Andy Sullivan has to feel so high it's like he's in outer space. The Englishman came back from a seven-shot deficit entering Sunday to defeat 54-hole leader Charl Schwartzel and win the South African Open Championship.
The 2011 Masters champion entered the final round with a five-shot edge, but struggled down the stretch, making bogey from the greenside bunker at No. 14, a double bogey at the 16th and another bogey at the 17th to lose the outright lead. Sullivan, whose 5-under 67 put him in position to win, watched as Schwartzel struggled to make a playoff-forcing par.
In the playoff, both players failed to find the fairway. However, Sullivan's recovery shot underneath and around some trees found the putting surface and set up the winning birdie. Afterward, Sullivan said he caddie egged him by telling him, "No regrets" before the gutsy escape shot.
The win is the first for Sullivan and only the second by an Englishman in the 113-year history of the tournament.
It's been quite a few months for the 28-year-old. Not only does Sullivan now have his maiden European Tour win, but he also has a trip to outer space, which he won with an ace last September at the KLM Open.
