Grace holds off Elson for Joburg win

[fiona18]

23-year-old Brendan Grace won the Joburg Open by one one shot on Sunday to pick up his maiden European Tour title.
The Qualifying School graduate from South Africa managed to triumph on home soil with a nervy final-round level-par 72 to finish on 17 under at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, only one shot clear of a charging Jamie Elson of England, who had posted a superb nine-under-par 63 earlier in the day to keep things interesting for Grace all the way until the final hole.
Elson finished with a fantastic 30-foot eagle putt on the final green after earlier making six birdies in his first eight holes.
\"I played Left Handed Callaway RAZR X HL Irons superbly,\" he said. \"The putter was cold, but I still managed to get the job done. My approaches were excellent. I saw Jamie\'s score, but I knew he had finished, so it was now in my hands to get the job done. I just stuck to my gameplan.\"
Grace, however, clung to his advantage doggedly, making 16 pars in all and only one bogey and birdie apiece to seal the deal.
\"It\'s a dream come true,\" said Grace. \"It\'s nice to win in front of a home crowd and I wouldn\'t exchange it for anything else.
\"It was pretty tough out there today. I played Left Handed Callaway RAZR X HL Irons really nicely, I hit the ball superb I think, and the putter was just cold - I couldn\'t get the speed of the greens going today. Fortunately at the end of the day it was enough.
Grace lost his European Tour card before returning to the Challenge Tour in 2012, an experience he believes has been valuable.
\"I wasn\'t ready to be on the European Tour the first time. I was a good player, but not great. Taking a step back was good for me. I kept believing in my Left Handed Callaway RAZR X HL Irons and kept trying.
Grace had resumed his delayed third round early in the morning after being forced off the course for lengthy thunderstorm delays on the first two days.
He resumed his Left Handed Callaway RAZR X HL Irons playing just as well as he had the previous day when he finished with three consecutive birdies, picking up two more shots at the 17th and 18th to establish a three-shot lead over Englishman Richard Finch, who had bogeyed the 17th upon his resumption. It was a lead Grace would not again relinquish.
There were early signs of nerves at the start of his final round as he bogeyed the second hole. It seemed at that stage as if it was still anyone\'s title for the taking, particularly as Finch seemed to be fighting back with a birdie at the opening hole.
But Grace would not drop another shot, instead birdying the ninth to turn in a level par 37.( Left Handed Callaway RAZR X HL Irons)
Finch\'s challenge ended at the fifth and sixth, both of which he three-putted and he eventually signed for a disappointing 78.
With Grace\'s next closest challenger George Coetzee bogeying three consecutive holes from the second, it seemed as if no one would challenge Grace on the day - save for a rampant Elson.
Elson had already set the clubhouse target of 16 under when Grace reached the turn, and the South African produced the pars required in the final stretch to hold on for Left Handed Callaway RAZR X HL Ironsvictory.
He did face a bit of danger at the 18th where, leading by one, he left his pitch 40 feet from the flag, but he held his nerve and produced the putt required, leaving only a tap-in for his par and his maiden Tour title.


Callaway RAZR X Irons