Stone wins Alfred Dunhill tournament
The 23-year-old from Rustenburg records second European Tour win
Brandon Stone cruised to victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Sunday as fellow South African and defending champion Charl Schwartzel faded on the back nine. Richard Sterne came second.
Brandon Stone cruised to a seven-shot victory on Sunday in the Alfred Dunhill Championship as fellow South African and defending champion Charl Schwartzel faded dramatically on the back nine.
Leading by three strokes going into the final round at Leopard Creek Country Club in Mpumalanga, Stone carded a final-round 67, five under par.
He finished on 266 after earlier rounds of 67, 66 and 66 over the 7,287-yard course carved out of bush and bordering on the Kruger National Park.
Pretournament favourite Schwartzel, seeking a fifth Dunhill title, trailed Stone by only two shots halfway through a final round staged in scorching 37°C heat.
But a bogey six at 13 triggered a collapse and the former US Masters champion carded a two-over 74 for a share of fourth, nine strokes behind Stone.
South African Richard Sterne came second on 273 after finishing with a 67 and Belgian Thomas Detry fired a 68 to come third.
Thomas Aiken (69) of SA, Benjamin Hebert (72) of France, Scott Jamieson (69) of Scotland, Carlos Pigem (69) of Spain and Graeme Storm (68) of England shared fourth place with Schwartzel.
It was the second European Tour triumph for Stone, a 23year-old born in the northwestern mining town Rustenburg, after winning the South African Open last January.
“I felt relaxed and calm throughout the final round and knew Charl was having problems ahead of me on the back nine,” he told reporters.
“My front nine was solid, bar one slip, and my second nine much better. I won convincingly in the end, but it was not that easy. I have been working hard on my driving and putting and some tips I took on board paid off this week.”
Success for Stone was a welcome relief after poor recent European Tour form as he finished outside the top 50 in his previous five appearances.
Fears that he would buckle under final-round pressure from 11-time European Tour winner Schwartzel never materialised.
But the destiny of first prize hung in the balance halfway through the closing round as Stone had a one-under outward nine of 34 while Schwartzel reached the turn in 33 shots.
STERNE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE SCHWARTZEL IMPLOSION TO FINISH RUNNER-UP
The par-five 13th proved decisive as Schwartzel saw his second shot land in a bunker and he three-putted for a six.
Soon after, Stone birdied the same hole after reaching the green in two and a three-shot advantage over Schwartzel grew to five.
Stone had five birdies on his second nine and only one bogey while Schwartzel had two birdies, a bogey, a double bogey and a triple bogey for a horror inward nine of 41.
Sterne, seven shots off the pace going into the final round, took advantage of the Schwartzel implosion to finish runner-up. He birdied two holes going out and three coming back in a faultless round on a final day that began early to dodge the threat of midafternoon thunderstorms./