Dan Bradbury clinched a third DP World Tour victory of his career denying South Africa’s Casey Jarvis of three consecutive wins on the circuit with a narrow one-shot victory at a thrilling Joburg Open.
The 26-year-old Englishman headed into final round at Houghton Golf Club one of three players in second behind South Africa’s Hennie Du Plessis who had a two-shot lead at the top of the leaderboard. But despite leading the way for the majority of the day, Du Plessis fell back at a crucial late stage due to a costly double-bogey at the 16th in what culminated in a calamitous back nine display where he dropped four shots in a five-hole run. England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson who looked to take advantage also fell away with two bogeys in the last four holes.
But, most eyes were on Jarvis who was seeking to join Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros as the only players to win three straight events on the DP World Tour after he was triumphant at the Magical Kenya Open and the Investec South African Open Championship. With two holes to play, the South African was in pole position at the summit of the leaderboard but a bogey at the penultimate hole proved fatal for his chances to etch his name into the DP World Tour’s history books. A par at the last was not enough to overhaul Bradbury who held his nerve to card a 5-under 65 and end on 17 under to secure his first win on the circuit since the 2024 FedEx Open de France.
“It sounds pretty good,” Bradbury said following his triumph. “I thought I lost it on front nine, I had so many chances and I just didn’t take anything.
“It feels really good to put it together on the back nine, probably wasn’t expecting it as Hennie was playing so well, but yeah, feels amazing.
“Casey and Brandon were obviously playing amazing because I saw their names on the leaderboard all the way round – it was tight all the way round wasn’t it? – but I somehow managed to get it done in the end.
“[Houghton] is probably similar to Wakefield where I grew up. It’s quite tight, tree-lined and [you’ve] got to drive it well. I did that and putted pretty solid this week, although it didn’t feel amazing, but got the result and that’s all that matters.”
Overnight leader Du Plessis claimed fourth on 14 under with France’s David Ravetto completing the top five on 13 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO taking place between 19-22 March at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in China.