American Max Homa won the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge by four shots after posting a final round 66 at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa.
The 33-year-old US Ryder Cup player, who is a six-time PGA Tour winner, finished on 19 under par to secure his first taste of victory outside the United States, with Nicolai Højgaard his closest challenger on 15 under.
“It’s just been tremendous to get to travel to a new place and meet so many amazing people,” Homa said. “The fans have been amazing, everyone has been so welcoming and kind. To be granted the opportunity to even be here I was truly grateful for, but to come out with a trophy is just cherry on top.”
Højgaard’s solo second place means he jumps 24 places on the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex to tenth, meaning he is currently projected to secure one of the ten PGA TOUR cards on offer to players not otherwise exempt. Thorbjørn Olesen, who for long spells kept pace with Homa before a double bogey at the 17th ended his chances of glory, finished third on 14 under to climb one spot to sixth on the Race to Dubai, while Justin Thomas finished his week in style with a 66 to finish fourth on 12 under. Englishman Dan Bradbury rounded out the top five on 11 under to safely secure passage to next week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, where the top 50 available players on the Race to Dubai will tee it up.
With results in South Africa, Rory McIlroy has been confirmed as the winner of the Race to Dubai ranking for the fifth time in his career. His nearest challenger, Adian Meronk, needed to finished third this week to take the ranking’s race to the wire at next week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, but the Polish player could only finish 15th.
McIlroy, who won the Dubai Desert Classic and the Scottish Open this year, said: “Winning the Race to Dubai title for the fifth time is an incredible honour and another important milestone in my career. Capturing the Ryder Cup in Rome was a highlight this year and adding this title makes it all the more special. I still have distance to cover to reach Colin Montgomerie’s tally of eight order of merit titles, and that inspires me to give my best in the upcoming years.”