Grace snares first PGA title at RBC Heritage

Branden Grace was rewarded for his stunning consistency at the RBC Heritage as he claimed a maiden PGA Tour title courtesy of a two-stroke victory on Sunday.

Published : Apr 18, 2016 17:13 IST

South African golfer Branden Grace carded a final-round 66 to rise from fourth in the leaderboard at the start of the day to top spot, capitalising on Luke Donald's par performance at Harbour Town.
South African golfer Branden Grace carded a final-round 66 to rise from fourth in the leaderboard at the start of the day to top spot, capitalising on Luke Donald's par performance at Harbour Town.
lightbox-info

South African golfer Branden Grace carded a final-round 66 to rise from fourth in the leaderboard at the start of the day to top spot, capitalising on Luke Donald's par performance at Harbour Town.

Branden Grace was rewarded for his stunning consistency at the RBC Heritage as he claimed a maiden PGA Tour title courtesy of a two-stroke victory on Sunday.

The South African carded a final-round 66 to rise from fourth in the leaderboard at the start of the day to top spot, capitalising on Luke Donald's par performance at Harbour Town.

Grace - a seven-time European Tour champion - holed seven birdies and dropped just two shots as he closed out the tournament at nine under the card, ahead of former world number one Donald, who earned a fourth runners-up finish at the RBC Heritage, and Russell Knox.

"This is pretty much where my season kicked off last year, and I was excited to get back to this place," Grace said on CBS. 

"A couple of the putts on the back nine let me know I had a chance [to win].

"You can't force things on the last stretch of five holes, so I had to stay patient and grind."

Grace got his day off to the best possible start with birdies on the first two holes, before adding another two on five and six after striking a bogey on the fourth.

He added further birdies on the ninth, 12th and 13th holes before bogeying the 17th hole.

Englishman Donald, who topped the leaderboard heading into the fourth and final round, birdied twice and struck two bogeys to finish the day on par.

Donald finished level with Scotsman Knox, who carded four under in a strong showing.

Knox went bogey-free on the front nine, managing four birdies, before scoring a par on the back nine with a 12th-hole bogey and a 16th-hole birdie.

Bryson DeChambeau (68) finished tied for fourth in his first tournament as a professional, equal with Kevin Na (69) on five under.

World number one Jason Day, meanwhile, posted a three-under-par 68 as he ended the event eight shots off the pace.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment