On a course which presented the sternest of tests on Sunday, Brandon Stone carded a three-under 69 to finish just four shots off the lead at the end of the DP World Tour’s Porsche European Open just outside Hamburg.
It took a course record of eight-under 64 from Finn Kalle Samooja to come from seven back for the win over Wil Besseling of the Netherlands, so Stone’s five birdies and two bogeys made for an impressive round and by far his best finish of the season in a share of fifth.
Stone started with birdies on the third and fourth holes, and he dropped a shot on the sixth. Two more birdies came on 10 and 12. A bogey on 14 was followed by a closing birdie on the par-five 18th.
Behind him, Justin Walters, who was the best-placed of the South Africans going into the final round, battled to keep his tee shots where he wanted them early on in his round, and that led to him signing for a two-over 74. He slipped to level-par for the tournament and a share of 16th. It was costly for him, as he slipped out of a qualifying place for the US Open.
Thriston Lawrence had a three-under 69 to finish in a share of 18th on one-over, Wilco Nienaber closed with a level-par 72 for five-over for the tournament to share 40th with Darren Fichardt and Richardt Sterne, and Zander Lombard was one eight-over for a share of 59th.
