South African claims sixth European Tour victory.
Richard Sterne’s closing round of 64 secured a seven-shot victory in the Joburg Open as he claimed the sixth European Tour success of his career.
Sharing the overnight lead with fellow South African Trevor Fisher Jnr, Sterne produced a stunning eight-under par final round to surge clear of the field at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
Runner-up to Stephen Gallagher in Dubai seven days earlier, Sterne went one better in Johannesburg as he triumphed by seven shots from compatriot Charl Schwartzel in a tournament record total of 27-under par.
A final round 64 from Portugal’s Ricardo Santos earned him a share of third place along with South African Goerge Coetzee and Chilean Felipe Aguilar, while Fisher Jnr closing one-over par 73 saw him drop to tied sixth overall.
The victory put Sterne top of the Race To Dubai standings and he will be in the world’s top-60 when the new rankings are released on Monday, given him a chance of competing in all of this year’s majors.
“I’d like to get back into all the Majors – that’s where I want to be playing,” Sterne told the European Tour’s website. “It’s a big year. I’ve got off to such a nice start so hopefully I can keep it going. I played really good golf today and the whole week really. That was probably the best final round of my career. It was quite special to finish the way I did.”
COMMENTS