Shubhankar wins Joburg Open in Monday finish
A delayed finish to the Joburg Open had no impact on Shubhankar Sharma, who prevailed with a flawless fourth round.
Published : Dec 11, 2017 17:15 IST
Shubhankar Sharma claimed his first European Tour title as he maintained a healthy lead to win the weather-affected Joburg Open.
The Indian had been leading the co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour event by four strokes when the threat of lightning called a halt to the final round on Sunday.
He still had 11 holes to complete when play resumed on Monday, but the delay did not affect him as Shubhankar claimed a three-stroke win.
It was a third successive flawless round for Shubhankar, who made the turn in 33 following a birdie at the ninth and kept his composure thereafter to complete a closing 69 and reach 23 under for the tournament.
That was more than enough for him to secure victory despite the best efforts of home hope Erik van Rooyen, whose six-under 66 saw him take second.
Shaun Norris and Tapio Pulkkanen finished tied third at 17 under, with Marcus Armitage completing the top five on 15 under.
Shubhankar, Van Rooyen and Norris have also earned places at next year's Open Championship.