Hennie Otto wins South African Open

South Africa’s Hennie Otto stumbled but held on to win the SA Open Championship by a single shot from Bernd Wiesberger of Austria at the Serengeti Golf Club in Ekurhuleni.

Hennie Otto
Fergus Bisset
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South Africa's Hennie Otto stumbled but held on to win the SA Open Championship by a single shot from Bernd Wiesberger of Austria at the Serengeti Golf Club in Ekurhuleni.

Otto led by three shots with just six holes left to play, but three bogeys in the space of four holes left him tied with the Austrian with two to go.

The South African steadied the ship at the short par-4 17th, holing a six-foot birdie putt to move one clear. He then completed a solid par on the final hole to win by the narrowest of margins.

"There are some great names on that trophy," he said. "I said it would be great if I could add mine, now today's the day."

With the victory Otto climbed to 56th place from 80th on the Race to Dubai, thereby securing his place in the Dubai World Championship.

For Wiesberger it was a second runner's-up finish in 2011. He also lost out in a playoff for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

In the battle to retain European Tour playing rights for 2012 it was a good day for England's Richard McEvoy. He closed with a 68 to finish in a tie for third. By doing so he moved up from 121st to 107th on the money list. It looks likely that those finishing the season in the top 118 will retain their card for next year.

There wasn't such good news for Scots Steven O'Hara and Lloyd Saltman. O'Hara needed a top three finish to save his card but he dropped back into a tie for 25th with a poor last round. Saltman needed to par the final hole to finish in a tie for third, earn a start at Hong Kong next week and a real chance of avoiding a trip to Q school. But he closed with a heartbreaking double bogey and fell back into a tie for ninth.   SA Open Championship Serengeti Golf Club, Ekurhuleni, South Africa Nov 24-27, purse €1,000,200, par 72

1   Hennie Otto (RSA)   70   67   65   72   274   €158,500 2   Bernd Wiesberger (Aut)   69   68   70   68   275   €115,000 T3   Thomas Aiken (RSA)   68   69   68   72   277   €53,200 T3   Richard McEvoy (Eng)   70   70   69   68   277   €53,200 T3   Ockie Strydom (RSA)   69   72   67   69   277   €53,200 T6   Magnus Carlsson (Swe)   73   66   66   73   278   €29,883 T6   Trevor Fisher (RSA)   66   72   70   68   278   €29,883 T6   Retief Goosen (RSA)   66   68   71   73   278   €29,883 T9   Jaco Ahlers (RSA)      74   67   65   73   279   €18,950 T9   Branden Grace (RSA)   69   68   74   68   279   €18,950 T9   Garth Mulroy (RSA)   67   68   70   74   279   €18,950 T9   Lloyd Saltman (Sco)   69   68   72   70   279   €18,950

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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