(Reuters) – Dean Burmester made two birdies on the final three holes to pull away from the field and win the South African Open on Sunday by three strokes, securing back-to-back titles on the DP World Tour following his triumph at the Joburg Open last week.
The 34-year-old South African’s final round 68 saw him finish with a four-round total of 277, well clear of the trio of Italian Renato Paratore, Jesper Svensson of Sweden and South African Ryan van Velzen on 280.
Burmester started the final round two shots off the lead but went top of the leader board after making three birdies and a single bogey in tricky scoring conditions on the front nine.
He had looked in danger of missing the cut, or even pulling out, after feeling unwell on Friday when he carded a 74 but played himself into contention on Saturday with a third round 65.
Van Velzen shared the overnight lead but was one shot over for the day and dropped to eight under par, while Paratore put behind him a double bogey early on in his round and also finished with two birdies in the final three holes.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
