BRANDON Stone became the youngest player to win at the South African Open Golf Championship.
The SA Open was held at the Glendower Golf Course from Thursday, January 7, to Sunday, January 10, and was hosted by City of Ekurhuleni.
Stone won the SA Open on Sunday for his maiden European Tour title, becoming the youngest player to win the event since it joined the tour schedule in 1997.
The 22-year-old South African finished with a round of 71, which included seven birdies and six bogeys, to earn him a two-shot win over fellow home player Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Stone finished 14 under par at a tournament which was interrupted by stormy weather, forcing the first three rounds to be suspended and carried over to the following day.
He was in tears after his victory at golf’s second oldest national open after the British Open.
Bezuidenhout finished with a superb five under 67 to nearly steal victory at the end.
Well known Keith Horne, who resides at the Eye of Africa and earned himself shot of the day on Friday in the second round, finished in a four-way tie for fourth with nine under 279 alongside Retief Goosen, Branden Grace and Justin Walters.
On day two of the championship, Horne missed the green short and right with his tee-shot at the 201m third hole, one of the toughest par threes that the professionals encounter on the Sunshine Tour.
He admitted it was a “horrible” shot and his ball landed in the rough and he had to figure out how to execute his shot.
He then subsequently pulled it off to perfection, with his golf ball running up straight towards the cup and stopping just two feet short of it to set up an easy, tap-in par three.
“It is shots like that that kept the momentum going for me today, in tricky conditions because the wind was swirling all the time,” said Horne who posted a bogey-free 69 for an eight under par 136 halfway total and the clubhouse lead on day two.
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