Brandon Stone confirmed his ability to contend at the highest level with a seven-shot victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Sunday, where he birdied the 18th for a 22-under-par total.
‘I knew I could score and holed some great putts at the first three holes on that back nine which really got the momentum going. I just played some incredible golf the whole week to be fair,’ he said.
The 23-year-old made six bogeys in four rounds at Leopard Creek, where he posted 67, 66, 66, 67 for his second European Tour win, following the SA Open in January this year.
Congratulations @BrandonMStone! ?#DunhillChamps https://t.co/rgHJ3RBFkt
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2016
It’s been a watershed year for Stone, who broke on to the scene with a victory at the Sunshine Tour’s Cape Town Open in 2015. Two months later he hoisted the SA Open trophy, and went on to play in the Olympics and the DP World Tour Championship.
He capped off the season by thrashing the field at Leopard Creek this week, where four-time champion Charl Schwartzel stumbled around in 74 on Sunday.
‘I think my ball-striking this week was superb from the first hole to the last,’ said Stone. ‘That score that I shot this week – 22 under par around here is not a simple task – to do that is obviously quite something.’
Richard Sterne rose through the pack with a round of 67, claiming second place on his own at 15 under par. Belgium’s Thomas Detry was third on 13 under par, followed by six players in a tie for fourth place on 12 under par.
Stone was the man to watch at Leopard Creek. He kept a cool demeanour while battling his senior countrymen and in the end coasted to a significant victory.
