Sunday 10 January 2016 16:23, UK
Andrew Coltart has backed Brandon Stone for a bright future on the European Tour after the 22-year-old claimed his maiden victory at the SA Open.
Stone saw a five-shot lead disappear during a rollercoaster final round at Glendower GC, but responded by carding four birdies in a five-hole stretch along the back nine to move clear of Christiaan Bezuidenhout and take the title.
The South African came in to the week as world No 249 but will now make a significant rise up the world rankings, with Coltart convinced that the Challenge Tour graduate will continue to impress over the season ahead.
"I think there's no doubt about that," Coltart told Sky Sports. "We're going to see much, much more of Brandon Stone and this performance is just a stepping stone to bigger and better things.
"He was well touted coming in this event and showed a very stoic performance over the last seven holes to complete that incredible victory.
"We said at the beginning of the day that this guy's confident with great body language and we couldn't see it going any other way, until that real blip after the fifth.
"He just seemed to flick a switch after the 11th and showed incredible determination to come back there after it appeared everything had gone.
"His head must have been scrambled but he pulled himself together and he managed to get the job done, which was fantastic and a very mature performance in the end.
"You could see how much it meant to him with him at the tears. The feeling of winning his national title and one of the most prestigious titles in world golf won't get much better than that."
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