AFTER closing the second day tied for second place, Eddie Pepperell ultimately finished 17th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.

The Frilford Heath member was in scintillating form during his opening round, holing a trio of birdies, plus an eagle.

Two bogeys on the eighth and 10th left him three-under par, before a magnificent day two propelled him into second place, three shots behind halfway leader Scott Jamieson.

Pepperell holed eight birdies and just the one bogey on the second, leaving him 10-under par at the tournament.

One moment which stood out was the final hole of the round, a birdie on one of Leopard Creek Country Club’s most difficult par-fives.

While others either played safe or found the water, Pepperell took it on with a four iron.

He told the European Tour website: “Every time I get on that hole I say to my caddie ‘if we’re going with any more than a six iron, we won’t go for it’, and it was a four iron – and I went for it.

“I think because the flag was quite a tough one to pitch to, I thought ‘take it on, try to hit the high four iron’.

“And I actually caught it a groove low and it came out a bit low and I’m probably a bit lucky that it hung on.

“But sometimes you have to be brave on these par-fives and I didn’t play the par-fives well up until the last.”

Pepperell hit four bogeys and three birdies in the third round, and ended with four more bogeys and four birdies, leaving him nine-under par.