Garth Mulroy wins Alfred Dunhill Championship

Garth Mulroy of South Africa held on to win his first European Tour title in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club. Scotland's George Murray finished two shots back in second place.

Garth Mulroy
Fergus Bisset
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Garth Mulroy of South Africa held on to win his first European Tour title in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club. Scotland's George Murray finished two shots back in second place.

Mulroy took a two-stroke lead into the final round, but Jbe Kruger caught hime early on Sunday when Mulroy made a bogey at the second hole. Kruger's challenge fell apart at the 9th, however, where he found the water and he eventually finished in a tie for ninth.

It was George Murray of Scotland who emerged as Mulroy's closest challenger. Mulroy looked to have sealed the deal with four birdies around the turn but Murray struck back with a fabulous eagle at the 15th. When Mulroy dropped a shot at the 14th, the pair were tied at the top of the leaderboard.

Murray parred in to return an excellent clubhouse total of 17-under par. But Mulroy was not to be denied. He made birdies at the 15th and 16th to move two clear once again and two pars to finish were enough to secure the title for the 33-year-old.

"I just tried to play smart golf and hit it in the right spots," said Mulroy. "There are a lot of opportunities for me now. It's nice to have these kind of options."

Murray's second place finish caps a fabulous end to the season for the Scot. At the start of October he was 183rd on the Race to Dubai and a trip to Q school looked highly likely. But a third place in the Alfred Dunhill Links then a second place here means he now has almost €400,000 and has climbed to 77th on the Race.   Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek Country Club, South Africa Nov 17-20, purse €1,000,000, par 72

1   Garth Mulroy (RSA)   69   68   64   68   269   €158,500 2   George Murray (Sco)   66   69   69   67   271   €115,000 T3   Felipe Aguilar (Chi)   71   64   68   72   275   €48,750 T3   George Coetzee (RSA)   66   71   69   69   275   €48,750 T3   Jaco Van Zyl (RSA)   68   68   72   67   275   €48,750 T3   Peter Whiteford (Sco)   73   67   64   71   275   €48,750 T7   Hennie Otto (RSA)   69   68   67   72   276   €27,050 T7   Andrea Pavan (Ita)   68   70   68   70   276   €27,050 T9   James Kamte (RSA)   72   70   69   66   277   €19,700 T9   Jbe Kruger (RSA)      64   67   73   73   277   €19,700 T9   Steven Tiley (Eng)   70   69   70   68   277   €19,700

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

Where next? Presidents Cup - USA wins Iskandar Johor Open - Victory for Joost Luiten

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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