December 5, 2016
Brandon Stone claimed a second European Tour victory as he ran away from the field for a seven-stroke triumph at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at the Leopard Creek Country Club on Sunday.
The 23-year-old extended his overnight three-shot advantage as he finished with a 67 and a 22-under-par total of 266 on the opening weekend of the new Tour season.
Four birdies in five holes from 10th strengthened his grip on the leaderboard and saw him move away from the chasing pack to add to the South African Open title he won in January.
Fellow South African Richard Sterne was second after a final round 67 with Belgian Thomas Detry a further two shots back in third place. The 23-year-old Detry hit a four-under par 68 to confirm the promise he showed in graduating from the challenge tour.
Defending champion Charl Schwartzel, seeking to win the same title on the European Tour for the fifth time and join an elite club with Bernard Langer, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods, carded a final round 74 and was 10 strokes behind.
The former Masters champion did threaten a fightback when he hit three birdies in his opening six holes, but a triple bogey eight at the 15th ended his slim chances.
December 4, 2016
Brandon Stone edged closer to a second European Tour title with a fine 66 in the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Saturday to lead by three shots at Leopard Creek Country Club.
The 23-year-old South African moved to 17 under par for the tournament, ahead of compatriots Keith Horne (67) and Charl Schwartzel (68), and England's Chris Hanson (68), who were tied second on 14 under par.
Stone, who represented South Africa at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games this year after a number of higher-ranked players withdrew, is looking to add to his BMW Open title won in January.
He extended a one-shot overnight lead after birdies in four of his first six holes to extend his advantage and had a rollercoaster run at the start of his back nine with three more birdies and a bogey on the par-three 12th.
He reined his game in after that, completing his round with five pars as the chasing pack failed to narrow his three-shot lead.
One of those was Schwartzel, who is still in contention to join Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the same European Tour event five times.
Schwartzel turned at level par for the day, but then hit a hot-streak with fives birdies in his first six holes of the back nine, before his charge was halted by a bogey on the par-three 16th.
The low round of the tournament was carded by Scotland’s David Drysdale, who sank eight birdies in a faultless 64 to stay just about in contention on 11 under par.
Also In Sports News
Sunday’s final round will have an early start with extreme heat and thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon.
December 3, 2016
Branden Stone ended with an eagle three on the last hole for a six-under par 66 to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Friday.
Stone finished just ahead of South African compatriot Charl Schwartzel and Englishman Chris Hanson, who hit eight birdies in a blistering 65. Schwartzel continued his dominance of the Leopard Creek Country Club course as he bids for a fifth title.
The 2011 Masters champion set the early clubhouse lead after posting a 68 to go 10 under par after 36 holes. Schwartzel, 32, has now played 40 out of 44 sub-par rounds at the picturesque course on the border of the Kruger Park and remains highly fancied to join Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the same European Tour event five times.
“I felt like I played decent but actually made some really good putts. I’m happy to be in the position but feel I can give myself more opportunities if I fine tune things a bit going into the weekend. That will make things just a little easier,” Schwartzel told reporters.
George Coetzee matched Hanson for the lowest round of the day and was tied fourth on the leaderboard with fellow South African Keith Horne on nine under par.
Spaniard Carlos Pigem carded 69 on Friday for a seven under par total of 137 to be up among the leaders despite the death of his caddie. Pedro Ramseyer, who previously carried the bag of Seve Ballesteros, was found dead at his guesthouse on the eve of the tournament. Local media reported he had died of a heart attack.
The tournament marks the start of the new European Tour season and is one of five South African events on the 2016-17 schedule.
December 2, 2016
Defending champion Charl Schwartel birdied the last hole for a share of the first-round lead at the European Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship on Thursday.
Schwartzel tapped in on No. 18 for a 66 to join Paul Dunne on 6 under at Leopard Creek Country Club. Schwartzel is a four-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill and has claimed the title in three of the last four events.
Home favorite Schwartzel made most of his gains on the back nine, with five birdies coming home. Ireland's Dunne made four birdies either side of a double-bogey six on No. 9.
