Charl Schwartzel wins Alfred Dunhill Championship

Charl Schwartzel of South Africa secured a four shot victory over England's Richard Finch in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane.

Schwartzel has a great record at Leopard Creek. He won the Alfred Dunhill Championship last year by an astounding 12 shots and he picked up his first European Tour title at the venue in 2005.

This time round, he completed a near flawless week with a closing round of 68. He double-bogeyed the 10th hole in his first round then went 62 holes without dropping a shot.

"I had that hiccup in the first round, and after that pretty much flawless with no bogeys from there on in," he said. "Most of the time if you play 60 holes or whatever it may be without bogey then hopefully you'll win."

Richard Finch gave Schwartzel a run for his money in the final round. The Englishman began Sunday two strokes behind the 2011 Masters Champion, but he drew level with birdies at the first and third holes. Finch stayed in contention until a double bogey on the 14th.

Despite that stumble, Finch held his nerve to post a final round of 70 and end the week alone in second place. For a man who lost his European Tour card after a poor 2013, the cheque for €172,500 could be significant for his chances of regaining playing privileges in 2015.

Two more Englishmen, Simon Dyson and Ross Fisher, finished in a tie for third with France's Romain Wattel.

Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek Country Club, Malelane, South Africa Nov 28 - Dec 1, purse €1,500,000, par 72

1   Charl Schwartzel (RSA)   68   68   67   68   271   €237,750 2   Richard Finch (Eng)   68   70   67   70   275   €172,500 T3   Simon Dyson (Eng)   72   69   70   67   278   €79,800 T3   Ross Fisher (Eng)      72   65   72   69   278   €79,800 T3   Romain Wattel (Fra)   70   69   68   71   278   €79,800 6   Soren Hansen (Den)   72   65   71   71   279   €53,100 T7   Magnus A Carlssson (Swe) 70 72   72   66   280   €40,575 T7   Simon Wakefield (Eng)   74   68   70   68   280   €40,575 T9   Warren Abery (RSA)   73   71   69   68   281   €30,900 T9   Danny Willett (Eng)   69   70   73   69   281   €30,900

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage