ANDY CAPOSTAGNO, Johannesburg | Sunday 5.00pm.
ANTHONY Wall from Sunningdale in England, the son of a London taxi driver won the Alfred Dunhill Challenge by two shots at the Houghton golf course on Sunday. Wall shot a final round 68, four under par to earn his first victory on the European Tour, although it came in a tournament co-sanctioned by the Southern African Tour and reduced to 54 holes by soaking rain.
Philip Price of Wales and Gary Orr of Scotland finished second on 10 under par, one shot better than South Africa’s Retief Goosen and two better than a group of players at eight under par which included the overnight leader, Trevor Dodds of Namibia. Dodds, playing in the same group as Wall and Orr, slumped to a final round 74, bogeying the 15th and 17th holes, both of which were birdied by Wall.
Wall began the day at eight under par and struggled to the turn in 37 shots, one over the card, dropping shots at the par three sixth and the par four ninth holes. But he birdied the 10th, a short par four, to get back to level par for the day and after par at the next, birdied four of the next six holes to put daylight between himself and the rest of the field.
He said, “I started playing golf when I was four years old and from that moment it was my dream to play on tour. My goals this week were to make the cut and then hope for a top 10 finish, but to win is just everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Just to know that I’m employed for the next two years makes such a difference”.
The win will not make a difference to Wall’s father Tom, however. He flew out to watch his son’s first victory and said, “It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had, but I’m not giving up cab driving. I guess you could say it won’t change my life”.
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