Alfred Dunhill Championship 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights, More
Home favourite Branden Grace eased to victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club, thrilling the South African crowd with a stunning wire-to-wire triumph, as European Tour revealed:
The 26-year-old carded a four-under-par 68 to reach his 20-under total, seven shots clear of countryman Louis Oosthuizen.
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Here’s a look at the final leaderboard:
| Position | Golfer | To Par | Round Score |
| 1 | Branden Grace | -20 | 68 |
| 2 | Louis Oosthuizen | -13 | 69 |
| 3 | Andrew Johnston | -11 | 73 |
| T4 | Trevor Fisher | -10 | 69 |
| T4 | Danny Willett | -10 | 76 |
| T6 | David Drysdale | -9 | 69 |
| T6 | Francesco Molinari | -9 | 76 |
| T8 | Thomas Pieters | -8 | 70 |
| T8 | Tjaart van der Walt | -8 | 71 |
| T8 | Shaun Norris | -8 | 72 |
Day 4 Recap
Grace began the day one shot ahead of Lucas Bjerregaard at the top of the leaderboard on 16 under par, and that much was ominous enough for his fellow competitors.
The South African has led on the European Tour after three days on four occasions and has won each and every tournament—per European Tour:
He certainly didn’t disappoint on this occasion, either, putting together another near-faultless display to claim the title.
Grace sprung out of the traps at Leopard Creek, chalking up birdies on the second and fourth to move into a commanding lead at the top.
A bogey on the seventh had the 26-year-old looking over his shoulder a little, but four birdies on the back nine with one more blemish confirmed the victory.
It’s his fifth on the European Tour in a relatively short time in the spotlight, and he was understandably over the moon when speaking to the Tour’s official website after the round:
“It’s been a phenomenal week. It’s been a long year, a hard, year but now it’s a fairytale ending just before Christmas. One of the main things this week has been the driving; I just put a new driver in the bag in Dubai and that’s been the key this week.”
Elsewhere, Oosthuizen endured a poor day on the par fives as he never looked like threatening Grace at the top of the leaderboard.
Bogies on the second, third and 18th ruined the six birdies chalked up on the day, including a super two on the par-three seventh to steady the ship—per European Tour’s video:
Danny Willett sat in second place the duration of Sunday’s round, but a triple-bogey eight on the last saw him slip down to fourth.
The Englishman continued his form from last week’s victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, but he simply couldn’t get going on Day 4.
Four bogies, a double and that rather hideous triple saw Willett card a four-over-par 76, finishing 10 under for the week.
However, the day belonged to Grace, who can now sit back and enjoy the Christmas break off the back of a job well done.
The European Tour remains in South Africa as we enter into 2015 for the South African Championship, and with Grace in this kind of form, you’d be brave to bet against him thrilling the home support once again.
Day 3 Report
We look set for a fascinating final day at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, as Branden Grace's lead was cut down to a one shot on Day 3 of the tournament.
The South African—who was in sensational form over the first two days—was unable to replicate his birdie assault on the Leopold Creek Course on "moving day", but a round of 72 leaves him in a decent position going into Day 4.
That means it won't be a cakewalk for the home crowd favourite, as Lucas Bjerregaard and Danny Willett thrust themselves into contention with strong display on Day 3. Here's how the leaderboard is shaping up after three rounds of engrossing golf:
| 1 | Branden Grace | -16 | 72 |
| 2 | Lucas Bjerregaard | -15 | 66 |
| 3 | Danny Willett | -14 | 67 |
| 4 | Francesco Molinari | -13 | 70 |
| 5 | Andrew Johnston | -12 | 68 |
| 6 | Louis Oosthuizen | -10 | 68 |
| T7 | Morten Orum Madsen | -8 | 72 |
| T7 | Shaun Norris | -8 | 73 |
| T9 | Richard Sterne | -7 | 67 |
| T9 | Trevor Fisher Jnr | -7 | 69 |
For the full leaderboard, visit EuropeanTour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
After a solid round of 66 to follow up his scintillating opening day 62, Grace looked exceptionally well placed to land his first European Tour title since 2012. And while his round of 72 is by no means a disaster, suddenly the South African will find himself glancing over his shoulder with uncomfortably regularity on the final day.
Grace never got going on Day 3. He recovered well from a bogey at the second, notching birdies at three and four. But the 26-year-old was unable to find the same forensic accuracy that allowed him boast a five-shot lead at the end of Day 2. Grace was still playing with his patented power, though, as we can see here courtesy of the European Tour Twitter account:
But his failure to hit his very best form means there are plenty of players who will feel as though they're in with a sniff with the final round looming.
Bjerregaard finished his round with a birdie to heap the pressure on Grace and he'll be playing alongside the South African on the final day. The Dane put together a stunning back nine to haul himself towards the top end of the leaderboard, notching a staggering four birdies and one eagle on the second half of the course.
Willett is another player, at just two shots back, who will feel he has an excellent chance; it was clear from the off that he was in fine from on Day 3, as we can see here courtesy of the European Tour Twitter account:
At one point this tournament looked as though it was going to be procession victory for Grace, but a shaky Day 3 means he's going to have his work cut out if he's going to win his second Alfred Dunhill title in three years and the fifth European Tour title of his professional career.
The momentum is undeniably with the likes of Bjerregaard and Willett now, though; if Grace is to win this title, you can bet those two will make him earn it. Nonetheless, for neutrals, this tournament has suddenly become an extremely exciting spectacle and Day 4 is set up perfectly to yield a classic climax.
Day 2 Report
Branden Grace deepened his lead at the top of the leaderboard to five shots after another strong performance on Day 2, carding a six-under 66.
