Tommy Fleetwood wins Nedbank Golf Challenge in play-off
- From the section Golf
| Nedbank Golf Challenge, Gary Player Country Club, Sun City: Final Leaderboard |
|---|
| -12 T Fleetwood (Eng), M Kinhult (Swe) (Fleetwood wins on first extra hole) |
| -8 J Scrivener (Aus), B Wiesberger (Aut), T Detry (Bel); -7 L Westwood (Eng), L Oosthuizen (SA); -6 B MacIntyre (Sco), Z Lombard (SA) |
| Selected others: -4 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -2 H Stenson (Swe); -1 P Harrington (Ire); +2 O Wilson (Eng); +3 I Poulter (Eng); +7 E Els (SA) |
| Full leaderboard |
Tommy Fleetwood beat Marcus Kinhult in a play-off to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa.
Fleetwood started the final round six shots off the lead but carded a seven-under 65 to finish on 12 under par, which Swede Kinhult matched with a 68.
The Englishman, who had three eagles during his round, then made a brilliant par on the first extra hole to win.
It was the 28-year-old's first victory since January 2018 and moved him up to second in the Race to Dubai.
That last victory came as he defended the Abu Dhabi Invitational in January 2018. Since then, Fleetwood has had three runners-up finishes, including at the 2018 US Open to Brooks Koepka, and at this year's Open to Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush.
"It's really, really cool when you win a tournament," he told Sky Sports. "And it's great for the people who go on the journey with you."
Fleetwood's 65 was three shots better than anyone else on Sunday and in the play-off he produced a magnificent up-and-down to ensure his par beat Kinhult's bogey to take home the largest monetary prize on the European Tour - $2.5m (£1.93m).
He is now second behind Austria's Bernd Wiesberger in the Race to Dubai standings, with only one event to go - the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The Ryder Cup player is chasing his second victory in that, having won it in 2017.
"It's an absolute privilege to have a chance of winning the Race to Dubai," added Fleetwood. "It's one of the things I'm most proud of in my career.
"I will start thinking about next week down the line. But I'm happy for the challenge. I may play terribly but I feel very ready."
The tournament winner in Dubai next Sunday will receive $3m (£2.32m), and the overall winner of the Race to Dubai will get an extra $2m from a bonus pool of $5m, which will be shared out between the top five in the final standings.
| European Tour Race to Dubai standings (ahead of season-ending DP World Tour Championship): | |
|---|---|
| 1. Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) | 4802.4 points |
| 2. Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) | 4079.8 |
| 3. Jon Rahm (Spa) | 3898.3 |
| 4. Shane Lowry (Ire) | 3613.8 |
| 5. Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) | 3320.9 |
MacIntyre leads the way to be Rookie of the Year
Wiesberger ended in a tie for third alongside Jason Scrivener of Australia and Thomas Detry of Belgium, but four shots adrift of Fleetwood and Kinhult.
The 34-year-old, from Vienna, dropped three shots in his final four holes to slip out of contention.
England's Lee Westwood finished joint sixth, while Scotland's Robert MacIntyre hit an excellent 68 to follow his 65 on Saturday to end in a tie for eighth, his seventh top-10 finish in his debut season on the European Tour.
It also meant the 23-year-old leapfrogged Kurt Kitayama of the USA in the race for the Tour's prestigious Rookie of the Year title.
"Winning the Rookie of the Year would mean everything," he said. "That would be unbelievable."
Overnight leader Zander Lombard of South Africa finished alongside MacIntyre after finishing with a five-over 77.
