Fleetwood Winds Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood has beaten Swede Marcus Kinhult in a play-off to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, in South Africa.

Having started the day six shots off the lead, Fleetwood played the round of his life to card a seven-under 65 to finish 12 under par.

Kinault matched his effort, finishing 68 under par and taking it to a play-off.

Fleetwood’s final round saw three eagles, before making an excellent par to take the title and the largest prize pot of the European Tour, $2.5 million.

The win sees the 28-year old move up to second in the overall Race to Dubai standings behind Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.

“It’s really, really cool when you win a tournament.  And it’s great for the people who go on the journey with you”, Fleetwood said after his win.

This is the first win for Fleetwood since he defended his crown at the Abu Dhabi Invitational back in January 2018, though he’s not been lacking in form.

Since then, he’s had three famous runners-up finishes, most notably losing out to Brooks Koepka at the 2018 US Open, and then at the Open this year, narrowly missing out on his first major win to Shane Lowry.

Of the Race to Dubai, Fleetwood said “It’s an absolute privilege to have the chance of winning the Race to Dubai.  It’s one of the things I’m most proud of in my career”.

“I will start thinking about next week down the line.  But I’m happy for the challenge.  I may play terribly but I feel ready”.

The Race to Dubai culminates with the season-ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship, held at the end of November each year.

The winner next Sunday will receive $3 million, and the overall winner of the Race to Dubai will take home an additional $2 million from a total fund of $5 million, which will be shared between the top five players in the final standings.