Charl Schwartzel rebounded from his disappointment at last week’s South African Open, to successfully defend and win the Alfred Dunhill Championship for a third time at Leopard Creek.
The 29-year-old, winner of the Masters Tournament in 2011, won his first professional title here in 2004. Since then, he has stunningly finished second four times, in addition to his resounding 12 shot victory last year. In the end, a final round of 68 was enough to secure the title for a third time by four shots from England’s Richard Finch.
Last week, Schwartzel threw away a three shot lead in the final round of the South African Open, with two double bogeys seeing him fall away from eventual winner Morten Madsen. However, there would be no repeat at Leopard Creek, as he meticulously pulled clear of the field with a lesson in consistency.
On Thursday, after Schwartzel made double bogey on his tenth hole, he would then play the remaining 62 holes without dropping a single shot. Imperious consistency from the South African, and such form left him with 17-under for the tournament.
“I had that hiccup in the first round through 17 and the first hole, and after that pretty much flawless with no bogeys from there on in,” he said. “Most of the time if you play 60 holes or whatever it may be without bogey then hopefully you’ll win.
“It’s always nice to get a win and get some confidence up. It’s been one of those years where I have played well and just didn’t get the wins.
”Whenever you win and you’re playing well is great, whichever time of the year it happens.
”I’ve got two tournaments left and last week I played just as well as this week. It shows that I’m playing nicely and I’d like to see if I can continue.”
This was his ninth victory on the European Tour, and it takes him to the summit of the early season Race to Dubai rankings, while returning him inside the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Schwartzel had begun the day two shots clear of Finch, the former Irish Open champion, who had failed to regain his Tour card at Qualifying School. Finch had started brightly, tying the lead after birdies at the first and third holes, but the South African pulled clear again with a birdie at the fifth. The two players matched each other with further birdies at the sixth and eighth, and there would be just one shot between them going into the back nine of this Gary Player designed layout.
However, this would be where Schwartzel would pull clear, largely due to Finch’s own mistakes. The Englishman would make bogey on the 11th, after a wayward drive cost him a penalty shot, before compounding that error by making a double bogey on the 14th that all but handed the title to Schwartzel.
“He got off to a fantastic start and mine was a little shaky,” Schwartzel said of his battle with Finch. “I know with this golf course out of experience that it’s a long way from over and you just have to keep hitting good shots.”
Finch can take solace from the fact that his runner-up finish will all-but secure his return to the European Tour in 2015, with a €172,500 prize going into the coffers. Another Englishman, in the form of Simon Dyson, who has recently been in the midst of controversy, finished in a tie for third alongside compatriot Ross Fisher and talented Frenchman Romain Wattel.
However, it was to be Charl Schwartzel’s day and week, as he claimed this title for a third time. Somehow, it always seemed inevitable.