Daniel van Tonder secured his very first European Tour triumph by winning the Kenya Savannah Classic in Nairobi on Friday.
Following tremendous success on the Sunshine Tour over the past 12 months, the South African finally carved his name into the Tour’s record books with a stellar final-round showing at the Karen Country Club.
Van Tonder needed three playoff holes to earn his win, battling Thailand’s Jass Janewattananond to the very end.
A round of 64 helped Van Tonder to the top of the leaderboard, where he rolled in a monster birdie on the final hole to get to 21 under par for the week.
What a time to do it! ?
van Tonder ties the lead with a huge birdie putt at the 18th. #SavannahClassic pic.twitter.com/OdmiRuZ7mP
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) March 26, 2021
He and Janewattananond returned to the 18th tee box and twice both players made pars with Van Tonder putting for birdie on each occasion.
It was third-time lucky, however, for Van Tonder, who struck a brilliant approach shot from the left side of the fairway, leaving him with a five-foot putt for birdie, while his opponent came up short and tapped in for par.
The 31-year-old made no mistake as he converted his birdie chance to seal the deal, making it consecutive South African victories in Kenya, following Justin Harding’s win at the Kenya Open last week.
Countryman Jacques Kruyswijk signed off in T5, while Darren Fichardt settled for a share of tenth spot.
