Danny Willett roared to victory by four shots at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Sunday, firing a tremendous six-under-par 66 in the final round at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.

UPDATE: Nedbank Golf Challenge: The Sun City showdown

Willett is the first rookie winner since Zimbabwean Mark McNulty in 1986 and he breezed past overnight leader Luke Donald, who endured a frustrating birthday as he battled to a one-over-par 73 and dropped to third.

Ross Fisher posted a fine four-under-par 68 to climb into second place, two ahead of Donald, but even talk of him overtaking Willett was made foolish by the 27-year-old’s superb display.

Whenever he was under pressure, he produced a wonderful save and once he birdied the par-five 14^thfrom the sand, he was able to cruise to victory, even being able to take a comfort break on the 17^thfairway.

Willett gained another birdie on the par-four 17^th, draining a 15-foot putt that vouched for his brilliance with the short stick all day.

Donald erred for one last time on 18 to sum up his day, sending his drive way right into long grass and rocks, forcing him just to chip out on to the fairway, from which he completed a bogey.

The three men from England just beat a storm to complete their rounds, thunder ringing out as the final putts were made; but it was Willett who stole the thunder from all-comers.

Willett was in pole position with a four-shot lead as the Nedbank Golf Challenge entered the final straight.

The English trio of Willett, Donald and Fisher made up the final three-ball and were the only golfers who had a realistic chance of claiming the title and the first-prize cheque of $1.25 million.

Donald began the day with a one-stroke lead over Willett, with Fisher another two shots back.

But Willett roared out of the blocks, his list of birdies in the first five holes earning him a comfortable lead, which he built on with another shot gained at the par-five 10^th, taking him to 16-under through 12 holes.

Fisher, who won the Tshwane Open in Centurion earlier this year, was tied for second place on 12-under with Donald after going out in two-under 34 thanks to consecutive birdies at the eighth and ninth holes.

The tall 34-year-old then drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the 10^th, but a wayward drive on the 11^th, rebounding off the trees but not allowing him a shot at the green with his second, led to a bogey.

Donald also clawed a shot back when he birdied the par-five ninth after laying up – Willett getting on in two but misreading his eagle-putt – but the former world number one immediately gave the stroke back with a bogey at 10, a visit to a fairway bunker which he couldn’t initially get out of costing him an extra shot.

The fickle fortunes of golf were clearly displayed in the opening holes of the final round as Willett snatched a three-shot lead.

Overnight leader Donald must have been contemplating what a harsh mistress the game can be as, on his birthday, he bogeyed two of the first five holes and watched Willett fire his way to the top of the leaderboard with three birdies.

And just to top his frustration, Donald birdied the par-four sixth after a super approach shot but watched Willett escape from trouble as he salvaged a par with a brilliant up-and-down after being embedded in the bunker behind the green.

Willett had a perfect record from the fringe, a delightful chip down the hill on the par-five second setting up a birdie and the 27-year-old then rolled in birdie putts from the fringe on the third and fifth holes, both par-fours.

Donald’s 10-foot birdie putt on the sixth pulled one stroke back after bogeys on the third and fifth holes led to a pair of two-stroke swings with Willett.

On the third, Donald put his approach into the bunker left of the flag, short-siding himself, and an awkward lie meant he could only chip across the green. The birthday boy, celebrating his 37^th, short-sided himself again on the fifth with a wayward approach shot over the green.

Fisher would have been perfectly happy with his start as a 10-foot putt on the par-three fourth gave him his second birdie. But successive bogeys then undid those gains, his approach on the fifth finishing short of the green and a wayward drive on six, followed by his third shot going over the green, led to another dropped shot, leaving him five behind Willett.

Frenchman Alexander Levy was also contemplating the vagaries of the game as he took 10 at the par-five ninth, twice hitting from the drop zone into the water surrounding the green. To his credit, he was still smiling as he trudged off the green and he birdied the 10^th and 11^th holes.

 http://citizen.co.za/288461/nedbank-golf-challenge-update/

Danny Willett was in pole position with a four-shot lead as the Nedbank Golf Challenge entered the final straight at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City on Sunday.

The English trio of Willett, Luke Donald and Ross Fisher made up the final three-ball and were the only golfers who had a realistic chance of claiming the title and the first-prize cheque of $1.25 million.

Donald began the day with a one-stroke lead over Willett, with Fisher another two shots back.

But Willett roared out of the blocks, his list of birdies in the first five holes earning him a comfortable lead, which he built on with another shot gained at the par-five 10^th, taking him to 16-under through 12 holes.

Fisher, who won the Tshwane Open in Centurion earlier this year, was tied for second place on 12-under with Donald after going out in two-under 34 thanks to consecutive birdies at the eighth and ninth holes.

The tall 34-year-old then drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the 10^th, but a wayward drive on the 11^th, rebounding off the trees but not allowing him a shot at the green with his second, led to a bogey.

Donald also clawed a shot back when he birdied the par-five ninth after laying up – Willett getting on in two but misreading his eagle-putt – but the former world number one immediately gave the stroke back with a bogey at 10, a visit to a fairway bunker which he couldn’t initially get out of costing him an extra shot.

The fickle fortunes of golf were clearly displayed in the opening holes of the final round as Willett snatched a three-shot lead.

