Nedbank Challenge:Jim Furyk revealed how he had to calm himself down mid-round on the way to clinching victory in the Nedbank Challenge for the second consecutive year.
The American carded a final round of 74 for a 12-under-par total of 276, giving him a two-shot victory over Sweden's Henrik Stenson and a prize of $1.2 million (€ 900,000).
Furyk had not carded a single bogey in his first three rounds but eventually dropped a shot on the third yesterday and also bogeyed the eighth, 11th and 12th.
But birdies on the first, sixth and ninth were enough to keep him clear of the chasing pack and he could even afford the luxury of another bogey on the 18th.
That mixed run around the turn briefly gave hope to Furyk's rivals, however none of the contenders made a run at the likeable 36-year-old and he was eventually a comfortable winner at the Sun City event.
"I was disappointed with the bogeys on 11 and 12," said Furyk, the US Open champion in 2003.
"On 11 I got fooled by the wind today. On the eighth I came up short of the green even though I hit a crisp iron shot.
"I made a very poor swing at 12, so I think that is when I kind of had to regroup and collect myself. Good pars on 13 and 14 with some really steady golf shots calmed me down a little bit."
Stenson's 69 was the lowest score on a testing last day which saw Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who started the final round in second place, struggle to a 75 to finish third on eight under.
Harrington blew his chances on the par-four eighth when his first two shots were obscured by trees and he finished with a double-bogey.
Local favourite Ernie Els was fourth on seven under, ahead of fellow South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Retief Goosen.
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie propped up the 12-man field after a closing 76 left him 22 shots off the lead on 10 over par.
Furyk began the tournament with a 68, followed it up with 66 and then carded another 68 yesterday. Such a run of scores afforded him the luxury of a two-over 74 and he was pleased to see few low scores over the closing 18 holes.
"The course was set up well for me to go out there and play my game and put the ball on the fairway," said Furyk.
"The tough course set-up was definitely in my favour today.
"It allowed me not to play conservatively, but to make a few bogeys and not worry about it.
"I'm happy with the way I played the front nine and on the back I got a little loose and hit some bad shots. I might have played a little bit conservative on the back nine at times. On the front nine I kept the pedal down and played very, very well."
Els and Spain's Sergio Garcia were fined nominal amounts for throwing golf clubs, tournament officials revealed yesterday.
Els threw his club on the 14th hole during Saturday's third round after Garcia had performed a similar act of displeasure on the ninth hole during his first round.
Officials reviewed recordings of the incidents and imposed the maximum fine of 1,000 rand ($138) allowed under "minor offences" according to the Sunshine Tour rulebook.
Both players handed over the cash immediately, which will be donated to the South African Golf Development Board.
Garcia started Sunday's final round on even-par, 14 shots behind leader Jim Furyk, while Els was seven off the pace.
Scoreboard
276 (-12)
Jim Furyk (US) 68 66 68 74
278 (-10)
Henrik Stenson (Swe) 67 71 71 69
280 (-8)
Padraig Harrington (Irl) 69 71 65 75
281 (-7)
Ernie Els (SA) 72 67 70 72
282 (-6)
Charl Schwartzel (SA) 70 69 71 72
286 (-2)
Retief Goosen (SA) 70 70 71 75
287 (-1)
Trevor Immelman (SA) 71 69 73 74
Sergio Garcia (Spa) 72 76 68 71
288 (level)
Chris DiMarco (US) 74 75 66 73
291 (+3)
David Howell (Eng) 69 73 73 76
292 (+4)
Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 71 73 69 79
298 (+10)
Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 75 77 70 76
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