DP World Tour: Dan Bradbury of England won the Joburg Open after shooting a four-under 67 in the final round. This is his first DP World Tour victory.
In spite of making a bogey on the 18th hole at the Houghton Golf Club, Bradbury, who became professional in July, maintained his composure to win by three strokes overall.
The 23-year-old attempted to secure a wire-to-wire victory while his mother watched by making three birdies on the front nine, at the first, third, and ninth holes.
Prior to his late fall, Bradbury scored additional birdies at the 13th and 16th on the back nine. Despite this, he comfortably maintained his lead over Sami Valimaki, who finished with a two-under 69.
The Finn started the round one strokes behind Bradbury, but he struggled to close the gap as he combined a bogey with two birdies on the front nine. He also tripped up at the last hole after making birdies at holes 14 and 15, when he holed a huge putt.
In his third DP World Tour event, Yorkshireman Bradbury, who was competing this week on a sponsor’s invitation, finished with a score of 21-under 263 after carding prior rounds of 63, 66, and 67.
He left Johannesburg with a spot in The Open the following year, a two-year exemption from the DP World Tour, and a payment for £136,465.
It won’t fully sink in for a few days, according to Bradbury. It just relieves a lot of burden off your shoulders, which is good.
“I just enjoyed it; there was a lot of good golf, and the entire week was fantastic.” I just played solid golf, drawing on my experiences from college, and I didn’t attempt to accomplish something I wasn’t capable of.
When asked how receiving a Joburg Open invitation affected him, Bradbury responded, “It means the world, I wouldn’t be standing here without it. Without it, I wouldn’t have a place to play this year. It has transformed my life. I hope to utilise it to its fullest.
“I wasn’t quite as nervous as I anticipated being. I was marginally worse before the round. The nerves subsided once we got rolling and got off to a good start.
Louis de Jager (67) placed sixth, while home favourites Christiaan Bezuidenhout (66) and Daniel van Tonder (68) finished four strokes behind.
Dale Whitnell of England tied for sixth place after shooting a six-under 65.
In addition to winning a spot at The Open at Royal Liverpool the following year, Valimaki also received consolation. Bezuidenhout took third place by virtue of having a higher world ranking than Van Tonder.
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