Allenby wins Nedbank Challenge in playoff
December 6th| Australia’s Robert Allenby capped a run of strong tournament performances by winning the Nedbank Challenge on Sunday, beating Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in a playoff.
Allenby and Stenson were tied at 11-under 277 at the end of regulation play at the Gary Player Country Club course.They headed into a playoff on the par-4 18th, which they had both bogeyed in regulation. After they had both scrambled to halve the hole in the first two playoff rounds, Allenby reached the green with his second shot for the first time in seven attempts in the third round. Stenson, meanwhile, overshot the green and then ran his chip 25 feet past the hole. Allenby could afford to two-putt from about 5 feet for the win. He earned $1.2 million for his victory.
“I thought we were going to be there all night,” Allenby said. “But I’m proud to be the first Australian to win this title, and I knew once Henrik pushed his approach out right (in the third round), I had a chance if I could hit the green in regulation.”
Overnight leader and local favorite Retief Goosen shot a disappointing 75 to finish fifth at 9 under in the 12-man field. Fellow South African Tim Clark (69) and England’s Ross Fisher (70) were third at 10 under.
