Johannesburg, March 9 (IANS) Shubhankar Sharma carded a 2-over 72 in the final round of the Joburg Open to finish tied for 57th place in the tournament.

Sharma began his final round on a positive note with a birdie on the opening hole but dropped a shot with a bogey soon after, before making five consecutive pars.

He picked up his second birdie of the day on the eighth hole to reach 1-under par at the turn.

However, the back nine proved challenging. A bogey on the 13th hole followed by back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th saw him drop three shots over four holes.

He eventually closed the day with a 2-over 72, finishing the week at 1-under par with rounds of 66-72-69-72.

Despite the difficult final round, the Joburg Open remains a favourable venue for Sharma. The Indian golfer has now made the cut in four of his five appearances at the event and also claimed his maiden DP World Tour title here in 2017.

Meanwhile, Dan Bradbury produced an impressive final-round charge to claim the title. He shot a 5-under 65 to finish at 17-under par (64-70-64-65) for the week. Bradbury secured his third DP World Tour title after overcoming a three-stroke deficit to Hennie Du Plessis at the turn.

Bradbury delivered a strong performance on the back nine, recording four birdies without dropping a shot, while his closest challengers faltered.

Du Plessis, who had been in contention, dropped three strokes over two holes with a bogey on the 15th and a double bogey on the 16th. Casey Jarvis and Brandon Robinson Thompson also slipped late in their rounds, finishing one stroke short.

Bradbury sealed the victory with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th.

His final round included seven birdies and two bogeys, both coming on the front nine.

–IANS

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