Publications
Partners
East London - Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen held off a strong challenge from Tjaart van der Walt to win the Africa Open, a co-sanctioned European and Sunshine Tour event, at the East London Golf Club on Sunday.
Oosthuizen's remarkable total of 27 under par, after a closing 67, was enough for a two-shot victory.
Van der Walt, ranked 347th in the world, had shared the lead with Oosthuizen going into the final round as he went in search of his maiden European Tour title.
He hung on doggedly, but the turning point came on the par three 17th hole, where the pair were still tied for the lead standing on the tee.
Van der Walt left his approach just short of the green while Oosthuizen found the green, some 35 feet from the hole.
Van der Walt was unable to make his par, while Oosthuizen slammed in a birdie putt to take a two-shot lead into the last hole, with both players parring the 18th.
Earlier, Van der Walt birdied the first three holes in a row in the final round while Oosthuizen put together a birdie, bogey, eagle start.
Oosthuizen, a former British Open champion, threw in one more birdie, offset by one bogey, and while Van der Walt was consistent, with no bogies, he could only manage one birdie.
The co-leaders continued to trade blows after the turn as Oosthuizen went ahead with another birdie on the 11th and Van der Walt made up the stroke on the 13th, before the climax on the 71st hole of the tournament.
Van der Walt, fresh off securing his card for the 2012 European Tour season, despite playing on five different tours, has finished runner-up at nine previous tournaments.
He came closest to winning an event at the Buick Classic, on the US PGA Tour, in 2005 when he lost in a playoff to Brad Faxon.
265 - Louis Oosthuizen 69-62-67-67
267 - Tjaart van der Walt 69-64-65-69
268 - Retief Goosen 65-68-66-69
269 - Jaco Van Zyl 71-65-67-66
270 - Alastair Forsyth (SCO) 69-66-68-67
272 - Richard Sterne 69-69-64-70
273 - Danny Willett (ENG) 67-68-65-73
274 - Lyle Rowe 73-68-65-68, Craig Lee (SCO) 68-67-68-71
275 - Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 73-66-71-65, Peter Karmis 68-70-69-68, Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 72-64-70-69, Magnus Carlsson (SWE) 69-66-70-70
276 - Branden Grace 77-63-69-67, Jaco Ahlers 65-68-73-70, Thomas Aiken 64-69-72-71
277 - David Drysdale (SCO) 72-69-69-67, Reinier Saxton (NED) 71-70-69-67, Jacques Blaauw 70-69-70-68, Dawie van der Walt 70-70-69-68, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 69-66-72-70, Benn Barham (ENG) 70-66-70-71, Tim Sluiter (NED) 68-69-69-71, Joshua Cunliffe 69-68-69-71, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 69-69-68-71, Darren Fichardt 71-70-65-71, Richard Bland (ENG) 67-69-69-72
278 - David Howell (ENG) 68-69-72-69, George Coetzee 71-68-69-70, Doug McGuigan 70-69-68-71, Danie van Tonder 70-70-67-71, Tyrone Ferreira 68-68-69-73
Selected:
279 - Garth Mulroy 68-72-68-71
280 - Chris Wood (ENG) 69-71-69-71
281 - Steven O'Hara (SCO) 70-70-70-71
