Golf-Fleetwood holds off Fox to win at Sun City

It denied Fox, 35, a chance to go top of the tour rankings before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week. It was Fleetwood's first win in three years after taking the last Nedbank Golf Challenge, hosted in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood shot a five-under-par 67 in the last round to retain the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club on Sunday, holding off an intense challenge down the back nine from Ryan Fox and Shubhankar Sharma. Fleetwood finished with a four-round total of 277 to edge Fox by one shot after the New Zealander bogeyed the last hole, with India’s Sharma a further shot back in third place.

Overnight leaders Rasmus Hojgaard and Thomas Detry faded after a rain interruption midway through the round. The 31-year-old Fleetwood holed an eagle from the bunker on the 14th to pull level with Fox and Sharma and set up an absorbing final four holes at the Sun City resort.

Sharma's challenge ended with bogeys at 16 and 17, and when Fleetwood tapped in for par at the last, after almost sinking a huge birdie attempt, Fox paid for a poor tee shot and posted his only bogey of the day at the worst possible moment. It denied Fox, 35, a chance to go top of the tour rankings before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week.

It was Fleetwood's first win in three years after taking the last Nedbank Golf Challenge, hosted in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)