20120116
AFP
Steady South African Branden Grace pipped sizzling Englishman Jamie Elson by one shot on Sunday to win the Joburg Open and his maiden European Tour title.

Elson fired a nine-under-par final-round 63 and then waited 160 minutes to see Grace tap in a par putt at the final hole for a closing 72 on the east course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.

It was tough on Elson, who trailed Grace by 10 strokes going into the last round of the 1.3-million-euro second leg of the 2012 Road to Dubai which compatriot and world number one Luke Donald won last year.

Holding a three-shot advantage ahead of his final journey around the par-72, 6,995-metre track, 23-year-old Grace personified steadiness with 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey.

Grace was not in a mood to gamble and it showed on the par-five final hole with a safe drive and an equally careful second that landed just short of two bunkers guarding the entrance to the green.

He chipped into the heart of the green, judged the distance of an uphill birdie putt perfectly only for the ball to veer slightly right and tapped it into the hole before clenching his fist with delight.

Pretoria-based Grace had rounds of 67, 66, 65 and 72 for a 17-under total of 270 and collected a first prize of 206,000 euros while Elson scored 63, 75, 70 and 63 for 271 and second place.

South Africans Michiel Bothma (final-round 71), Trevor Fisher (68), Dawie van der Walt (70) and Jacob van Zyl (68) and Scots David Drysdale (67) and Marc Warren (68) shared third spot.