Anders Hansen birdied the final hole Sunday to finish at 15-under 269 and beat Andrew McLardy by one stroke at the Jo’burg Open.
The Dane shot a 5-under 66 at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club East Course to hold off McLardy, who finished second for the second time in three years after a 68.
”I played really nice on the front side there hitting a lot of good shots so that was very good,” said Hansen, who had six birdies, including four straight from the sixth hole.
Hansen had a 20-footer for eagle on number 18, but he left it three feet short before sinking his birdie putt.
McLardy birdied numbers 10, 11 and 12 to close in on the leader, but six consecutive pars — five of which could have been converted to birdies — left the South African short.
McLardy also had a 25-foot putt to get into a playoff, but his shot fell two feet short.
Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen (74), who started the final round just one shot behind, had nine bogeys — six on the back nine. But he entertained the crowd with a 240-yard albatross on the 18th.
David Drysdale (69) was third, ahead of Danny Willett (68), Charl Schwartzel (70) and Tyrone van Aswegen (68).
Defending champion Richard Sterne (68) finished in a share for 12th place. Sterne had been trying win a third consecutive tournament on the European Tour — a feat only achieved by Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. – Sapa-AP