South Africa secure title
South Africa tonight claimed their second World Cup title in three years – but only after holding off a spirited late challenge by England.
Ernie Els and Retief Goosen turned down the chance to regain the title they won in Japan two years ago but Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini proved more than capable deputies.
They carded a final-round 73 for a 13-under-par total of 275 to claim the 1.4 million US dollars first prize at Kiawah Island, four shots ahead of Paul Casey and Justin Rose.
England’s closing 67 was the joint lowest of the day, earning them 350,000 US dollars each, and meant they improved on their third-place finish in Mexico 12 months ago.
France’s Thomas Levet and Raphael Jacquelin claimed third place a shot behind England, with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley producing a brilliant fightback over the weekend to claim a share of fifth with pre-tournament favourites Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard of the United States.
South Africa began the day seven shots clear of the field, and 10 ahead of England, following a brilliant 63 in Saturday’s fourballs.
They were still five ahead at the turn but the gap was down to three when Casey holed birdie putts from 20 feet on the 14th and 15th, and would have been two if the same player’s birdie attempt from similar distance on the 16th had not stopped agonisingly short of the hole.
A bogey on the 17th effectively ended England’s slim chances of victory but Casey’s superb approach to three feet on the last set up another birdie which secured second place ahead of France.
“South Africa were 10 ahead of us at the start of the day so realistically we were looking for second, and just wanted to beat France twice in one day,” joked Casey, referring to England’s semi-final victory over France at the Rugby World Cup.
“We set a target of shooting 66 to lock up second and we’re very happy with the way we played. We’ve played the foursomes really well and it’s frustrating we haven’t played the fourballs better. In foursomes we seem to gel nicely.
“We knew South Africa were not making any ground and we were well aware of what second place was.”
The pair had not played together in last week’s Seve Trophy despite being on the victorious Great Britain and Ireland team, but they could well feature as a Ryder Cup partnership next year.
“Absolutely,” added Rose. “Paul is looking good for the team for sure.”