The European Tour is in full swing again just two weeks after Henrik Stenson won the 2016 Race to Dubai title. The Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Australian PGA Championship, which also began on Thursday, are the first tournaments of the 2017 season.
| 1 | RSA | Brandon Stone | -22 | - | 67 | 66 | 66 | 67 | 266 |
| 2 | RSA | Richard Sterne | -15 | - | 68 | 70 | 68 | 67 | 273 |
| 3 | IND | S.S.P CHOWRASIA | -13 | - | 69 | 71 | 67 | 68 | 275 |
| T4 | RSA | Thomas Aiken | -12 | - | 69 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 276 |
| T4 | FRA | Benjamin Hebert | -12 | - | 70 | 66 | 68 | 72 | 276 |
| T4 | SCO | Scott Jamieson | -12 | - | 67 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 276 |
| T4 | ESP | Carlos Pigem | -12 | - | 68 | 69 | 70 | 69 | 276 |
| T4 | RSA | Charl Schwartzel | -12 | - | 66 | 68 | 68 | 74 | 276 |
| T4 | ENG | Graeme Storm | -12 | - | 73 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 276 |
| 10 | RSA | Bryce Easton | -11 | - | 70 | 69 | 67 | 71 | 277 |
| T11 | RSA | Jaco Ahlers | -10 | - | 68 | 70 | 74 | 66 | 278 |
| T11 | SCO | David Drysdale | -10 | - | 70 | 71 | 64 | 73 | 278 |
| T11 | ENG | Chris Hanson | -10 | - | 69 | 65 | 68 | 76 | 278 |
| T11 | RSA | Keith Horne | -10 | - | 69 | 66 | 67 | 76 | 278 |
| T11 | ENG | Paul Maddy | -10 | - | 74 | 69 | 70 | 65 | 278 |
| T11 | GER | Bernd Ritthammer | -10 | - | 72 | 69 | 69 | 68 | 278 |
| T17 | SWE | Alexander Bjork | -9 | - | 67 | 69 | 71 | 72 | 279 |
| T17 | RSA | Dean Burmester | -9 | - | 68 | 72 | 71 | 68 | 279 |
| T17 | GER | Sebastian Heisele | -9 | - | 70 | 72 | 66 | 71 | 279 |
| T20 | RSA | Branden Grace | -8 | - | 69 | 67 | 71 | 73 | 280 |
| T20 | NOR | Espen Kofstad | -8 | - | 70 | 73 | 67 | 70 | 280 |
| T20 | RSA | Ulrich Van den Berg | -8 | - | 70 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 280 |
| T23 | ESP | Pablo Larrazabal | -7 | - | 67 | 70 | 69 | 75 | 281 |
| T23 | FRA | Joel Stalter | -7 | - | 70 | 69 | 68 | 74 | 281 |
| T25 | RSA | Dylan Frittelli | -6 | - | 68 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 282 |
| T25 | FRA | Matthieu Pavon | -6 | - | 72 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 282 |
| T25 | RSA | Jake Roos | -6 | - | 71 | 70 | 68 | 73 | 282 |
| T28 | ENG | Ashley Chesters | -5 | - | 72 | 71 | 67 | 73 | 283 |
| T28 | IRL | Paul Dunne | -5 | - | 66 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 283 |
| T28 | SWE | Richard S. Johnson | -5 | - | 72 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 283 |
| T28 | RSA | JC Ritchie | -5 | - | 70 | 69 | 68 | 76 | 283 |
| T32 | RSA | George Coetzee | -4 | - | 70 | 65 | 76 | 73 | 284 |
| T32 | RSA | Jbe Kruger | -4 | - | 71 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 284 |
| T32 | ENG | Max Orrin | -4 | - | 67 | 73 | 69 | 75 | 284 |
| T32 | RSA | Erik Van Rooyen | -4 | - | 71 | 70 | 69 | 74 | 284 |
| T32 | RSA | Tjaart Van Der Walt | -4 | - | 69 | 72 | 70 | 73 | 284 |
| T37 | RSA | Keenan Davidse | -3 | - | 73 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 285 |
| T37 | RSA | Vaughn Groenewald | -3 | - | 70 | 73 | 73 | 69 | 285 |
| T37 | NIR | Michael Hoey | -3 | - | 69 | 71 | 70 | 75 | 285 |
| T37 | ENG | Richard McEvoy | -3 | - | 72 | 66 | 72 | 75 | 285 |
| T37 | RSA | Garth Mulroy | -3 | - | 69 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 285 |
| T37 | FRA | Damien Perrier | -3 | - | 69 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 285 |
| 43 | SWE | Pontus Widegren | -2 | - | 71 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 286 |
| T44 | FRA | Gregory Havret | -1 | - | 70 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 287 |
| T44 | RSA | Colin Nel | -1 | - | 68 | 75 | 70 | 74 | 287 |
| T44 | RSA | Jean-Paul Strydom | -1 | - | 70 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 287 |
| T44 | RSA | Rhys West | -1 | - | 70 | 73 | 75 | 69 | 287 |
| T48 | RSA | Jean Hugo | Par | - | 67 | 69 | 76 | 76 | 288 |
| T48 | RSA | Neil Schietekat | Par | - | 70 | 72 | 72 | 74 | 288 |
| T48 | SWE | Jeff Winther | Par | - | 71 | 71 | 68 | 78 | 288 |
| T51 | SWE | Christofer Blomstrand | 1 | - | 72 | 71 | 74 | 72 | 289 |