Jake Roos, Matt Ford and Danny Willett all failed to continue their momentum from Round 1, and as a result, Grace suddenly finds himself holding a commanding lead over the rest of the pack.
Italy's Francesco Molinari rose all the way to second with a seven-under 65, and the experienced 32-year-old looks like Grace's main competitor for the title. Here's how the leaderboard looks after two rounds:
| 1 | Branden Grace | -16 | 66 |
| 2 | Francesco Molinari | -11 | 65 |
| 3 | Tjaart van der Walt | -10 | 67 |
| T4 | Shaun Norris | -9 | 67 |
| T4 | Lucas Bjerregaard | -9 | 67 |
| T4 | Danny Willett | -9 | 69 |
| T7 | Morten Orum Madsen | -8 | 66 |
| T7 | Chris Swanepoel | -8 | 68 |
| T7 | Louis de Jager | -8 | 67 |
| T7 | Andrew Johnston | -8 | 67 |
For the full leaderboard, visit EuropeanTour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
Grace came close to replicating his terrific open round, scoring one less birdie and recording his first bogey of the tournament, on the fifth hole. He struggled finding the fairway but was nearly perfect on his scrambles in what should be another confidence-boosting performance.
He continues to impress the guys running the European Tour's official Twitter feed as well:
As he told Europeantour.com, the course in Malelane really seems to suit his style of play:
"This is a golf course that suits me and if I keep hitting everything in play the way I have been the first two days then it should be a good weekend.
"
The pins have been kind so far; I’m sure there’s going to be a couple of tricky and sticky pins out there on the weekend, but I’ll just stick to the game plan and see what the next two rounds offer us.
Today was great – the ball striking wasn’t as good as yesterday.
I kept it going - there was a little bit of a slip there due to a lack of concentration but it happens.
I’ve been hitting it well and kept on hitting good putts out there.
The story of the day was undoubtedly 17-year-old Renato Paratore, who survived the cut thanks to a blistering front nine. Carding five consecutive birdies, the teenager could afford some struggles on the back nine, playing a round of four-under 68.
Paratore is playing in just his first European Tour event, and to make the cut in such dominant fashion is impressive. PaulEalesGolf thinks he could be the latest big talent to emerge from the European continent:
Compatriot Molinari came through with six birdies and an eagle on Friday, with his score taking a slight hit due to a bogey on the 17th. A round of seven-under 65 was still one of the best scores of the day, putting him just five shots behind leader Grace.
Molinari wasn't entirely satisfied with his performance on the final holes, although he concurred seven-under is always a good score:
"I played really well today. I holed some really good putts – the last four or five holes could have been better, but seven under is always a good round.
Branden has set a low target for everyone, so it was good to get some birdies.
"
South Africa's Mike Hollick didn't have the greatest day, shooting a two-under 70 to tumble out of the top 10, but his hole-in-one on the fifth was by far the best shot of the day, giving local fans even more reason to celebrate.
The pressure will be on Grace to find the fairway with more regularity on Saturday, because former Ryder Cup hero Molinari looked to be rounding into form in Round 2 and has the ability to sink several birdies in a row and close the gap at the top of the leaderboard in a hurry.
Day 1 Report
South Africa's Branden Grace sits three shots clear at the top of the leaderboard after Thursday's opening round at the Alfred Dunhill Championship after he carded a mightily impressive 10-under round of 62.
Grace's compatriot Jake Roos is the closest challenger at seven-under while English pair Willett and Matt Ford are one shot further back.
A trio of competitors sit at five-under, while a vast number of four-under 68s were registered on Day 1, and a swathe of top names are still very much in with a shout on a course giving up multiple birdies on Thursday.
Here is the leaderboard after the first day of action at Leopard Creek:
| Position | Player | To Par | Round 1 Score |
| 1 | Branden Grace | -10 | 62 |
| 2 | Jake Roos | -7 | 65 |
| T3 | Matt Ford | -6 | 66 |
| T3 | Danny Willett | -6 | 66 |
| T5 | Nacho Elvira | -5 | 67 |
| T5 | Michael Hollick | -5 | 67 |
| T5 | Tjaart Van der Walt | -5 | 67 |
| T8 | Craig Lee | -4 | 68 |
| T8 | Benjamin Hebert | -4 | 68 |
| T8 | Peter Lawrie | -4 | 68 |
For the full leaderboard, visit EuropeanTour.com. Video highlights can be found on the tour's official site by clicking here.
Grace's was a superb, faultless round in which he claimed 10 birdies and eight pars to put him in a strong position at the head of the leaderboard as he aims for a second triumph in the competition he won in 2012.
Four birdies on the front nine and six on the back proved he is in fine form, a fact which Grace himself was eager to point out, per the tournament's Twitter feed:
Roos' impressive 65 came as a result of just one bogey—at the 12th—six birdies and an eagle at the par-four 10th, the first hole of his round.
Playing in his first event as a full member of the European Tour, the 34-year-old Roos could hardly have made a better start as he holed his five-iron approach shot to give himself some terrific momentum.
Willett continued his fine form from last week's win with a faultless round of 66 to tie for third after Thursday's play, bagging six birdies and 12 pars.
Ford's was a slightly more chequered round as he bogeyed the first and the par-five 13th, per the European Tour, but his eight birdies see him very much within reach of Grace going into Friday:
Two of the pre-tournament favorites, Schwartzel and Oosthuizen, both sit at three-under, with the former's card overly littered with four bogeys in an inconsistent round.
With three days of competition still left to play, there is likely to be plenty of change at the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend.
However, Grace has laid down a significant marker after Day 1's play and takes a three-shot cushion into Friday where he will hope to continue his scintillating form.
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