Glory for Grace as in-form South African claims Dunhill title with course record

PUBLISHED: 12:50 EST, 7 October 2012 | UPDATED: 12:50 EST, 7 October 2012

South Africa's Branden Grace won for the fifth time this year, capturing the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews by two shots from Dane Thorbjorn Olesen.

He began the week with a European Tour record-equalling 60 at Kingsbarns - the £3million pro-celebrity event is staged over three courses - and was never overtaken after that, finishing with a tournament record-equalling 22-under-par total and a first prize of £491,000.

Pure delight: Branden Grace maintained his good form by securing the Dunhill Links title at St Andrews

Grace, who has risen from outside the world's top 300 to inside the top 40, said: 'It feels awesome.'

But if starting the final round with a four-stroke lead and ending it two ahead of Olesen sounds a comfortable day's work, then think again.

Bridge the gap: South African Grace

After the Pretoria golfer dropped a shot on the seventh, Olesen birdied the next two and when Grace three-putted the short 11th for another bogey they were level.

It was then, however, that he showed the class that had already brought him the Joburg Open, Volvo Champions, China Open and, on his home circuit last Sunday, the Origins of Golf titles in 2012.

Grace birdied the following three holes from 10, 12 and 14 feet and when Olesen bogeyed the next, the gap was back to four. Even then it was not a cruise to the line.

Olesen birdied the 16th and he bogeyed the Road Hole 17th, but when Olesen came up a fraction short with his eagle attempt through the Valley of Sin on the last, Grace had two putts for victory from four feet - and needed only one of them.

It made him the first wire-to-wire winner of the Tour season, but was the second time he has won back-to-back.

Like Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, Grace is a product of the Ernie Els Foundation and the current Open champion has already tipped him to be another major champion.

Winning at the Home of Golf, as Oosthuizen did in the 2010 Open, will do for the time being, though.

'I've really dreamt of this moment my whole life,' he said. 'I had goosebumps thinking this morning about Louis and the possibility of holding a trophy here myself.

'It was a tough day, but the putter started working and that's all I needed to do.'

Clearing the way: Grace hit the front early on in the tournament and never looked back

Grace's caddie Zack Rasego was on Oosthuizen's bag two years ago and, after asking him to start reading the lines with him on the back nine, he took control again.

Using a new driver after his usual one cracked last week, Grace shot a closing 70, while Olesen's 68 left him two ahead of Swede Alex Noren.

Scot Stephen Gallacher, whose only Tour victory in nearly 400 starts came in the event eight years ago, finished in a seven-way tie for fifth after running up a quadruple-bogey eight at the 16th.

The 37-year-old, lying fourth on his own at the time, went to what he thought was his drive and hit it, only to discover it was actually the ball of Danny Willett's amateur partner Steve Halsall.