Schwartzel triumphs at Alfred Dunhill

South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel ensured the locals went home happy after recording an impressive victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The home favorite triumphed by 12 strokes at the Leopard Creek Estate after hitting a three-under-par 69 on the final day.

Schwartzel finished the tournament with a 24-under-par total of 264 to build upon last week’s win at the Thai Championship.

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The 2011 Masters champion saw his 10-stroke lead reduced to eight when heavy rain forced play to be suspended for two hours.

But after hitting birdies at the 12th and 13th as well as the tricky 18th, Schwartzel was finally able to celebrate his second win at Leopard Creek after winning there back in 2005.

It is the third largest margin of victory in the European Tour’s 40-year history and the achievement was not lost on Schwartzel.

“I’ve come a long way,” he told reporters. “This has always been a special place for me.

“This is where my career started. This was the first win I got and it will always stay close to my heart.

“Last week I got that win by a big margin, and normally when you come back the next week it’s hard to put up the same show.

“To me that’s the most satisfying – to continue the form that I had up in Bangkok after the flight and the jetlag and come here and play the same sort of golf.”

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The victory marks a successful end to a largely frustrating year for Schwartzel.

He added: “A month and a half ago it had been a pretty disappointing year for me. It’s turned out to be a pretty good year now.”

Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg claimed second place thanks to a two-under-par 70.