Monday 18 January 2016 10:28, UK
Haydn Porteous held his nerve down the stretch to claim his maiden European Tour title with a two-shot victory at the Joburg Open.
The young South African kept a bogey off his card on the final day at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, and he hit every green in regulation as he closed with a composed three-under 69 to finish comfortably clear of the chasing pack on 18 under par.
The victory also earned Porteous a debut appearance at The Open in July, with Anthony Wall and Zander Lombard clinching the other two places on offer for the showpiece at Royal Troon.
With most of the front-runners struggling to make any significant moves, Bjorn Akesson raced into contention early on when he birdied the first two holes and then reeled off three in a row from the sixth to lead outright on 16 under.
But the Swede gave a shot back at the ninth, and Lombard suddenly found himself at the top of the leaderboard when he chipped in for birdie at the second and made another gain at the sixth.
Porteous followed seven solid pars with his first birdie of the day at the eighth, and playing-partner and compatriot Lombard then tumbled out of the running with bogeys at nine, 11 and 14.
Porteous knocked a superb approach to three feet at the 14th to set up a crucial birdie, while Akesson got back to 16 under with a three at 15 before he made a mess of the last, hitting a poor third and then three-putting to sign off with a disappointing bogey six.
That gave Porteous a two-shot advantage, which he almost extended with excellent approaches to 15, 16 and 17 only to pass up the opportunities for further birdies.
But the 21-year-old Challenge Tour graduate drilled a nerveless second to 20 feet at the par-five last and calmly two-putted to put the finishing touches to an impressive victory.
Lombard won the race for outright second place when he atoned for his erratic mid-round performance, with birdies at 15 and 18 salvaging a 71.
Wall started the day tied for the lead and with high hopes of pulling off a second European Tour win 16 years and a day after his first, but the Englishman failed to build on an opening birdie and laboured to a 72 to finish tied for third with Akesson, Daniel Im and Justin Walters.
Wall's higher world ranking ensured he claimed the final place on offer for The Open, adding to the misery for Akesson following his three-putt mishap at the 72nd hole.
Irish rookie Paul Dunne struggled to a 72 to finish on 13 under, while halfway leader Ross McGowan dropped three shots in four holes after the turn to return a 73 which left him six shots off the pace.
