South African golfer Daniel van Tonder cracked the Top 100 in the world golf rankings after his thrilling win at the South African Open Championship at Sun City on Sunday.
Van Tonder secured his eighth Sunshine Tour title following a one-shot victory at the famed Gary Player Country Club.
The 30-year-old produced a magnificent final round of 65 and sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win on 16-under par, snaring the title from countryman Oliver Bekker by one shot.
“I’m very happy, this year has been long and hard. I’ve been grafting a lot, I love this place and although it was not co-sanctioned by the European Tour, the tournament still went on and [I’m] happy to win it,” Van Tonder told reporters on Sunday.
“I’ve been behind before and I’m not a bad player, I feel I can catch anyone. The only thing that was going through my mind was making the putt and giving it a chance. If it misses, it’s missed. You just need to go for it.”
The win was Van Tonder’s second title of the year after his European Tour triumph at the Kenya Savannah Classic in Nairobi in March.
He pocketed a cool R1 278 303 for his triumph at Sun City and it also saw him move to fourth on the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit standings.
In the official world golf rankings, Van Tonder jumped up a whopping 72 places – from 151st to 79th.
Nine-time major champion Gary Player hailed Van Tonder on his “clutch” victory, stating, “I’m thrilled for you“.
Meanwhile, Bekker, who led the majority of the tournament, finished second after a closing 66 saw him pocket R887 150 for his efforts.
‘Hard work pays off’ for SA’s Daniel van Tonder after stunning European Tour win
South African golfer Daniel van Tonder secured his maiden European Tour title at the Kenya Savannah Classic, crediting the Sunshine Tour for his success thus far. Golf
Bekker also moved up 95 places to sit 164th on the world golf rankings.
Hennie du Plessis finished third on 12-under and earned R598 423, while Dean Burmester finished his year off with a fourth-place finish as he took home R395 992 for his 11-under at Sun City.
SA Open leaderboard prize fund breakdown:
1st – Daniel van Tonder – R1 278 303
2nd – Oliver Bekker – R887 150
3rd – Hennie du Plessis – R598 423
4th – Dean Burmester – R395 992
5th – CJ du Plessis – R333 085
6th – Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Rupert Kaminski, Neil Schietekat, Justin Harding – R224 005
10th – Jacques Blaauw, Hennie O’Kennedy, Bryce Easton, Jovan Rebula – R140 533
Source: News24
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