Los Angeles: Branden Grace fired seven birdies in a five-under par 66 on Sunday to surge to his first US PGA Tour victory at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
South Africa’s Grace, owner of seven European Tour titles, finished with a nine-under total of 275, two strokes ahead of Scotland’s Russell Knox and England’s Luke Donald - the 54-hole leader who yet again was pipped at the post on the Harbour Town Golf Links.
Donald now has five top-three-finishes in the Heritage but no victories.
He began the day seven-under and ended there, too, after a round that included two birdies and two bogeys in a four-hole stretch.
Grace, meanwhile, wasted no time in challenging Donald’s lead, with birdies at his first two holes.
He bounced back from a bogey at the fourth with birdies on the next two holes and another on the ninth to take the lead into the back nine, where he made two birdies and a bogey coming in.
It was a good turnaround for the 14th-ranked Grace, after he missed the cut at the Masters last week.
He said putting was the difference, but it wasn’t until he had rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at 12 and a nine-footer at 13 that he really felt he had a victory in sight.
“When I got to 12, 13, when I made a couple of nice putts I knew I’m in there with a chance,” said Grace, who finished equal fourth at the US Open last year and third at the PGA Championship.
“That last stretch of five holes you know you can’t really force things. As soon as you try to force things there it’s going to backfire. You just have to stay patient and grind it and that’s what I managed to do.”
“It put me on the map a little bit,” Grace, 27, told CBS Sports about his tie for seventh at the Heritage 12 months ago. “It gave me that little push and drive to finish things up in the future.
“I was really amped to get back to this place ... I like the type of golf you have to play on this place and it’s worked this week.” Grace began the final round three strokes off the pace and moved into a tie for the lead with Donald and Knox when he rolled in a four-footer to birdie the par-four sixth.
Out in four-under 32, he tightened his grip with birdies at the 12th and 13th, sinking consecutive putts from 10 feet to forge three ahead.
He did well to save par with a clutch 12-footer at the 16th, where he found sand with his first two shots, and then bogeyed the tricky par-three 17th after being bunkered off the tee before comfortably parring the last.
“When I got to 12 and 13 where I made a couple of nice putts, I knew I was in there with a chance,” said Grace.
“That last stretch of five holes, you can’t really force things. As soon as you do, it’s going to backfire. You just have to stay patient and grind it, and that’s what I managed to do.” Australian world number one Jason Day, joint leader after 36 holes before he tumbled down the leaderboard with an error-strewn 79 in the third round, shot a 68 to tie for 23rd.
Knox claimed his share of second with a final-round 67. He and Donald were two shots in front of Kevin Na, who carded a 69, and Bryson DeChambeau, who closed with a 68 for his share of fourth in his professional debut.
World number one Jason Day of Australia, who shot himself out of contention on Saturday with a season-worst 79, finished on a solid note with a three-under par 68.
Day finished tied for 23rd and will retain his world number one ranking as he heads into a much needed week off.