Overnight leader Jeunghun Wang never had a chance.
Neither did any of the other challengers on Sunday, thanks to Alex Noren’s Swedish Storm at the Gary Player Country Club.
Noren blew out the field to win the Nedbank Challenge with a dazzling nine-under par 63 that gave him a staggering six-shot margin of victory over runner-up Wang, who led by three after 54 holes.
By the time Noren put up six birdies on the front nine, the writing was on the wall and the rout was on. He added two birdies and an eagle coming home with a lone bogey at the par five 14th spoiling an otherwise flawless scorecard.
“I’ve tried to get in this tournament for so many years and when I got here, ending up winning, it feels unbelievable,” said Noren, who notched his eight European Tour victory and his fourth this season.
The win lifted Noren to third in the Race To Dubai points standings, right behind Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett and just ahead of Rory McIlroy. Stenson finished eighth while Willett salvaged a tie for 11th thanks to a 67-69 finish over the weekend in Sun City Center.
Noren went into the final round six behind Wang but a nervous back nine gave Wang a 39 that added up to closing 75 that was barely good enough to preserve second place for the 21-year-old South Korean.
Noren’s victory will move him into the top 10 when the new world rankings come out this week.
