American golfer Johannes Veerman claimed his second European Tour title by winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa by one shot following a one-putt on the 72nd hole by home favorite Aldrich Potgieter on Sunday.
Veerman had completed his final round of 3-under 69 about an hour before the 20-year-old Potgieter went down on No. 18, needing a birdie to win or gain points to force a qualifier for the tournament known as “Africa’s Major.” “
Instead, he pushed his way into the rough near the fairway near the green, chipped — after a free fall — to 10 feet and missed the par putt.
The 209th-ranked Veerman, whose other win came at the Czech Masters in 2021, celebrated the victory on the driving range, where he was preparing for a possible match. He started the final round five strokes back at Gary Player Country Club.
“I didn’t have the best seasons the last two years, but my team and I put in a lot of hours,” said Veerman. “Starting this season with a win is something indescribable, I thought I had a chance [at the start of the day]but then I thought I might lose it when I put 16. Now it doesn’t matter! We worked hard for this.”
The 32-year-old Californian shot a 5-under 283 in the tournament. Potgieter, who scored three goals in one night, shot 75 and tied for second place with Matthew Jordan (72) and Romain Langasque (71).
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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