Swede Björn Åkesson made a fairytale comeback to the game when he won the NMB Championship at Humewood Golf Club on Sunday.
Åkesson was declared the winner after three rounds which he led by a single stroke on 18 under par. The fourth and final round had to be cancelled due to high winds, with the tournament decided over 54 holes.
It was a dream result for the Swede who retired from golf in 2017 after losing his DP World Tour card, and then returned to the Challenge Tour this year.
“It feels amazing. This is my first win on the Challenge Tour and it hasn’t really sunk in yet. It means a lot to me,” he said.
“To get my first win on the Challenge Tour will certainly give me more confidence on the golf course.”
Åkesson started the tournament with a brilliant 63, but the key to his victory was undoubtedly the following two rounds of 67 and 68 which he played in incredibly difficult conditions at Humewood. They proved vital as Saturday’s play was delayed until just after 2pm because of high winds, and then the final round had to be called off on Sunday.
“It was very windy on Friday afternoon. It was tough conditions and I played really well. But I think the hole I am most proud of is the 54th hole. I pulled a driver left, found it in the bush, dropped, laid up to 79 metres and then hit that to two metres and made the putt. That meant the most to me because I wasn’t feeling very good at the time.
“But I just kept playing shot by shot. It was tough. But I’ve always been quite good in these tricky conditions. I don’t enjoy it but I’m good at it.”
England’s Lee Slattery took second place on 17 under par with rounds of 65, 67 and 67. Australia’s Hayden Hopewell was third on 16 under par with rounds of 63, 69 and 68.
The leading South African was Jaco Prinsloo on 13 under par, which secured him a share of sixth place.
This was the final tournament on the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour swing, with Åkesson praising the South African run of tournaments.
“The Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned events are very good because they give us the opportunity to play when it’s cold in Europe.”
FINAL ROUND SCORES:
198 - Bjorn Akesson 63 67 68
199 - Lee Slattery 65 67 67
200 - Hayden Hopewell 63 69 68
201 - Martin Couvra 61 71 69
202 - Jonathan Caldwell 66 65 71
203 - Romain Wattel 68 68 67, Jaco Prinsloo 68 64 71
204 - Martin Vorster 70 66 68, Anthony Michael 64 69 71, Keenan Davidse 64 66 74
205 - Danie Van Niekerk 64 73 68, Robin Williams 65 70 70
206 - Jake Redman 70 67 69, JC Ritchie 64 70 72, Pierre Pineau 65 69 72, Angel Ayora 67 67 72
207 - Rourke van der Spuy 71 69 67, Stefan Wears-Taylor 65 74 68, Per Langfors 67 72 68, Franklin Manchest 71 67 69, Dylan Naidoo 69 69 69, Bradley Bawden 67 71 69, Euan Walker 67 70 70, Nicolai Kristensen 69 67 71, Luca Cianchetti 66 68 73, Trevor Fisher Jnr 67 66 74
208 - Neil Schietekat 63 76 69, Louis Albertse 68 70 70, Daniel van Tonder 66 72 70, Dan Erickson 68 70 70, Wynand Dingle 68 70 70, Hamish Brown 69 67 72, Tom Shadbolt 69 66 73
209 - Jack McDonald 70 70 69, Jean Hugo 69 70 70
210 - Dermot Mcelroy 69 71 70, Gary Stal 71 69 70, Gary Hurley 71 69 70, Keelan van Wyk 68 69 73, Zan Stirn 69 67 74, Nikhil Rama 72 64 74
211 - Mateusz Gradecki 68 71 72, Kyle Barker 67 71 73, Luca Filippi 68 69 74, Jacques Blaauw 68 67 76
212 - Benjamin Hebert 68 72 72, David Langley 68 70 74, Lyle Rowe 70 68 74
213 - Yurav Premlall 64 76 73, Jovan Rebula 68 71 74
214 - Luke Jerling 68 72 74, JJ Senekal 68 71 75
215 - Christiaan Basson 68 69 78
216 - Tristen Strydom 67 73 76, Pierre Pellegrin 70 69 77, Jeremy Freiburghaus 69 69 78
217 - Shaun Norris 69 71 77, Rupert Kaminski 70 70 77, Malcolm Mitchell 72 68 77
219 - Marc Hammer 70 70 79, Jeppe Kristian Andersen 72 67 80