South Africa’s Ockie Strydom carded a final-round 69 to claim his first on the DP World Tour with a two-shot victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.

The 37-year-old started the final round level on 15-under par with Scott Jamieson, but suffered a setback on the ninth with a double-bogey. He rallied, however, to secure four birdies in the next five holes and ease to victory on 18-under par.

Spaniard Adrian Otaegui, who closed with a 68, took second, with England’s Laurie Canter taking third after flying up the leaderboard with an 8-under-par 64 on Sunday. Jamieson dropped away tamely, shooting a final round 76 to finish

Strydom, who finished 15th in last week’s South African Open, picked up €255,000 for the win and also earned his card to play on the DP World Tour for the remainder of the 2023 season. His world ranking has risen from 384th to 242nd.

He said:  “It feels good to have finally done it, and to do it at Leopard Creek makes it even more special. I love playing this course. I feel calm out in the bush. I think my plans for next year have just changed a little bit, and I couldn’t be happier.”

For the final leaderboard, click here. 

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New Zealander Ryan Fox dedicated his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship victory on the Old Course at St Andrews to his late friend Shane Warne, the cricket legend who died in March at the age of 52.

Fox clinched his third DP World Tour win by finishing one shot ahead of Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren with an impressive final round of 68, for an overall 15-under-par total of 273.

Warne, the former Australia leg spinner, was Fox’s regular amateur partner in his five previous Alfred Dunhill Links appearances. As a result, the pair became close and, last year, came within a whisker of winning the team championship.

Fox said: “To be honest the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warney. It definitely felt as if he was with me all the way around. It means a lot to win this event, we were great mates, and it’s just a shame he’s not here. I really wanted to try to do something special for Warney and I’m pretty proud to have been able to accomplish that.”

Those still fresh memories were with Fox throughout the tournament and it certainly did seem as if the 35-year-old Kiwi’s victory was meant to be, as overnight leader Richard Mansell, who began the day four strokes clear of his nearest three rivals, a group that included Fox, found a gorse bush on the 2nd hole and fell back into the chasing pack with a double-bogey.

And not even Rory McIlroy, who shot his second 66 of the weekend at the Old Course to finish on 13-under-par, could get past Fox and saw his own challenge drop away after a visit to the notorious Road Hole bunker, a splash out sideways and a bogey five.

In the end, with England’s Mansell fading to a 76 and a share of seventh, only Noren had a chance of catching Fox. The Swedish Ryder Cup player hit a magnificent approach to the 17th, but missed a five-foot birdie putt, while Fox scrambled a bogey five there by two-putting from distance after a mis-hit third shot only just made it on to the front of the green.

That meant Fox required only a par four at the last to stay ahead of Shinkwin, whose 67 had seen him finish a shot ahead of McIlroy at 14-under-par. Noren’s drive looked like going out of bounds until a freakish bounce propelled it back into play and across to the back of the green. But Noren’s long eagle putt came up just short and that left Fox needing only to take two putts from around 15-feet to complete his victory, collect the US$816,000  first prize,

It was a second win of the season for Fox, adding to a victory at the Ras al Khaimah Classic, and he always looked in control during a round which featured seven birdies, four of them on the front nine. He is now predicted to leap up to 25th in the world rankings list, the highest position of his career.

The week as a whole has once again provided a host of memories for professionals and amateurs who paired up in the Team Championship, won this year by Callum Shinkwin and Alex Acquavella, who posted a brilliant final round 63 at the Old Course to post a -37 total and win by four shots.

Shinkwin praised the composure of his amateur partner. “It’s a tough situation to be in for an amateur playing with three pros. I said to Alex on the first tee just to enjoy himself, and he did. I didn’t notice he was nervous at all. At 14, he hit a driver and an 8-iron, two big hits!”

Acquavella added: “We’ve never played together before, but Callum was a real gentleman from the first day we met. He’s been so supportive this week. I was very nervous today. I started to feel it even more on the back nine, but I managed to have three good holes so I was happy, and now I can go home and celebrate with the family.”

Ryan Fox’s WITB
Driver: Srixon ZX5 (9.5°)
Fairway wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (14°)
Utility: Srixon Z U85 (20°)
Irons: Srixon ZX7 (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50°, 56°, 60°)
Putter: Fine Tuned Prototype
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

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Richard Mansell tees off in tomorrow’s final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews knowing full well this could be the greatest day of his golf career so far.

The 27-year-old from Staffordshire began today’s third round at the challenging Carnoustie course with a lead of two shots, while most of the chasing pack were playing at the easier Kingsbarns and St Andrews.

But far from being intimidated, he put together a courageous five-under-par round of 67, following earlier rounds of 66 and 68, to take his 54-hole total to 15 under and increase his lead to four shots over Daniel Gavins, Alex Noren and Ryan Fox. Niklas Nørgaard Møller and Antoine Rozner are a further shot behind.

On a sunny, breezy day, Mansell howed exactly why he has become one of the most talked-about young golfers in Europe, with five top-ten finishes this year on the DP World Tour.

Mansell, whose sole professional success came on the EuroPro Tour back in 2019, said: “I was looking forward to the challenge of Carnoustie. My coach, Mike Kanski ,was here at the start of the week and he’s helped massively. I feel really in control of my game right now. I’ve been in contention a lot this year and had chances on Sundays. They say in golf thet every time that you don’t lose, you learn. That’s what I feel like I’ve done really well this year.”

“This is links golf, anything can happen. It’s St Andrews. People can shoot 60. I’m just really focused on myself right now. I’m going to try and shoot a good score and see where it puts me.”

Art dealer Alex Acquavella is one of the favourites for the Alfred Dunhill Links Team Championship heading into the final round. The American – partnered by Hertfordshire’s Callum Shinkwin – posted a team score of 61 at Kingsbarns to finish on 28-under-par, two behind leaders Bruce Mitchell and pro Christiaan Burke.

“Callum played great today, I hit it well too and we’ve been playing off each other well all week,” said Acquavella. “Callum is such a disciplined and focused player and he hits the ball a mile. It’s been fun to watch this week. Kingsbarns is the most beautiful place ever and it is a super-fun tournament. I’ll be nervous tomorrow, but I’ll just try to do what I’ve been doing the whole time. Just swing easy and have fun.”

For the latest scores from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, click here      

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