Johannesburg - Michiel Bothma holed a magnificent birdie putt on the last to claim his second Telkom PGA Championship at Country Club Johannesburg on Sunday.

The Pretoria professional closed with a nine-under-par 63, including birdies on his final three holes, to take the title on 20 under par and add to his victory in this event in 2003.

But whereas on that occasion he benefitted from Mark Murless calling a penalty on himself which led to a playoff between the two which Bothma won, this year he took the title with a dominant final round performance. And it was capped by his 30-foot putt for birdie on the par-five 18th.

"In 2003 it just happened, but this year I was really gunning for the victory over the closing holes," said Bothma.

George Coetzee finished second on 19 under with a closing 67, while Louis Oosthuizen bogeyed the last to take third place on 18 under with a 68. Bothma began the final round three strokes behind the shared lead of Oosthuizen and Coetzee.

The first nine emerged as a battle between Oosthuizen and Coetzee, and it was one Oosthuizen seemed to be winning. Oosthuizen birdied the par-three 13th to take a one-shot lead on 18 under. And when he hit his tee shot on the par-three 15th to three feet for his third birdie in four holes and a two-stroke lead over Coetzee and Bothma, it seemed Oosthuizen was headed for his third triumph in this tournament.

But both Bothma and Coetzee birdied holes 16 and 17 to force a three-way tie for the lead on 19 under. And Bothma then wrenched himself clear with his birdie on the last at the end of an impressive back nine of 30.

"I really expected to be in a playoff because I thought Louis and George would definitely make birdie on the last," said Bothma, who admitted that he had considered giving up the game entirely before his 2003 triumph, where he was playing for his exemption on the Sunshine Tour.

"I suppose a lot of golfers go through that. But since I was 12 years old I told my parents this is what I want to do. I've practised so hard over the last three months that I felt it had to happen. This confirms for me that I can win."

While it may be a long time between major victories for Bothma, he also admitted that he does things a bit slower than most, even when it comes to his pace of play on the course. "As a kid I used to play with my dad at Bronkhorstspruit Golf Club on a Sunday, and I would play as slowly as possible and drag out the round so that I could miss Sunday school."

Final round scores from the Telkom PGA Championship played at Country Club Johannesburg:

268 - Michiel Bothma 71 67 67 63
269 - George Coetzee 71 67 64 67
270 - Louis Oosthuizen 67 66 69 68
273 - Tjaart van der Walt 67 68 71 67
274 - Keith Horne 67 71 66 70

Sourced via sport24.co.za