Britain's Anthony Wall made his European
Tour breakthrough on Sunday when he held his nerve to win the 2000 season-opening
Alfred Dunhill championship by two strokes.
Five birdies in the last nine holes
of the rain-hit tournament at the Houghton Golf Club sealed a first success for
the son of a London cab driver at the start of only his second full season as
a professional.
With the tournament cut to 54 holes
because of the waterlogged conditions, the Englishman carded a third round of
four-under-par 68 for a 12-under total of 204.
Fast-finishing Welshman Phillip Price
and Scot Gary Orr shared second place after rounds of 67 and 70 respectively.
Wall started two behind Namibian Trevor
Dodds at eight-under. But he took the lead on the crucial short 15th hole as
he birdied and Dodds bogeyed.
Dodds dropped to nine-under and another
bogey on the par four 17th put him out of contention. The Namibian had been in
front for much of the tournament but his 74 for 208 was worth only a share of
fifth place.
Wall said: "Ever since I starting playing
when I was four I've dreamed of winning tournaments, so this has been a dream
come true.
"Before I started the tournament I had
two goals -- to make the cut and then to finish in the top 10.
"So this is a huge relief for me getting
my Tour card, at least I'm employed for the next two years."
Local favourite Retief Goosen produced
the best round of the day among the leaders, a six-under 66 worth fourth spot
on 207.
The South African, fifth in last year's
European Order of Merit, birdied the final four holes and even had an eagle putt
at 18.
But it was not enough to stop Wall.
On the deciding 15th he struck a perfect five-iron to within 12 feet while Dodds,
who had played near faultless golf over the opening 14 holes, pulled his drive
into the left rough.
Wall sank the putt but Dodds failed
to recover sufficiently on a hole renowned for its ability to decide the final
outcome.
The event was reduced to three rounds
on Saturday after heavy rain had disrupted play since Thursday's start.
