Yorkshireman Dan Bradbury kept his cool to secure his second Joburg Open title on the DP World Tour after a hectic final round in South Africa.
Hennie du Plessis looked in pole position for victory when he reached the turn with a three-shot lead, but just as the chasing pack closed in, he dropped three shots at the 15th and 16th to fade out of contention.
Casey Jarvis, who was looking to join an elite group of players with three consecutive DP World Tour event wins, surged into the lead late on, but bogeyed the 17th before missing a birdie putt at the last which would have extended the tournament.
Brandon Robinson Thompson had gone down the final hole with a one-shot lead, but three-putted to finish alongside Casey at 16 under-par.
Dan was standing in the 18th fairway as his fellow Englishman bogeyed the last to give him a one-shot advantage, only to overshoot the final green.
However, he produced a stunning recovery shot for a tap-in par which sealed his third DP World Tour victory and second win at Houghton Golf Club.
“It sounds pretty good,” Dan said. “I thought I lost it on front nine, I had so many chances and I just didn’t take anything.
“It feels really good to put it together on the back nine, probably wasn’t expecting it as Hennie was playing so well, but yeah, feels amazing.
“Casey and Brandon were obviously playing amazing because I saw their names on the leaderboard all the way round – it was tight all the way round wasn’t it – but I somehow managed to get it done in the end.
“The course is probably similar to Wakefield where I grew up. It’s quite tight, tree-lined and you’ve got to drive it well. I did that and putted pretty solid this week, although it didn’t feel amazing, but I got the result and that’s all that matters.”
Hennie opened with a birdie on the final day, and his two-stroke overnight lead remained the same after Dan and Brandon also picked up a shot at the first.
Hennie improved his advantage to three after holing a 15ft putt at the fourth hole, as he became the first person to reach 16 under-par.
His momentum did not stop there and when he rolled in his third birdie of the day at the next, he was four shots clear.
Alex Fitzpatrick made his Sunday move with birdies at the third, fifth and eighth holes helping him climb to 15 under-par before he was joined at that mark by Brandon.
Alex’s double-bogey at the ninth saw his challenge fade, but Hennie reached the turn with his three-shot lead restored thanks to a birdie at the same hole.
Brandon birdied the 10th and 11th to trim the leader’s advantage to one and he soon moved into the joint lead at 17 under-par when Hennie dropped his first shot at the 12th.
The Englishman nudged ahead with a birdie at the 14th, the same hole where Casey had rolled in his sixth birdie of the day from long range to sit one behind.
Casey, Hennie and Brandon shared the lead at 17 under-par after the latter bogeyed the 15th, before Hennie slipped down the leaderboard.
It was advantage Brandon when Casey missed his par putt from 6ft at the 17th, but he was not alone at the summit.
Dan was quietly going about his business and when he rolled in his seventh birdie at the penultimate hole, he was at 17 under-par.
Casey narrowly missed a birdie putt to join the pair at the top before Brandon bogeyed the last to hand Dan the initiative.
He only needed a par to secure his third DP World Tour win and his brilliant recovery shot meant he did just that for a final-round 65 and a 17 under-par total.
Casey and Brandon both carded 66s to share second, while Hannie finished two shots further back at 14 under-par.
Frenchman David Ravetto finish in solo fifth at 13 under-par; while Alex, Emirati Adrian Otaegui, and South African pair Daniel van Tonder and Loius Albertse finished one shot further back.
Dan picked up his third DP World Tour victory in his 94th start – adding to his victories in the 2024 FedEx Open de France and the Joburg Open in 2022. With the win he moved to fourth on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World, and 121st on the Official World Gold Ranking.
