Responding to the pressure of seeing his lead shrink to a single stroke after 54 holes, South Africa’s Branden Grace responded in kind on Sunday, firing a 4-under 68 to finish 20-under, winning the tournament by seven strokes.
After struggling to a par 72 on Saturday with four bogeys, he cut that total in half and racked up six birdies to take command.
Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard, who moved within one stroke of the lead on Saturday, fell off the face of the planet on Sunday, with a nightmarish 17-over 89 to fall from second to tied for 49th.
Bjerregard was at even par through six holes, then triple bogeyed No. 7 and bogeyed No. 8 to hit the turn 4-over. That was just the tip of the iceberg, he doubled 10, hit a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 No. 11, and was a terrifying 13-over on the back nine.
The victory was Grace’s first since he racked up four during the 2012 season. The win jumped the 117th-ranked Grace up to No. 6 in the early standings of the Race to Dubai.
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen rose up to finish second with a 3-under 69 to finish at 13-under. Had it not been for his rough start – two bogeys in his first three holes – he might have been able to push Grace a bit.
Two-time defending champion Charl Schwartzel rebounded from his 4-over 76 on Saturday to fire a 70, closing the tournament tied for 26th place.
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