Branden Grace survived a merdiocre final round to secure victory in the Joburg Open, his first European Tour title.
The 23-year-old European Q-School graduate finished with a 17-under total, one shot better than Jamie Elson, who almost snatched a first victory with a 30 foot eagle putt at the 18th.
The 30-year-old sunk six birdies in his first eight holes, and signed for a best-of the-day 63.
Luckily for Grace none of the players in the leading groups managed to make a significant move up the leaderboard allowing him to secure victory with 16 pars, a bogey and a solitary birdie.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Grace. “It’s nice to win in front of a home crowd and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything else.
“It was pretty tough out there today. I played really nicely, I hit the ball superb I think, and the putter was just cold – I couldn’t get the speed of the greens going today. Fortunately at the end of the day it was enough.
“I think there was one big key today, Zack [Rasego] on the bag kept me calm throughout the whole day so big thanks to him.”
