Max Homa's Nedbank win confirms Rory McIlroy as Race to Dubai champion

America's Max Homa said it had been a "crazy day" as he held off Danish challengers Thorbjorn Olesen and Nicolai Hojgaard to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City.

A closing 66 saw Homa finish on 19 under, four clear of Hojgaard.

The result also confirms that Rory McIlroy, who was not playing in South Africa, will win a fifth Race to Dubai crown, regardless of what happens at next week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

Homa began the final round with a one-shot lead at Gary Player Country Club and was briefly caught by Olesen despite making birdies on four of his first six holes.

However, no sooner had he been joined at the top of the leaderboard than the world number eight fired a sensational approach over the water to 18 feet at the par-five ninth and converted the eagle opportunity.

Olesen cranked up the pressure once more with a tap-in birdie on the 10th but, although Homa gave the chasing pack hope with a dropped shot on the 11th, the Dane carded consecutive bogeys at the 12th and 13th before a double-bogey at the 16th ended his challenge.

Homa birdied the 15th from seven feet and rattled in a 38-foot effort at the next to put the result beyond doubt.

Tom McKibbin finished in a share of 33rd place on one under par after a closing 74.

"It’s been a dream 10 or 11 days," Homa told Sky Sports. "It was a crazy day – I got off to such a great start and Thorbjorn was playing unbelievable. He kept pushing us along and Nicolai was playing phenomenal golf so it was fun.

"Its kind of what you dream of, you want to be in the fight and it was fun to close it out at the end."

Leaderboard

On his long birdie putt at the 16th, which looked to be racing off the green before the hole intervened, Homa added: "It was an awkward