Richard Sterne wins Joburg Open
South Africa's Richard Sterne fired a superb final round of 64 to win the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club by seven shots from his countryman Charl Schwartzel.
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South Africa's Richard Sterne fired a superb final round of 64 to win the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club by seven shots from his countryman Charl Schwartzel.
Sterne, who was runner-up to Stephen Gallacher in Dubai last week, began the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard with. The 31-year-old quickly found himself chasing, as Fisher opened with an eagle three.
But Sterne, a winner of this event back in 2008, didn't panic and, while he cruised serenely through his final round, Fisher faded badly and eventually ended the week in a tie for sixth.
Sterne suffered two years of injury problems in 2010 and 2011, but will be able to put those behind him as he makes this welcome return to the winner's enclosure.
"It was a pretty special day," he said. "It's tough coming from a good week into another week, you kind of expect to play well. But I got off to a good start and felt comfortable."
The South African birdied five holes on his front nine to establish a commanding lead and he never looked threatened on the run for home, as he picked up three further birdies to card a closing round of eight-under-par 64.
With the victory, Sterne should climb back into the top-60 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He'll now have an eye on the top-50 with a view to earning an invite to the 2013 Masters.
"I'd like to get back into all the Majors," he said. "That's where I want to be playing."
In the end it was Charl Schwartzel who emerged from a closely bunched pack to claim the runner's-up spot. He had been hot favourite coming into this event and, had it not been for the brilliance of Sterne, would have justified that billing.
Chile's Felipe Aguilar enjoyed another good week. He tied for third with George Coetzee of South Africa and Portugal's Ricardo Santos.
The European Tour remains in South Africa for one more week. The Africa Open starts on Thursday at the East London Golf Club.
Joburg Open Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa Feb 7 - 10, purse €1,300,000 par 72
1 Richard Sterne (RSA) 63 65 68 64 260 €206,050 2 Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 68 65 68 66 267 €149,500 T3 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 67 66 68 67 268 €69,160 T3 George Coetzee (RSA) 67 64 70 67 268 €69,160 T3 Ricardo Santos (Por) 70 65 69 64 268 €69,160 T6 Thomas Aiken (RSA) 67 70 66 66 269 €38,783 T6 Trevor Fisher Jr (RSA) 66 62 68 73 269 €38,783 T6 Keith Horne (RSA) 67 66 71 65 269 €38,783 T9 Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 67 68 68 67 270 €26,780 T9 Garth Mulroy (RSA) 70 68 65 67 270 €26,780
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
Where next? PGA Tour - Brandt Snedeker wins Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Fergus 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 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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