Westwood back in winner’s circle after rivals collapse
SUN CITY: Former world No.1 Lee Westwood snatched his first European Tour title in over four years by overhauling Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen with a superb eight-under-par 64 in the final round to win a third Nedbank Golf Challenge on Sunday.
The 45-year-old Englishman finished the event on 15-under par, three strokes clear of overnight leader Garcia, to claim his first win on either of the two major tours since the Malaysian Open in 2014.
“That is what sport is all about,” said Westwood, who took his career Sun City winnings past US$5 million after becoming the oldest champion at the tournament with his third title at the venue.
“It was great to win again after four years, and at 45 years old you are never sure if you will taste victory again and you don’t know how long you will go on.
“But today showed I have still got it mentally, it was a great performance. I put the pressure on, they had to try and make birdies and they ended up making mistakes.”
It was a tight three-way battle with Garcia, Oosthuizen and Westwood tied for the lead at 12-under as the final three-ball finished the 12th hole.
But South African Oosthuizen made a costly bogey on the 15th hole as Westwood, who had his girlfriend Helen Storey caddying for him, closed out a stunning eight-under round. “Under pressure, I was able to turn the screw on my opponents,” Westwood said.
LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES
(par-72)
273 — Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-69-69-64
276 — Sergio Garcia (ESP) 64-71-71-70
277 — Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 69-67-72-69
280 — Ross Fisher (ENG) 71-72-67-70
281 — Li Haotong (CHN) 71-70-75-65, Matt Wallace (ENG) 69-72-73-67