Golf Betting
South Africa’s Branden Grace thrilled the home crowd – and himself – with a one-shot victory in the Joburg Open in Johannesburg. It was the 23-year-old’s first career win and earned him €206,050.
On the strength of rounds of 67-66-65, Grace held a three-stroke lead on -17 entering the finale. His closest challengers, George Coetzee (75) and Richard Finch (78), faltered, but others stepped up in their absence. Chief among them was England’s Jamie Elson, who capped a 63 with an eagle at the last. He finished solo second on 16-under.
Grace, however, would not be overcome. He played steadily over his final 18, making 16 pars and a birdie against a single bogey for an even-par 72. “It’s a dream come true,” Grace said of his triumph. “It’s nice to win in front of a home crowd and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything else.”
While his ballstriking was solid, Grace couldn’t find the range on the greens Sunday. “The putter was just cold,” he acknowledged. “I couldn’t get the speed of the greens going today. Fortunately at the end of the day it was enough.”
Six golfers finished in a third-place logjam on -14, including Scotland’s David Drysdale and Marc Warren.
South Africa hosts its third consecutive European Tour event this week, the Volvo Golf Champions at the Links at Fancourt. Recent major champions Charl Schwartzel and Darren Clarke will tee it up alongside Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and a host of other stars.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
