Sergio Garcia was delighted to see Lee Westwood get back into the winner's circle after losing out in a final-day battle against his great friend at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player.
Garcia entered the final day at Gary Player Country Club three shots ahead of Westwood but they were tied at the top after just two holes and the Englishman carded a 64 to finish three shots ahead and claim his first European Tour win since 2014.
The duo have spent the best part of the last 20 years sharing the upper echelons of the golfing world, and have been team-mates in either a playing or Vice Captaincy role on every European Ryder Cup Team since 1999.
They claimed five points from seven matches as a pairing between 2002 and 2008, and the bond is strong between two players who have 39 European Tour victories between them.
“I'm thrilled for him,” he said. “He had a bad Ryder Cup at Hazeltine and he struggled a little bit, he's been playing much better this year.
“He's been knocking on the door for winning, he played well in Valderrama. I wish I would have won myself but if not, obviously to see Lee do it is pretty nice.
“To shoot 64 in the last round - the greens were a little bit softer today but still, you had to go out there and do it. It's not that easy.”
The final day of the seventh Rolex Series event of the season emerged into an enthralling battle between Garcia, Westwood and local favourite Louis Oosthuizen from the moment the final group hit their tee-shots.
The play ebbed and flowed throughout the afternoon and the trio were tied for the lead on three occasions.
After a bogey on the first Garcia birdied the sixth, tenth and 12th but would then par his way home in a 70.
“I played okay,” he said. “I didn't have my A-game, other than Thursday but I fought hard, I stayed patient.
“Things didn't really happen too much to me. I hit some good shots and a couple more putts here and there.”
Oosthuizen made just six pars and broke into the lead on his own with birdies on the fifth, seventh and ninth and when he made one on the 11th he was two ahead.
He was reeled in but led again after birdies on the 13th and 14th, before a bogey on the 15th and a double on the last saw him finish four behind Westwood, who came home in 31.
“It would have been nicer if I could lift the trophy,” he said. “Hats off to Lee for the way he played today. Eight under around that golf course without a dropped shot is good golf.
“I played really well today and was up in the leaderboard there for a while. But Westwood, with the way he played the back nine, I was pushing hard at the end to try something.
“I'm proud of the way I handled it. I felt I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities and I played really well. I just had to do too much there at the end.”