| T51 | RSA | Justin Harding | 1 | - | 68 | 71 | 73 | 77 | 289 |
| T51 | RSA | Doug McGuigan | 1 | - | 70 | 70 | 74 | 75 | 289 |
| T51 | ZMB | Madalitso Muthiya | 1 | - | 70 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 289 |
| T51 | FRA | Clement Sordet | 1 | - | 73 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 289 |
| T56 | RSA | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | 2 | - | 70 | 67 | 84 | 69 | 290 |
| T56 | RSA | Andrew Curlewis | 2 | - | 75 | 68 | 72 | 75 | 290 |
| T56 | ENG | Simon Griffiths | 2 | - | 73 | 70 | 74 | 73 | 290 |
| T56 | ENG | Nathan Kimsey | 2 | - | 69 | 69 | 76 | 76 | 290 |
| T56 | RSA | Zander Lombard | 2 | - | 74 | 68 | 76 | 72 | 290 |
| T56 | ENG | Jamie Rutherford | 2 | - | 68 | 75 | 71 | 76 | 290 |
| 62 | RSA | Hennie Du Plessis | 3 | - | 73 | 69 | 74 | 75 | 291 |
| T63 | SWE | Jens Fahbring | 4 | - | 70 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 292 |
| T63 | RSA | Callum Mowat | 4 | - | 73 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 292 |
| T63 | RSA | Ockie Strydom | 4 | - | 72 | 71 | 80 | 69 | 292 |
| T63 | RSA | Chris Swanepoel | 4 | - | 76 | 66 | 74 | 76 | 292 |
| 67 | DEN | Morten Orum Madsen | 5 | - | 72 | 70 | 76 | 75 | 293 |
| T68 | RSA | Peter Karmis | 6 | - | 70 | 71 | 81 | 72 | 294 |
| T68 | ENG | Matthew Nixon | 6 | - | 71 | 72 | 78 | 73 | 294 |
| T70 | RSA | Shaun Norris | 7 | - | 71 | 72 | 81 | 71 | 295 |
| T70 | FRA | Adrien SADDIER | 7 | - | 68 | 74 | 76 | 77 | 295 |
| 72 | RSA | Anthony Michael | 8 | - | 69 | 72 | 74 | 81 | 296 |
| CUT | ENG | Marcus Armitage | Par | - | 72 | 72 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Oliver Bekker | Par | - | 71 | 73 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | BRA | Adilson Da Silva | Par | - | 71 | 73 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Arthur Horne | Par | - | 74 | 70 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | DNK | Lasse Jensen | Par | - | 74 | 70 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Titch Moore | Par | - | 72 | 72 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Jake Redman | Par | - | 71 | 73 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Rourke Van Der Spuy | Par | - | 74 | 70 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Danie Van Tonder | Par | - | 69 | 75 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | RSA | Albert Venter | Par | - | 74 | 70 | - | - | 144 |
| CUT | AUS | Dale Brandt-Richards | 1 | - | 75 | 70 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | RSA | Merrick Bremner | 1 | - | 72 | 73 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | ENG | Daniel Brooks | 1 | - | 75 | 70 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | ENG | Laurie Canter | 1 | - | 71 | 74 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | RSA | Tyrone Ferreira | 1 | - | 74 | 71 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | RSA | Andrew Georgiou | 1 | - | 73 | 72 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | RSA | Jared Harvey | 1 | - | 72 | 73 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | RSA | Michael Hollick | 1 | - | 73 | 72 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | CHN | Tung-Hung Hsieh | 1 | - | 72 | 73 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | AUS | DJ Loypur | 1 | - | 73 | 72 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | ESP | Pablo Martin Benavides | 1 | - | 72 | 73 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | ENG | John Parry | 1 | - | 72 | 73 | - | - | 145 |
| CUT | RSA | Andre De Decker | 2 | - | 72 | 74 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | RSA | Louis De Jager | 2 | - | 73 | 73 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | SCO | Scott Henry | 2 | - | 72 | 74 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | ESP | Adrian Otaegui | 2 | - | 73 | 73 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | ENG | Steven Tiley | 2 | - | 71 | 75 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | RSA | Justin Walters | 2 | - | 74 | 72 | - | - | 146 |
| CUT | FRA | Gregory Bourdy | 3 | - | 75 | 72 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | ARG | Rafa Echenique | 3 | - | 74 | 73 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | ENG | Mark Foster | 3 | - | 71 | 76 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | RSA | Jason Froneman | 3 | - | 75 | 72 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | IND | Rahil Gangjee | 3 | - | 79 | 68 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | USA | Daniel Im | 3 | - | 73 | 74 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | SWE | Anton Karlsson | 3 | - | 69 | 78 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | RSA | Mark Williams | 3 | - | 70 | 77 | - | - | 147 |
| CUT | ENG | Chris Cannon | 4 | - | 71 | 77 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Eddie Pepperell | 4 | - | 74 | 74 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | ENG | Matt Wallace | 4 | - | 72 | 76 | - | - | 148 |
| CUT | RSA | Dwayne Basson | 5 | - | 76 | 73 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Wallie Coetsee | 5 | - | 73 | 76 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Darren Fichardt | 5 | - | 72 | 77 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | FRA | Sebastien Gros | 5 | - | 72 | 77 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | ENG | Ross McGowan | 5 | - | 74 | 75 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | CAN | Lindsay Renolds | 5 | - | 69 | 80 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Omar Sandys | 5 | - | 72 | 77 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Teboho Sefatsa | 5 | - | 76 | 73 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | USA | Heath Slocum | 5 | - | 75 | 74 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | FRA | Gary Stal | 5 | - | 75 | 74 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Toto Thimba Jnr | 5 | - | 75 | 74 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | ZWE | Scott Vincent | 5 | - | 72 | 77 | - | - | 149 |
| CUT | RSA | Warren Abery | 6 | - | 75 | 75 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | RSA | Heinrich Bruiners | 6 | - | 79 | 71 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | RSA | Ruan De Smidt | 6 | - | 75 | 75 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | RSA | Tyrone Mordt | 6 | - | 71 | 79 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | RSA | Lyle Rowe | 6 | - | 81 | 69 | - | - | 150 |
| CUT | RSA | Christiaan Basson | 7 | - | 77 | 74 | - | - | 151 |
| CUT | RSA | Allister De Kock | 7 | - | 72 | 79 | - | - | 151 |
| CUT | RSA | Steven Ferreira | 7 | - | 72 | 79 | - | - | 151 |
| CUT | AUS | Ben Wharton | 7 | - | 79 | 72 | - | - | 151 |
| CUT | ESP | Pep Angles | 8 | - | 79 | 73 | - | - | 152 |
| CUT | RSA | Haydn Porteous | 8 | - | 75 | 77 | - | - | 152 |
| CUT | RSA | Jacques Kruyswijk | 9 | - | 79 | 74 | - | - | 153 |
| CUT | AUS | Alex Pitty | 9 | - | 77 | 76 | - | - | 153 |
| CUT | AUS | Clayton Bridges | 10 | - | 76 | 78 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | USA | Ryan Carter | 10 | - | 77 | 77 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | NIR | Darren Clarke | 10 | - | 78 | 76 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | IRL | Jack Hume | 10 | - | 73 | 81 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | AUS | Jason King | 10 | - | 78 | 76 | - | - | 154 |
| CUT | ZWE | Dayne Moore | 11 | - | 78 | 77 | - | - | 155 |
| CUT | ESP | Alvaro Quiros | 11 | - | 81 | 74 | - | - | 155 |
| CUT | CHN | Fei-Hao Yang | 11 | - | 76 | 79 | - | - | 155 |
| CUT | CHN | Chun Kang Hung | 12 | - | 77 | 79 | - | - | 156 |
| CUT | ZWE | Marc Cayeux | 13 | - | 81 | 76 | - | - | 157 |
| CUT | RSA | Alex Haindl | 13 | - | 77 | 80 | - | - | 157 |
| CUT | GBR | Jeff Inglis | 13 | - | 76 | 81 | - | - | 157 |
| CUT | RSA | Pieter Kruger | 13 | - | 81 | 76 | - | - | 157 |
| CUT | AUS | Braden Becker | 14 | - | 81 | 77 | - | - | 158 |
| CUT | AUS | Ryan Bernard | 16 | - | 76 | 84 | - | - | 160 |
| CUT | RSA | Irvin Mazibuko | 18 | - | 82 | 80 | - | - | 162 |
| CUT | RSA | Brett Liddle | 25 | - | 85 | 84 | - | - | 169 |
| CUT | - | Leorin Pillay | 29 | - | 84 | 89 | - | - | 173 |
| RET | AUS | Tim Hart | 4 | - | 76 | - | - | - | 76 |
| RET | RSA | PH McIntyre | 5 | - | 77 | - | - | - | 77 |
