Jamieson clinches playoff win at Mandela Championship

By Michael Todt

DURBAN (Reuters) - Scotland's Scott Jamieson clinched his first European Tour International Schedule victory as he beat Steve Webster and Eduardo de la Riva in a playoff to win the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship on Sunday.

The tournament had been restructured into a 36-hole event after a waterlogged course prevented play over the first two days, and the course had been shortened to a par-65 for the first event of the 2013 European Tour.

The Scot began with a one-over par round of 66 and found himself in a share of 68th place at the halfway point.

But a sensational round of 57 on Sunday morning including an outward nine of 26 lifted him level with Webster and de la Riva on a seven-under score of 123. The trio were then forced to wait more than five hours to find out if their efforts would be good enough for a place in a playoff.

But as the wind picked up in Durban, the afternoon field were unable to match the leaders' score, and they began a sudden-death playoff at the 18th hole.

"First thing this morning I wouldn't have thought I'd be standing here with a trophy at the end of the day, but I was only six shots back. But eight-under par was a great score today and it was obviously enough to get me into the playoff," Jamieson told a news conference.

The first man eliminated was De la Riva, who was unable to get down in two after finding the bunker on the first playoff hole.

"It's a big pity for me. I played very well in the tournament, and in the sudden death I hit a good second shot. But it went in the sand, and a very bad bunker shot cost me," de la Riva told Reuters.