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.