SANTIAGO, Chile — Dawie van der Walt won the Chile Classic on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title, closing with a birdie for a 6-under 65 and a two-stroke victory.
The 32-year-old South African finished at 21-under 263 at Mapocho and earned $108,000. He won two European Tour events in South Africa in 2013.
"It’s very sweet," van der Walt said. "It’s been a long time coming. … It was a combination of things. I hit a lot of shots close. Sometimes you hit good shots and they just don’t end up close. I hit my irons really good and a lot of them were close this week."
He nearly skipped the tournament after finishing the European Tour’s South African Swing.
"I played pretty decent last week," van der Walt said. "I wasn’t thinking I wasn’t going to make the cut, but thought I might play well here. I certainly wasn’t expecting to win."
Erik Barnes was second after a 66. He birdied the final three holes.
"Dawie played great today," Barnes said. "He hit it good. He chipped it good. He putted good. That’s hard to beat."
Third-round leader Craig Barlow was another stroke back along with Wes Roach. Barlow had a hole a hole-in-one with a 6-iron the 214-yard eighth, but bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16 in a 69.
Roach finished with a 68.