Oosthuizen and Schwartzel were tied for the lead on 16 under par through seven holes of the final round when Sunday’s storm suspended play. They resumed on Monday morning and the two Major winners matched each other on the magnificent Leopard Creek layout before a run of three straight birdies from the 13th gave Oosthuizen the edge.
“I knew Charl was going to be around all day because he likes this golf course and he knows how to play it. I think it was those three putts [for birdie] that got me ahead. It’s tough to be very aggressive over the last few holes so I could sort of just hang on to making pars,” Oosthuizen said.
He had a three-shot lead with two holes to play and admits Leopard Creek’s tough finishing stretch took it out of him.
“I didn’t have a great lie on 17 and ended up making bogey there and then on 18 I made par the hard way. But that’s what this golf course does. It’s such a good finishing golf course that you need to just hold on.”
Scores:
270 — Louis Oosthuizen 70 68 63 69
272 — Charl Schwartzel 68 68 65 71
274 — Christiaan Bezuidenhout 68 70 68 68
278 — Darius van Driel 70 72 69 67, Matti Schmid 72 69 67 70, Marco Penge 69 66 72 71
279 — Alejandro Del Rey 72 71 66 70, Casey Jarvis 67 67 74 71, Jayden Schaper 66 72 70 71, Andy Sullivan 68 69 69 73
280 — Thriston Lawrence 73 69 70 68, Matthias Schwab 70 71 70 69, Paul Waring 68 68 74 70
281 — Andrea Pavan 70 70 70 71
282 — Aaron Cockerill 69 72 71 70, Antoine Rozner 71 71 70 70, Matthew Baldwin 74 68 70 70, Dylan Naidoo 70 71 70 71, Ugo Coussaud 68 74 69 71
Dream win for Louis Oosthuizen as he finally clinches Alfred Dunhill
Image: Luke Walker/Getty Images
It took longer than expected but it was well worth the wait as Louis Oosthuizen won the Alfred Dunhill Championship by two strokes at Leopard Creek on Monday to finally claim a title he has sought for most of his career.
A storm on Sunday and the subsequent suspension of the final round forced the tournament into a Monday finish. But after twice finishing runner-up in this event, Oosthuizen was happy to wait as long as needed to claim a title he has desperately wanted.
“It feels good. I’ve waited a long time for this one and it’s very special. This and the SA Open are the two events in South Africa I always wanted to win. I’m very happy,” Oosthuizen said after a final round of 69 and a winning total of 18 under par.
Charl Schwartzel finished second on 16 under par with a closing 71, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout took third place on 14 under with a final round of 68.
Oosthuizen and Schwartzel were tied for the lead on 16 under par through seven holes of the final round when Sunday’s storm suspended play. They resumed on Monday morning and the two Major winners matched each other on the magnificent Leopard Creek layout before a run of three straight birdies from the 13th gave Oosthuizen the edge.
“I knew Charl was going to be around all day because he likes this golf course and he knows how to play it. I think it was those three putts [for birdie] that got me ahead. It’s tough to be very aggressive over the last few holes so I could sort of just hang on to making pars,” Oosthuizen said.
He had a three-shot lead with two holes to play and admits Leopard Creek’s tough finishing stretch took it out of him.
“I didn’t have a great lie on 17 and ended up making bogey there and then on 18 I made par the hard way. But that’s what this golf course does. It’s such a good finishing golf course that you need to just hold on.”
Scores:
270 — Louis Oosthuizen 70 68 63 69
272 — Charl Schwartzel 68 68 65 71
274 — Christiaan Bezuidenhout 68 70 68 68
278 — Darius van Driel 70 72 69 67, Matti Schmid 72 69 67 70, Marco Penge 69 66 72 71
279 — Alejandro Del Rey 72 71 66 70, Casey Jarvis 67 67 74 71, Jayden Schaper 66 72 70 71, Andy Sullivan 68 69 69 73
280 — Thriston Lawrence 73 69 70 68, Matthias Schwab 70 71 70 69, Paul Waring 68 68 74 70
281 — Andrea Pavan 70 70 70 71
282 — Aaron Cockerill 69 72 71 70, Antoine Rozner 71 71 70 70, Matthew Baldwin 74 68 70 70, Dylan Naidoo 70 71 70 71, Ugo Coussaud 68 74 69 71
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