Kingston wins on home turf

Clutch par putts key to maiden win

Last updated: 16th December 2007

james kingston

Kingston: closing 71

South African Airways Open
Final leaderboard
SA unless stated
-4 J Kingston
-3 O Wilson (Eng)
-1 D Clarke (NI)
-1 G Mulroy
-1 L Oosterhuizen
-1 K Sullivan (Wal)

Also see

Collated scores

Home hope James Kingston held off the challenge of England's Oliver Wilson to claim his maiden European Tour title at the South African Airways Open.

Kingston - who started the day one shot adrift of third-round leader Wilson - carded a closing 71 to finish on four-under-par, one better than Wilson who had to settle for a 73.

Play was suspended for nearly four hours earlier in the day after persistent rain overnight made the course unplayable and the event finished in near-darkness.

Wilson blew his chance of a first title on the front nine, bogeying the first, sixth and ninth holes to go out in 39 shots.

He bounced back impressively with birdies at 10 and 11, but missed a string on makeable birdie putts on the closing holes to draw level with Kingston.

Kingston, who led by one stroke after the second round, double-bogeyed the par-three fourth after finding the water, and bogeyed the par-four ninth after a wayward drive.

Clutch putts

But birdies at three, five, six and 11 kept him at the top of the leaderboard and he stayed there courtesy of clutch par puttts at 13, 14 and 16.

"I've come close before in the South African Open and I always think about Glendower in 1993 when Clinton Whitelaw won," he said. "We were tied for the lead going down the 11th and I made a stupid bogey and ended up losing by three strokes.

"It boiled down to the same situation today, but I came into it with such a positive state of mind after the physios gave me a video on positive thinking.

"I've been in these situations before and somewhere I guess you learn from the times you don't finish the job."

Only six players finished under par as blustery conditions on all four days made the Paarl course a real test.

One of those was Northern Ireland's Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke, who showed a welcome return to form by finishing in a four-way tie for third.

That will be a boost to his world ranking which was a lowly 258 at the start of the week.

Veteran former two-time Open champion Greg Norman - making a rare appearance - finished in a lofty tie for seventh after a closing 71.

Defending champion Ernie Els' hopes were ended by a 77 in the third round, but the world number five did finish on a high note with his best round of the week, a three-under-par 69 moving him into a tie for 16th.