Golf Betting
They say winning breeds winning, and Branden Grace is proving it’s true. The young South African defeated a pair of his vaunted countrymen to claim the Volvo Golf Champions and open 2012 with back-to-back victories.
Grace, 23, became the first player to begin a European Tour season with consecutive wins since Fred Couples in 1995. In fact, he only made the Volvo’s winners-only field by taking the Joburg Open the week prior.
While his maiden triumph was no doubt special, this one may top it for significance. That’s because Grace beat Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, holders of a combined five major titles, on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Els and Goosen couldn’t match Grace’s birdie on the par-5 18th at the Links at Fancourt.
“I’m really ecstatic,” said Grace, who bolted into the top 100 of the world rankings. “It’s a dream come true to win such a big event – pretty much the best tournament I’ve played in so far.”
Grace nearly negated the need for extra holes, but missed a short birdie putt to end regulation. In fact, Grace fell four off the pace through four holes, but played in -5 the rest of the way for a 12-under total. Els and Goosen tied him with rounds of 67 and 70, respectively, as both eagled the 13th to boost their chances.
Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts finished fourth on -11, a shot better than South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel. Aging Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal shared the lead early Sunday before falling to sixth.
The European Tour season gets underway in earnest this week with a trip to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Tiger Woods will join the world’s top four players – Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer – in the stellar field.
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