Richard Sterne makes long awaited return to the winner’s circle

Richard Sterne started the day five shots behind the lead and signed for a 5-under 66 featuring an eagle at the par-5 17th, four birdies and one bogey to win the Soudal Open by two shots.

“To get back in the winner’s circle is… quite unexpected today, to be honest,” said Sterne. “I thought I was one behind playing the last but then got on to the 18th green and had a quick look at the board and was quite surprised.”

STERNE IN THE LEAD!

The South African birdies 16 and eagles 17 to be two shots in the lead coming down 18.#SoudalOpen pic.twitter.com/BQmeGwWluQ

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 24, 2026

This is Sterne’s first DP World Tour title since the 2013 Joburg Open. He has had several surgeries since then, including inserting a titanium disc in his back, that have taken him out of competition for years.

“They were hard times, I didn’t think I was going to get through a lot of them,” he said. “Three wrist ops, a disc replacement, hip surgery, I’ve been through it all so I’m pretty happy. It’s been very tough, the last couple of years, but there’s been some signs of good things.

“One of the main goals was to win with my children actually seeing it – the oldest is 13 soon, it’s been pretty much that long so it’s nice to eventually let them see me win. And then I suppose just to prove to myself that I can still compete at this age, after all I’ve been through.”

Sterne is the sixth South African to win this season on the DP World Tour, Jayden Schaper and Casey Jarvis twice each and Yurav Premlall most recenty at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship.

“It’s great to see the young guys coming through,” said Sterne. “There are some exceptional players, I think they’re going to be quite dominant going forward. But just to keep them a little bit on their toes, it’s nice to do that.”

Six players tied for second place at 16-under including England’s Marcus Armitage who fired seven birdies and two bogeys for a 66.

South African Zander Lombard who had held at least a share of the lead since Thursday opened with a birdie followed by eleven consecutive pars, bogeys at the 13th and 16th and a double bogey at the par-4 14th for a 74 and a T8 finish at 15-under.

“There’s no words for that emotion,” said Lombard. “Disappointed in myself. I stayed in it, I tried my best. I’ve achieved what I came out to do, [which] is be in contention and on reflection, it’s still a good week.”

“I’m doing a lot right, I’m contending again and hopefully I can take this form into the rest of the season. I feel like a win’s right around the corner so I’m not going to take this too harshly, but wipe it off and next week’s another week.”

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