Richard Sterne wins Joburg Open

South Africa's Richard Sterne fired a superb final round of 64 to win the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club by seven shots from his countryman Charl Schwartzel.

Sterne, who was runner-up to Stephen Gallacher in Dubai last week, began the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard with. The 31-year-old quickly found himself chasing, as Fisher opened with an eagle three.

But Sterne, a winner of this event back in 2008, didn't panic and, while he cruised serenely through his final round, Fisher faded badly and eventually ended the week in a tie for sixth.

Sterne suffered two years of injury problems in 2010 and 2011, but will be able to put those behind him as he makes this welcome return to the winner's enclosure.

"It was a pretty special day," he said. "It's tough coming from a good week into another week, you kind of expect to play well. But I got off to a good start and felt comfortable."

The South African birdied five holes on his front nine to establish a commanding lead and he never looked threatened on the run for home, as he picked up three further birdies to card a closing round of eight-under-par 64.

With the victory, Sterne should climb back into the top-60 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He'll now have an eye on the top-50 with a view to earning an invite to the 2013 Masters.

"I'd like to get back into all the Majors," he said. "That's where I want to be playing."

In the end it was Charl Schwartzel who emerged from a closely bunched pack to claim the runner's-up spot. He had been hot favourite coming into this event and, had it not been for the brilliance of Sterne, would have justified that billing.

Chile's Felipe Aguilar enjoyed another good week. He tied for third with George Coetzee of South Africa and Portugal's Ricardo Santos.

The European Tour remains in South Africa for one more week. The Africa Open starts on Thursday at the East London Golf Club.

Joburg Open Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa Feb 7 - 10, purse €1,300,000 par 72

1   Richard Sterne (RSA)   63   65   68   64   260   €206,050 2   Charl Schwartzel (RSA)   68   65   68   66   267   €149,500 T3   Felipe Aguilar (Chi)   67   66   68   67   268   €69,160 T3   George Coetzee (RSA)   67   64   70   67   268   €69,160 T3   Ricardo Santos (Por)   70   65   69   64   268   €69,160 T6   Thomas Aiken (RSA)   67   70   66   66   269   €38,783 T6   Trevor Fisher Jr (RSA)   66   62   68   73   269   €38,783 T6   Keith Horne (RSA)   67   66   71   65   269   €38,783 T9   Lorenzo Gagli (Ita)   67   68   68   67   270   €26,780 T9   Garth Mulroy (RSA)   70   68   65   67   270   €26,780

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

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