The first winner of 2015 on the European Tour was crowned today at the South Africa Open Championship. Englishman Andy Sullivan won his maiden European Tour victory in a playoff over South African Charl Schwartzel after starting the day seven shots behind. Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champion, began the final round with a five-stroke lead and was four ahead with five holes to go. He would drop four shots in those last five holes to shoot a 74 for an 11-under-par total, matched by Sullivan, who shot a five-under 67.
This was Sullivan’s first European Tour title in his 84th competition. He becomes the second Englishman to win the South Africa Open and gains exemption on Tour until the end of 2016. 20-year-old rookie Matthew Fitzpatrick was also in the final group with Schwartzel for a chance to win his first title. He started out well with birdies on the second and fourth holes, but a double bogey on the seventh and a triple bogey on 13th saw him finish the tournament tied for fifth place. He has tremendous talent and we’re sure we’re going to see more of Fitzpatrick in the future. The European Tour heads to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship next week where World Number 1 Rory McIlroy will make his season debut!
Source: European Tour
