Furyk wins Nedbank Challenge by two strokes

Jim Furyk won the Nedbank Challenge by two strokes yesterday despite shooting a 2-over 74 in the final round.

The American finished with a 12-under 276 total, making three birdies and five bogeys - his first bogeys of the tournament.

Henrik Stenson, the only golfer in the 12-man field to break 70, shot a 69 to finish second, two ahead of Padraig Harrington (75).

Ernie Els (72) finished fourth, one stroke behind Harrington.

Furyk bogeyed the 11th and 12th holes, but regrouped and parred the next five before finishing with a bogey on the 18th when it no longer mattered.

"I had a good cushion, and with the course playing as tough as it was, it was always going to be difficult for someone to shoot 66 and catch me," said Furyk, who started the day with a three-stroke lead.

Harrington, who had been second heading into yesterday's final round, struggled with his putter.

"The flags were really tucked away which meant Padraig couldn't fire straight at them," Furyk said. "That kind of setup is made for my game."

Harrington dropped a shot at the fifth hole, while Furyk was still looking strong.

"I really worked hard on the front nine, and once I calmed myself down on the back nine, I was pretty comfortable," Furyk said.

Els birdied the second and fourth holes, but the South African shot a 2-over 38 on the back nine to drop him further behind Furyk.

Besides Stenson, the only other player to break par on the final day was Sergio Garcia, who shot a 71. He tied for seventh at 1 under overall with Trevor Immelman (74).

Charl Schwartzel (72) was fifth, followed by Retief Goosen (75). At the bottom, Chris DiMarco (73) was ninth, David Howell (76) was 10th, Jose-Maria Olazabal (79) was 11th and Colin Montgomerie (76) was last.