Brandon Stone returned to the winner’s circle at exactly the right time after his final round 60 saw him claim the Scottish Open, part of the lucrative Rolex Series.
WATCH: Stone shoots 60, wins big!
Stone secured his first title since the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2016 after storming past a packed leaderboard on Sunday in Gullane. And while his 59th stroke, a birdie try at the 72nd hole missed on the low side, the young South African’s brilliance landed him a cheque of almost a million euros – or R15,466,063!
After watching his world ranking drop to as low as 371, the win catapulted Stone to 110th in the world and vindication for months of hard work put into his game.
The win lifted Stone to 14th in the Race to Dubai and helped him earn a place in this week’s Open Championship at Carnoustie where he is one of a dozen South Africans in the field.
The 25-year-old is now the sixth-highest ranked South African but will be the fifth best at Carnoustie with Dean Burmester missing out on qualification. Burmester rose 12 places this week and secured a cheque worth R1,746,445 after finishing in a share of ninth place. The big-hitting Burmester had a front row seat to Stone’s record-equalling round on Sunday and fired a 67 himself to finish in the group that contained the likes of Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton.
Trevor Immelman’s bid to line up at The Open came up agonizingly short as his world ranking saw him miss out after tying for third alongside previously unqualified Jens Dantorp. The Swede’s superior ranking saw him sneak into the year’s third Major ahead of Immelman, who moved from 1,380 in the world to sit in 420th after a strong showing at Gullane.
Immelman’s pain at missing a Major beyond his regular appearance at The Masters was eased by a payday of R4,794,506. Richard Sterne, like Immelman and Burmester, will not be playing this week, took home R1,308,441 after finishing in a share of 14th place.
There was further good news for South African interests abroad after Sunshine Tour star Justin Harding took full advantage of his invitation at the Indonesia Golf Open. The Stellenbosch professional took his recent record to a remarkable three wins in his last four starts, the fourth was a top 10 place at the Sun City Challenge. Harding jumped to 124th in the world and will take up Asian Tour membership after the win.
Top 10 South African rankings:
Louis Oosthuizen – 32
Branden Grace – 35
Charl Schwartzel – 46
Dylan Frittelli – 58
Dean Burmester – 108
Brandon Stone – 110
George Coetzee – 113
Justin Harding – 124
Shaun Norris – 125
Darren Fichardt – 137
