Hill wins Joburg Open after 62 forces play-off
- Published
Joburg Open final leaderboard
-14 Hill (Sco), Norris (RSA), Kruyswijk (RSA); -13 Frittelli (RSA); -12 Van Tonder (RSA); -11 Vincent (Zim); -10 Robinson-Thompson (Eng), Skov Olesen (Den)
Selected others: -9 Clements (Eng), Syme (Sco), Bairstow (Eng); -8 Tarren (Eng), Brown (Eng); -7 Penge (Eng)
Scotland's Calum Hill shot a magnificent eight-under-par final round of 62 and prevailed after a three-man play-off to win the Joburg Open.
The 30-year-old started the day eight shots back on overnight leader Shaun Norris, who faded badly but sneaked in a birdie putt at the last to set up a three-way shootout with Hill and Jacques Kruyswijk.
All three recorded par on the first play-off hole but, after Norris found the water on the second and Hill tapped in for par, Kruyswijk raced a five-foot putt past to gift the Fifer victory.
It is Hill's second DP World Tour win, following the Cazoo Classic in August 2021, and it shoots the world number 286 into 11th place in the Race to Dubai rankings.
"It's awesome. I think that might be my first play-off ever," he told Sky Sports.
"It was a little bit by surprise at the end - I thought we'd have to do again - but I'm delighted. It was a fantastic day and winning was the cherry on top."
Hill's closing 62, which boasted five birdies and a bogey in each nine, was the low round of the week.
It allowed him to reel in Norris, who had a four-shot lead over second-placed Kruyswijk and eight in hand over Hill going into the final round.
It had, for a while, looked like the Scot might win it after 72 holes after he took advantage of a kind kick to birdie the last to take the outright lead.
Both South Africans had several holes to play, though, and Kruyswijk picked up a shot on 17 to join Hill on 14 under and close out for a four-under 66, before Norris did the same at the death to sign for a level-par 70.
However, on the trio's third visit of the day to the 18th, Norris found the water with his approach and Kruyswijk was unable to save par, leaving Hill to become the first Scot to win the Joburg Open.
Victory moves Hill up to 11th in the Race to Dubai rankings