Scotland’s Calum Hill secured his second DP World Tour title after a play-off win against South African duo Jacques Kruyswijk and Shaun Norris at the Joburg Open.
Norris had the overnight lead with Hill eight shots behind but the Scotsman carded a sublime 8-under 62, the lowest round of the week, after capitalizing on a lucky bounce on the 18th to birdie and reach 14 under. Kruyswijk followed when he birdied the 17th but missed a birdie putt on the 18th to win in regulation to also end on 14 under. Fellow South African Norris made it a three-way play-off when he holed the 18th from 20 feet to tie for the top of the leaderboard.
All three parred the first extra hole, but Norris’ second rolled to a fairway bunker and he pulled it to the water after a minor slip in the sand. Hill two-putted his second, and Kruyswijk missed his par attempt, three-putting from 30 feet meaning 30-year-old Hill claimed his first DP World Tour victory since the 2021 Cazoo Classic.
The victory means that Hill climbs to 11th place on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
“It’s awesome, “ Hill said afterwards. “It was a fantastic day and then [to win] is the cherry on top.
“I got lucky with the bounce off the slope [on the 72nd hole] and made a nice five-footer and then it gave me a chance to have a go in this play-off.
“I think that might be my first play-off ever so it’s nice to have a 1-0 record.”
South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli had come close to making it a four-way playoff after he previously held the round’s lead with birdies on the 9th, 10th and 12th, and an eagle on the 13th. But he bogeyed the 15th, and ended the event a shot back on 13 under.
WHAT IS THE NEXT EVENT?
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the Porsche Singapore Classic taking place between 20-23 March at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club in Singapore.