Skip to main content

Schwartzel triumphs at Alfred Dunhill

updated 3:28 PM EST, Sun December 16, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Charl Schwartzel wins the Alfred Dunhill Championship
  • Schwartzel won by 12 strokes to record third largest margin of victory in history of European Tour
  • South African has now won twice at Leopard Creek Estate
  • Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg finished in second place

(CNN) -- South Africa's Charl Schwartzel ensured the locals went home happy after recording an impressive victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The home favorite triumphed by 12 strokes at the Leopard Creek Estate after hitting a three-under-par 69 on the final day.

Schwartzel finished the tournament with a 24-under-par total of 264 to build upon last week's win at the Thai Championship.

Hole-in-one repeat earns golfer a Christmas bonus

The 2011 Masters champion saw his 10-stroke lead reduced to eight when heavy rain forced play to be suspended for two hours.

Tom Watson named Ryder Cup captain
Top golfers' expectations for 2013
Golf course architect ready for Rio?

But after hitting birdies at the 12th and 13th as well as the tricky 18th, Schwartzel was finally able to celebrate his second win at Leopard Creek after winning there back in 2005.

It is the third largest margin of victory in the European Tour's 40-year history and the achievement was not lost on Schwartzel.

"I've come a long way," he told reporters. "This has always been a special place for me.

"This is where my career started. This was the first win I got and it will always stay close to my heart.

"Last week I got that win by a big margin, and normally when you come back the next week it's hard to put up the same show.

"To me that's the most satisfying -- to continue the form that I had up in Bangkok after the flight and the jetlag and come here and play the same sort of golf."

European Tour woos Japanese golf fans

The victory marks a successful end to a largely frustrating year for Schwartzel.

He added: "A month and a half ago it had been a pretty disappointing year for me. It's turned out to be a pretty good year now."

Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg claimed second place thanks to a two-under-par 70.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
updated 12:15 PM EDT, Tue April 16, 2013
Masters champion Adam Scott not only has to contend with national hero status at home but also the role of golf's latest sex symbol.
updated 7:18 AM EDT, Fri April 12, 2013
Discover why golf's old school establishment fears a new breed of players creating new popularity with their online antics.
updated 2:54 PM EDT, Thu April 11, 2013
Following the web's reaction to Adam Scott's dramtic triumph at the 2013 Masters.
updated 10:08 AM EDT, Fri April 12, 2013
It's not just golf that makes Augusta so special -- there's also James Brown, cheese pimiento sandwiches, turkeys and ghosts.
updated 9:00 AM EDT, Tue March 26, 2013
As a swimmer, his countless hours of training paid off handsomely. As a golfer, Michael Phelps is wondering what he got himself into.
updated 9:06 AM EDT, Mon April 1, 2013
D.A. Points strikes a 'Dufnering' pose with the trophy on the 18th green after winning the Shell Houston Open at the Redstone Golf Club on March 31, 2013 in Humble, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
American D.A. Points celebrates his win at the Houston Open by joining in the "Dufnering" craze that has gripped golf recently.
updated 8:40 AM EST, Thu March 7, 2013
Ernie Els' coach Claude Harmon and former world No.1 Martin Kaymer tell Living Golf that anchored putting is dividing the sport.
updated 8:49 AM EST, Thu March 7, 2013
Matteo Manassero, the youngest player to qualify for the Masters, reflects on his career and the boy who will break one of his records.
updated 8:34 AM EST, Thu March 7, 2013
Living Golf meets Thorbjorn Olesen as the rising star of European golf prepares for the most important tournaments of his career.
updated 3:25 PM EDT, Wed March 13, 2013
Martin Kaymer reflects on his performance at the 39th Ryder Cup, when he sunk the winning putt against the United States.
updated 10:01 AM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
CNN's Shane O'Donoghue asks how much Rory McIlroy's new multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal is really worth.
updated 12:48 PM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
Living Golf meets Paul McGinley, who talks about becoming Europe's new Ryder Cup captain.
updated 6:49 AM EST, Mon February 18, 2013
Paul McGinley's former captain, Sam Torrance, shares some advice for the pro golfer turned new Ryder Cup captain.
updated 10:16 AM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
Don Riddell explores whether Tuscany can follow up on Italy's successes on the European Tour and develop golf tourism.
updated 10:12 AM EST, Thu February 7, 2013
2010 PGA Champion Martin Kaymer shares his favorite shots with CNN's Shane O'Donoghue.
updated 1:40 PM EST, Tue February 5, 2013
Two men with lofty ambitions in a midwestern town of the United States have finally realized their dream after months of endeavor.
updated 7:13 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013
Living Golf's Shane O'Donoghue explores the changing role of black players in South African golf.
updated 8:07 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013
Shane O'Donoghue meets South Africa's Branden Grace, the outstanding breakout player from the 2012 European season.
updated 7:14 AM EST, Thu January 3, 2013
Shane O'Donoghue meets Dr. Sherylle Calder, the woman who taught reigning British Open champion Ernie Els how to putt again.
updated 9:39 AM EST, Sat December 22, 2012
It's crazy golf on an insane scale -- a putting green swimming in a giant bowl of noodles and the Great Wall of China for a hazard.
ADVERTISEMENT