2016 RBC Heritage results: Branden Grace goes low and gets 1st PGA Tour win

A missed cut at the Masters wasn’t going to change the fact that Branden Grace remains one of golf’s most ascendant international stars. Grace is still just 27 years old but his worldwide success can sometimes make you forget that his career, especially over in the States, is nascent. One week after slogging around Augusta, sandwiched in between Ian Poulter and Bubba Watson for the first 36 holes, Grace rebounded from that MC at the season’s first major and won his first PGA Tour event.

After tough conditions roughed up the field on Saturday, Grace came back on Sunday and went low to shoot past the 54-hole leaders. His final round 5-under 66 was good enough for a two-shot cushion over Russell Knox and Luke Donald, the Saturday night leader who stalled out on Sunday and lost five shots to Grace. Donald, the former world No. 1, epitomizes the “horse for course” cliche at The Heritage, where he’s always inside the top five. A win would have been an enormous boost for the Englishman’s career, which has gone stagnant in recent years.

Grace made his move early on Sunday, posting birdies on his first two holes and five total on his opening nine. From there, Donald, Jason Kokrak, Bryson DeChambeau, and everyone else was playing catch-up on a back nine at Harbour Town that doesn’t present ample birdie opportunities. Grace cruised down the stretch with a three-shot lead over Donald, and a bogey at the 17th made things interesting only for a moment as the last couple groups behind him failed to post red numbers to make it close.

The South African star was not as blunt as Sunday’s winner on the European Tour, who said he was going home to “get hammered,” but he did say there would be a bit of partying to celebrate his first stateside win when he got back.

This is Grace’s eighth professional win since 2012. He has been lights out on the Sunshine Tour and Euro Tour and firmly established himself as a world-class talent. He demolished the U.S. Presidents Cup team last year with a perfect record, a strong close to a season where he had top five finishes at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. His biggest highlight in the states before Sunday may have come when he blasted that drive onto the train tracks at Chambers Bay that was a small help to Jordan Spieth’s U.S. Open title chances. This win at one of the Tour’s most respected venues and oldest tournaments should only solidify his status among the best 20-somethings on the planet and improve his already fine chances for winning a major.

Here are your final results from Hilton Head: