Lee Westwood produced a stunning closing 64 to win his first Rolex Series title at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.
The 45-year-old Englishman, who hadn’t won a tournament since 2014, entered the final day at Gary Player Country Club three shots behind long-time leader Sergio Garcia, but an eagle on the second put him at the top of the leaderboard and set up an enthralling three-way battle between those two and local favourite Louis Oosthuizen.
The trio went blow-for-blow on throughout the afternoon, and it was former world No.1 Westwood who birdied five of his last eight holes to get to 15 under and prevail over his major championship winning rivals.
Westwood’s triumph is his third at Gary Player Country Club after the Sunshine Tour’s Dimension Data Pro-Am in 2000 and this event in 2010 and 2011, before it joined the European Tour schedule. His last victory came at the 2014 Maybank Malaysian Open and he was fighting back the tears after taking his tally to a remarkable 24 on the European Tour and 43 worldwide.
Garcia signed for a 70 to finish at 12 under, one shot ahead of Oosthuizen, who closed with a 69. While Ross Fisher was then at eight under, a shot clear of countryman Matt Wallace and China’s Li Haotong.
Li needed a win to keep his hopes of winning the Race to Dubai alive, but results in Sun City mean that it will be either Francesco Molinari or Tommy Fleetwood who will be crowned Europe’s number one after next week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Westwood said: “I’m feeling pretty emotional, and also a little bit relieved. Still got it, I guess. Just nice to do it again under pressure and win against a couple of quality players at the end there, Sergio and Louis were my two nearest challengers. To hit the shots I hit down the stretch, it was just nice to prove it to yourself every now and again.”
He added: “It’s not such an easy golf course when the wind is in the direction it was, and it was swirling as the day went on. I made a nice par on one, and a great three wood on the second to about three feet. Then made a lovely par at the third and then just steadied off and gave myself birdie chances pretty much all the way around. I was just trying to hit fairways and stick to my game plan and hit it in the right places. I’ve got a bit of a process I’m going through with the golf swing. I’m starting to see better shots. The seven-iron into 17 is probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit.”
Garcia, who led for first three rounds, was magnanimous in defeat, saying: “You have to give credit to Lee. To shoot 64 in the last round is not easy. I’m thrilled for him. He had a bad Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, and he struggled a little bit, and he’s been playing much better this year, and he’s been knocking on the door a few times for a win. I wish I would have won myself, but if not, to see Lee do it is pretty nice. I didn’t have my ‘A’ game over the weekend, but I fought hard and I stayed patient. Second is still a good result, and I can take a lot of positives out of it.”
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