It was a Sunday to remember at the Palmetto Championship for Garrick Higgo. The young South African, making his official non-Major PGA Tour debut, secured his maiden PGA Tour title in South Carolina, writes ANDREW PARKER.

Higgo, who plays out of De Zalze Golf Club in the scenic winelands of Stellenbosch, finished on 11 under par, one shot ahead of six others including overnight leader Chesson Hadley, who bogeyed his final three holes.

Higgo joins Branden Grace as the second South African winner on the PGA Tour this season, and adds a third victory in 2021 to the two events he won during the Canary Islands swing on the European Tour.

After banking by far the biggest cheque of his fledgling professional career – a sizeable $1.3 million (R18m) – Higgo earned a two-year exemption to the PGA Tour. He also moves up to 80th position in the 2020-21 FedEx Cup.

Now ranked 39th in the world, Higgo, together with eight other South Africans, will attempt to back up his fine performance this week as 150 of the world’s best golfers assemble at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California on Thursday for the US Open.