It was a great weekend for South African golf with Charl Schwartzel capturing his third European title.
The 24 year old won the inaugural Madrid Masters by three strokes from Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez on Sunday.
The win was all the more impressive after Schwartzel had considered withdrawing from the tournament before the second round due to a respiratory infection and a sore shoulder-blade. But his father, George, advised him to play on via a telephone call from home and he responded by shooting a 64 to take the lead and never looked back.
Compatriot James Kamte continued his run of good form with a tied for seventeenth finish in Madrid with Richard Sterne further down the field, tying for 53rd.
Across the pond Rory Sabbatini let a third round lead slip away at the Texas Valero Open. The South African had held a one-stroke advantage over American Zach Johnson but slipped down the leaderboard to eventually tie for eighth.
Fellow countryman, Brenden Pappas, missed the cut. On the local scene, Doug McGuigan won the inaugural BMG Classic at the Ebotse Golf and Country Club. McGuigan clinched his first title in two years with an eagle putt on the last hole to snatch victory away from Jaco van Zyl.
