Westwood’s win easy, but not entirely smooth
Westwood went into the final round with a seven-shot lead after his extraordinary course-record 62 on Saturday and did enough on the front nine to deter his would-be challengers. In fact, the Englishman was in such control he could afford to bogey the 17th and 18th holes and not be concerned.
“I tried to break it up into fairways and greens and I was two-under after the front nine. Graeme McDowell got within four of me and Robert Karlsson made a few putts coming in, but I played conservatively.
“Sometimes I aimed 25/30 feet wide of the flags and I wasn’t concerned about the odd bogey because I felt the course was playing quite tough,” Westwood said after his one-over-par 73.
The likes of McDowell, Jason Dufner and Karlsson criscrossed Westwood’s peripheral vision at times, but none of them could produce the inspired round needed to haul in the world number three.
McDowell double-bogeyed 15 and bogeyed 16 to shoot a 70 and slip back into a tie for third on 11-under with Dufner.
The American had picked up four shots on the first five holes of the back nine to move to within four shots of Westwood, but he was in the rough off the 15th tee and then in serious trouble down the bank right of the green. He left with a double-bogey and his challenge ended as he faded to a 69.
Karlsson, who teed off with Westwood in the final two-ball, made a stuttering start with a bogey on the first hole. Although he birdied the second, fourth and fifth holes, he bogeyed the eighth and birdied the ninth. So the lanky Swede still trailed the Westwood juggernaut by seven strokes at the turn and he just could not pick up any momentum, also playing the back nine in two-under to finish alone in second place on 13-under.
Riding the wave of his 62 in the third round, Westwood was seldom in any serious trouble and, in fact, had several birdie putts shave the hole, especially on the front nine. Although it was not quite a surge to victory, it was impressive enough.
The Sun City marketers can use the same posters for next year’s tournament as Westwood became just the sixth golfer to defend his title at the Gary Player Country Club after Seve Ballesteros (1984), David Frost (1990), Nick Price (1998), Ernie Els (2000) and Jim Furyk (2006).
The Age of Westwood may have begun at Sun City.
Much like Els dominated around the turn of the century, Price in the 1990s and Frost before that, the 38-year-old looks in a different class around this course, the benefits of his brilliance off the tees being so clear.
Could he become the first golfer to win a hat-trick of titles?
“Obviously I’m coming back next year then,” Westwood said when the potential landmark was pointed out to him.
“It’s a great tournament to win, you only have to look at the names on the trophy and on the walk to the ninth green to know that. It’s a place I’ve always played well at, it sets up like a major championship course.”
Westwood looked like a major champion this weekend, particularly in the third round.