Overnight leader Donald must have been contemplating what a harsh mistress the game can be as, on his birthday, he bogeyed two of the first five holes and watched Willett fire his way to the top of the leaderboard with three birdies.

And just to top his frustration, Donald birdied the par-four sixth after a super approach shot but watched Willett escape from trouble as he salvaged a par with a brilliant up-and-down after being embedded in the bunker behind the green.

Willett had a perfect record from the fringe, a delightful chip down the hill on the par-five second setting up a birdie and the 27-year-old then rolled in birdie putts from the fringe on the third and fifth holes, both par-fours.

Donald’s 10-foot birdie putt on the sixth pulled one stroke back after bogeys on the third and fifth holes led to a pair of two-stroke swings with Willett.

On the third, Donald put his approach into the bunker left of the flag, short-siding himself, and an awkward lie meant he could only chip across the green. The birthday boy, celebrating his 37^th, short-sided himself again on the fifth with a wayward approach shot over the green.

Fisher would have been perfectly happy with his start as a 10-foot putt on the par-three fourth gave him his second birdie. But successive bogeys then undid those gains, his approach on the fifth finishing short of the green and a wayward drive on six, followed by his third shot going over the green, led to another dropped shot, leaving him five behind Willett.

Frenchman Alexander Levy was also contemplating the vagaries of the game as he took 10 at the par-five ninth, twice hitting from the drop zone into the water surrounding the green. To his credit, he was still smiling as he trudged off the green and he birdied the 10^th and 11^th holes.

Jamie Elson failed to chase down the home town favourite, but he nevertheless earned huge respect for the scintillating 63 he fired in the final round of the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Sunday.

Elson’s brilliant nine-under-par round on the tough East Course saw him vault to within one shot of eventual winner Branden Grace, and the Englishman said it was the mental side of his game that had made all the difference.

“For some reason I felt really relaxed today. It’s funny because I’m normally quite anxious and yesterday I was so edgy out there. I can’t put my finger on why I felt so different today, it must be something that worked in my mental preparation, but I just had this calmness about me,” Elson said.

Elson eagled the 504-metre par-five 18th hole, changing the leaderboard dramatically as he shot up to 16-under-par, just one stroke behind Grace, who showed remarkable composure to keep it that way through his last nine holes.

“To close like that was quite something, it was just one of those days when everything went right for me. I took driver off the tee and leaked it right. I actually thought it was in the bunker. But I caught a decent lie in the rough and had a great yardage for my hybrid, which my caddie calls my ‘magic-stick’.

“It just came out perfectly and pitched on the front of the green, and the reaction of the crowd told me it was pretty close to going in,” Elson said.

As it turned out, Elson’s heroics did not leave Grace much room to move, although the man who sank a 40-foot birdie putt to just earn his tour card never thought he would come that close to winning.

“We just have to see what happens now but I hope I get top five because that will get me into Abu Dhabi in two weeks,” Elson said after his round, more than two hours before Grace finished only one stroke ahead.

So Abu Dhabi is where Elson is headed (he finished fourth there last year), although it could so easily have been Fancourt, where all the previous year’s European Tour winners will line up in the lucrative Volvo Golf Champions tournament from Thursday.

Branden Grace is on line for his first European Tour triumph as he went into the final round of the Joburg Open with a three-shot lead at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Sunday.

Having completed his third round with a seven-under-par 65 on Sunday morning, birdieing five of the last six holes, Grace leapt to 17-under-par, with his nearest challengers being Englishman Richard Finch and fellow South African George Coetzee on 14-under.

The 23-year-old Grace understandably feels on top of his game after rounds of 67 and 65 on the East Course, sandwiching a 66 on the West Course.

“I’m hitting the ball well and I’m putting really nicely, which is a bonus for me at this stage. I’m going to stick to my game-plan and just keep doing what I’ve been doing. I’m going to try to do the same thing I’ve been doing the whole week.

“You just need to give yourself birdie opportunities. I feel like I’m playing well and the putting is there, so it’s nice to give yourself chances with the knowledge that you’re going to make some,” Grace said after his third round.

Grace had to complete the 16th, 17th and 18th holes on Sunday morning and he birdied the par-four and the par-five to cement his position atop the leaderboard.

“It was a quick finish, nice and fresh and early this morning, it worked out today. I would take that start any day. I’m feeling good, happy to be here and I’m playing well at the moment, so I’ll just take it from here,” he said.

There should not be any weather interruptions on the final day, but Grace has been philosophical about all the delays and twice having to complete rounds on the next day.

“I don’t think there is anything you can do about it. Nature calls and you just have to keep your head down and keep going,” he said.

Grace’s cousin, Michiel Bothma, was another to make the most of his early return to the course on Sunday, chipping in on the 18th hole to make eagle and jump to 13-under-par.

It had been an anxious start to the day for Bothma, who came off the course on the third evening with an eight-foot putt for par on the 17th hole waiting for him.

“I drained it this morning and we said that if we could finish par-eagle it would be a fantastic start to the day, and it happened, what we were hoping for the whole of last night!”

The 38-year-old will be hoping to add to his five Sunshine Tour titles and will be praying his putter comes to the party far more than it did in the third round.

“I made a quick start yesterday, getting to 11-under, but then I parred everything and lipped so many putts. I just kept putting a little lag on the putts and when we had the line, then we couldn’t get the pace right,” Bothma said.