Matteo Manassero carded a final-round 66 to claim his first victory on the DP World Tour in 11 years with a 3-shot win at the Jonsson Workwear Open on Sunday.
Manassero is back on the tour for the first time in five years, having lost his card in 2018, and his victory was set up by a career-best 61 in his second round Friday as he ended the tournament at 26-under par, 3 shots ahead of a trio of players in second place.
Shaun Norris (68), Thriston Lawrence (63) and Jordan Smith (68) were the runners-up as the tournament at the Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, finished in dimming light after a delay for thunderstorms earlier in the day.
Manassero still holds the record as the youngest-ever winner on the DP World Tour at 17 years, 188 days in 2010, but he had only seven top-10 finishes since claiming the BMW PGA Championship in 2013 and briefly stepped away from the game five years ago.
“I won’t be able to reflect for a while, but it is the best day of my life on the golf course,” Manassero said. “It has been a crazy journey, but in the last few years I knew I was getting back on track.
“Golf is such a difficult game. I am just so happy to be here now. I played well today, but the guys behind were playing some incredible golf and every time I looked at the leaderboard it was a new name with more birdies.”