Graeme Storm Wins South African Open
The Englishman beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff for his first European Tour win since 2007
Graeme Storm wins South African Open by defeating world number two Rory McIlroy on third extra hole at Glendower GC
Graeme Storm Wins South African Open
Just 84 days after missing out on his 2017 European Tour card, Englishman Graeme Storm won the BMW South African Open for his second Tour win.
He began the day with the lead but found himself one back of a charging Rory McIlroy with two to play, but was level with the world number two at 18-under-par coming down the last after McIlroy bogeyed the par-3 17th.
The pair each parred the closing hole before both parring it again twice in a row in the sudden-death playoff.
Storm made his fourth par of the day on the tough 18th which was good enough for victory at the third extra hole after McIlroy failed to get up and down from just short of the green to make bogey.
Related: Rory McIlroy wins 2016 European Tour Shot of the Year
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It was his first European Tour victory since the 2007 French Open.
The victory earns Storm €164,408 and he is now excempt on the European Tour until the end of the 2018 season.
The 38-year-old initially missed out on his 2017 card by €100 but was handed a lifeline after Patrick Reed missed the Final Series.
Related: Rory McIlroy What's in the Bag?
"I am speechless. It's been incredible and I can't quite believe it," he said.
"This is a dream come true, especially after what happened to me last year with my card and everything. I really took a lot from that experience and told myself to try and grasp the opportunity of getting my livelihood back with both hands and I have done that this week.
Talking points from the BMW South African Open
1 - Graeme Storm's victory will be one of the stories of 2017 after he so narrowly missed out on his card at the 2017 Portugal Masters. With his job now sorted for at least the next two years we may see him feature on more leaderboards this season.
2 - In worrying news, Rory McIlroy has revealed that he will have an MRI scan on his back. He complained about back pain earlier in the week but has said he thinks that will still play in this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The 27-year-old told the European Tour: "Part of me really wants to make this week because there is so much to play for but at the same time there is so much to play for over the whole season and I don't want to jeopardize long-term goals for short-term gain, hopefully I'll be good to go."
3 - Rookie Jordan Smith finished on 17-under-par for third place alone, one shot off the playoff, in just his fifth European Tour event. The 24-year-old, who won the 2016 Challenge Tour Order of Merit, played in the final group with Storm and McIlroy. He is in Golf Monthly's top 10 players to watch in 2017.
Venue: Glendower Golf Club, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa Date: Jan 12 – 15 Course stats: par 72, 7,594 yards Winner’s cheque: €164,409
1 Graeme Storm (Eng) 69 63 67 71 270 €164,408
2 Rory McIlroy (NIR) 67 68 67 68 270 €119,287
3 Jordan Smith (Eng) 67 68 68 68 269 €71, 780
4 Dean Burmester (RSA) 67 70 67 69 273 €50,930
5 Thomas Aiken (RSA) 67 70 68 69 274 €39, 779
5 Trevor Fisher Jnr (RSA) 66 68 71 69 274 €39,779
7 Alexander Bjork (Swe) 68 71 68 68 275 €22,457
7 David Drysdale (Sco) 70 65 71 69 275 €22,457
7 Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 72 66 67 70 275 €22,457
7 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 71 70 63 71 275 €22,457
7 Joel Stalter (Fra) 69 70 65 71 275 €22,457
7 Peter Uihlein (USA) 70 64 70 71 275 €22,457
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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