an emphatic round-of-the-day 66 to tie for eighth on 16 under with five other players.
Richard Sterne, another of the pre-competition favourites alongside the eventual winner, tried his best to revive his chances with a determined, bogey-free 67, but it was only enough to get him to 15 under.
Darren Clarke’s three-under round enabled him to finish three shots further back on 12 under par for a 280 total.
The Dungannon man had six birdies on the day, but also dropped three shots. He earned €8,500.
The other Irishman to make the cut, Michael Hoey, mixed three birdies with three bogeys to finish tied for 55th on seven under.
That was worth €3,400.
But the day belonged to Schwartzel, despite having to endure a nerve-racking wait as he watched the leading two groups finish their rounds.
The 25-year-old, whose previous wins came at the 2005 Alfred Dunhill Championship, the 2007 Open de Espana and the 2008 Madrid Masters, could have all-but sealed the title with a par on the last, having not dropped a shot over his previous 17 holes.
But his bogey allowed an opening for the chasing Aiken, but the third-round leader missed a 15-foot putt for birdie that would have forced a play-off.
“Obviously I played so good all day, I pretty much didn’t miss a shot and then down on 18 I just came out of it,” Schwartzel said. “It was not quite what I was looking for and I put a little pressure on myself there to make five at the end.
“I said to my caddie, Wynand (Stander), after I hit my second shot short right, ‘we’re still two ahead, so let’s make five and let them make the birdie’, and it worked out in my favour.”
