SCOTT Jamieson’s bid for the Tshwane Open title ended in disaster after a nightmare start to his final round at Pretoria Country Club in South Africa.
The Scot went into the last day of the tournament as joint leader but finished in a share of 22nd place on six over par, 12 shots behind winner Dean Burmester, after closing with a seven-over-par 78.
Jamieson bogeyed three of the first four holes and ran up a double bogey on the eighth on his way to a front nine of 39, 10 worse than South Africa’s Burmester.
The 33-year-old from Glasgow, whose sole European Tour title came in South Africa in 2013, went on to add further double-bogeys at the 12th and 13th.
Richie Ramsay’s final round of 68 saw him finish as the leading Scot in a share of 12th place on nine under.
Duncan Stewart also overhauled Jamieson after a final-round 70 gave him a share of 18th place with a seven-under total.
It was a first European Tour title win for Burmester. The 27-year-old carded a second consecutive 65 at to finish three clear of Finland’s Mikko Korhonen and Spain’s Jorge Campillo.
Burmester began the final round a shot behind Jamieson and Sweden’s Alexander Bjork, but surged to the top of the leaderboard with birdies on the first three holes and added three more on the front nine to reach the turn in 29.
Further birdies on the 10th, 12th and 14th meant the result was never in doubt and Burmester could afford the luxury of dropping shots on the 16th and 17th before sealing victory with a par on the last.
The win will move Burmester back into the world’s top 100 when the rankings are updated today. His victory means South African players have won four of the five editions of the Tshwane Open.
“I can’t believe it,” said Burmester, who finished 11th in last week’s Joburg Open after starting the final round one shot off the lead.
“I’ve had an amazing summer and it was a frustrating day for me last Sunday, but then my family and everyone who supported me said: ‘We’re coming up next week so you better win in front of us’ and I’m glad to have done that.
“I sharpened my teeth as a youngster on the Big Easy Tour here at home and I think I had five seconds in one year and then two years later I had four wins on the Sunshine Tour.
“It’s gone from strength to strength and now I’m a European Tour winner and that sounds great.”
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