Charl Schwartzel clinched back-to-back European Tour wins after romping to a six-stroke victory at the Joburg Open on Sunday.
South African secures consecutive European Tour wins
Charl Schwartzel clinched back-to-back European Tour wins after romping to a six-stroke victory at the Joburg Open on Sunday.
Following on from his triumph at the Africa Open in East London last week, the South African notched up another success on home soil as he posted a final round of 66 to cement his position as the early leader of the 2010 Race to Dubai standings.
The 25-year-old eventually finished on a winning total of 23-under-par, well clear of compatriot Keith Horne and Darren Clarke who shared second.
Clarke produced a superb chip-in for eagle at the par-five 18th to tie Horne who had earlier fired a best-of-the-day 64 to gallop up the leaderboard.
Englishman Danny Willett shared fourth on 14-under-par alongside another South African, James Kamte, after both shot matching rounds of 68.
But the day was all about Schwartzel who cut a composed and serene figure to close out the fifth European Tour victory of his blossoming career.
The 25-year-old started his round with a four-stroke lead and had to endure some early pressure from Clarke who had halved the deficit by the time they headed for the fifth tee.
With Schwartzel having dropped a shot at the 527-yard par-four third, Clarke managed to drain a lengthy putt to escape with his par and then birdied the next to move within two.
But that was as close as his challengers got with the momentum swinging decisively back towards Schwartzel at the sixth when the South African holed from 25 feet for birdie before watching Clarke miss from six feet for a birdie of his own.
Flawless golf
With the lead back to three, Schwartzel then pulled clear with some flawless golf, picking up further shots at the eighth and tenth.
Indeed, the tournament was as good as over by the 14th when the leader's approach landed at the back of the green and spun back to within a foot of the flag allowing him to tap in and move six clear with just four to play.
In the event he crossed the finishing line in style with birdies at both 17 and 18 to ensure that he had played his last eight rounds in a quite staggering 43-under-par total.
"It's been two fantastic weeks for me," he told
Sky Sports. "I played really good golf last week and carried it on this week.
"I played more or less flawless golf this week, just three bogeys in four rounds is always going to see you go close!"
Having started the week at 51st in the world rankings, Schwartzel is set for another considerable jump and now looks almost certain to secure a Masters debut in April.
"I think this will get me into The Masters which is a first for me and I'm pretty excited about that," he added.
Besides his exquisite closing eagle, Clarke mustered three birdies and two bogeys during his final round, while Horne overcame a bogey at the first by responding with eight birdies and nine pars over his next 17 holes.
Dane Soren Hansen (68) was part of a four-man group that shared sixth which also included Scotland's Peter Whiteford (67), but home player Hendrik Buhrmann - who started the day in third - slumped to a disastrous six-over-par 77 that left him well down the field in a tie for 30th.
