Golf: South Africa's Grace grabs first US PGA Tour title
Branden Grace fired seven birdies in a five-under par 66 to win his first US PGA Tour title.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Branden Grace fired seven birdies in a five-under par 66 on Sunday to surge to his first US PGA Tour victory at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
South Africa s Grace, owner of seven European Tour titles, finished with a nine-under total of 275, two strokes ahead of Scotland s Russell Knox and England s Luke Donald - the 54-hole leader who yet again was pipped at the post on the Harbour Town Golf Links.
Donald now has five top-three-finishes in the Heritage but no victories. He began the day seven-under and ended there, too, after a round that included two birdies and two bogeys in a four-hole stretch.
Grace, meanwhile, wasted no time in challenging Donald s lead, with birdies at his first two holes. He bounced back from a bogey at the fourth with birdies on the next two holes and another on the ninth to take the lead into the back nine, where he made two birdies and a bogey coming in.
It was a good turnaround for the 14th-ranked Grace, after he missed the cut at the Masters last week. He said putting was the difference, but it wasn t until he had rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at 12 and a nine-footer at 13 that he really felt he had a victory in sight.
"When I got to 12, 13, when I made a couple of nice putts I knew I m in there with a chance," said Grace, who finished equal fourth at the US Open last year and third at the PGA Championship.
"That last stretch of five holes you know you can t really force things. As soon as you try to force things there it s going to backfire. You just have to stay patient and grind it and that s what I managed to do."
Knox claimed his share of second with a final-round 67. He and Donald were two shots in front of Kevin Na, who carded a 69, and Bryson DeChambeau, who closed with a 68 for his share of fourth in his professional debut.
World number one Jason Day of Australia, who shot himself out of contention on Saturday with a season-worst 79, finished on a solid note with a three-under par 68. Day finished tied for 23rd and will retain his world number one ranking as he heads into a much needed week off.
