South Africa’s Brandon Stone completed a maiden European Tour victory after a rollercoaster final round at the South African Open that included six bogeys in seven holes.
An emotional Stone finished the tournament on 14 under par at the Glendower Golf Club, two shots ahead of compatriot Christiaan Bezuidenhout following a remarkable fourth round that contained, seven birdies, six bogeys and just five pars.
Stone had established a two-shot lead during the rain-hit third round that had to be finished on Sunday morning. He then raced into a five-shot lead, in what seemed an unstoppable charge for his home championship, before bogeying six of the seven holes between the fifth and 11th in his final round.
A birdie on the eighth was his only respite, but after stopping the rot with another birdie on the par-four 12th, the 22 year old’s fortunes swung again as he picked up shots on four of the next five holes.
“I don’t have the vocabulary to describe how I feel right now, that round was the most up and down one I have had in my life,” he said. “After making the bogey on the 11th, I said to myself, ‘come on, you’re still leading the golf tournament, you have been playing great for three days now. Let’s just keep it going’.
This is Stone’s first full year on the European Tour, after securing a card through the Challenge Tour last year. He had his first professional win on the Sunshine tour in Cape Town at the end of 2015.
Stone is a Ping staff player, and had a full complement of Ping clubs in his bag during his first victory. His bag included a G30 driver, G30 3-wood, S55 irons, Glide wedges, and a Cadence TR Ketsch putter.
Pic: Getty Images
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