The South African golfer had to dig deep after a poor third round, but got the job done in a playoff.
SA golfer Thriston Lawrence, right, poses with the trophy alongside Cindy Crawford, former super model, after winning the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland on Sunday. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence joined Spanish great Seve Ballesteros as a three-time winner of the European Masters after edging England’s Paul Casey in a thrilling play-off following a sensational final round in Crans Montana in Switzerland on Sunday.
The South African led at the halfway stage at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club after two outstanding rounds of golf, but dropped well down the leaderboard on Saturday following a disappointing three-over par 73.
He had earlier recorded rounds of 64 and 63 to be right in the mix and the man to catch and beat.
Lawrence, a former SA Open champion, started Sunday’s final round six shots behind Casey, but a sensational 62 saw him set the clubhouse target at 18 under par, which no one could better.
Casey shot a final round 68, after earlier rounds of 67, 64 and 63, to join Lawrence at 18 under par. He bogeyed the final hole to slip back into a tie and a playoff.
It then took four extra holes to decide a winner.
As a result, Lawrence joined an exclusive group with the great Ballesteros as the only players to triumph three times in the Swiss event since 1972 following his successes in 2022 and 2025.
The 29-year-old, who now has six wins on the DP World Tour, will bank a cool €548,226 or in Rand terms, R10,164 million.
Besides the now three European Masters titles, Lawrence’s other European Tour titles are the 2023 BMW International Open, SA Open in 2022 and Joburg Open in 2021.
The next best South African finishers on Sunday were Erik van Rooyen (tied 18th at 11 under par) and Brandon Stone (tied 23rd at 10 under par). Zander Lombard and Casey Jarvis were tied 30th.
