Grace blows the opposition away at Leopard Creek

15 December 2014 - 02:01 By Liam del Carme at Leopard Creek
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South Africa's Branden Grace birdies the 18th hole yesterday to lead the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Golf Club by three shots at the end of the first round.
South Africa's Branden Grace birdies the 18th hole yesterday to lead the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Golf Club by three shots at the end of the first round.
Image: RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES

Tiger Woods prefers red but Branden Grace turned to the colour purple for final round inspiration as he reasserted his authority to clinch the Alfred Dunhill Championship here yesterday.

"It's a power colour for Sunday," explained the tournament's first wire-to-wire winner.

Grace had barely held onto the lead at the end of the third round but he played with steady assurance throughout the final as his nearest rivals fell away, some less spectacularly than others.

Grace, who had won all four European events he led after the third round, made that tally five with a final round 68 which left him seven shots clear of Louis Oosthuizen, who closed with a 69. Had Oosthuizen played the par fives here better this week he may well have been in contention.

"I killed it this week," Grace said of his performance. "I was very happy going four under on the par fives. That made the difference."

Nothing came of the challenge of Grace's closest rivals.

Danny Willett's form on the back nine was capricious to say the least, and, despite recording three birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys proved his Waterloo. He dropped from second to fourth.

Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard, who started the day well placed, dropped a shot on the first and kept drifting further and further behind to finish with a 17-over 89.

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