JOHANNESBURG – Jbe Kruger and Andy Sullivan both shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to share the first-round lead at the European Tour’s South African Open.

Ernie Els was a shot behind as he searches for his first win in nearly two years.

Els opened 2015 with a 67 in his home town, picking up three birdies in his first nine after starting on No. 10 and making his only bogey on No. 12.

Els’ South African compatriot Kruger was bogey-free around Glendower Golf Club, while England’s Sullivan recovered from a double bogey to ultimately card six birdies and an eagle.

Els was without a top-three finish on the European Tour last year for the first time since 1992, but his crisp iron play put him in early contention for a sixth South African Open title.

VIRGINIA WATER, England – Rory McIlroy has been chosen as the European Tour player of the year, capping a season in which he won two majors, the Ryder Cup, and topped the money lists in Europe and the United States.

McIlroy, the world No. 1, won his maiden British Open title by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia at Royal Liverpool in July, and less than a month later earned a second PGA Championship at Valhalla, finishing a shot clear of Phil Mickelson.

Between McIlroy’s third and fourth major wins, the Northern Irishman won the World Golf Championship event at Firestone for the first time, again with a two-shot victory over Garcia.

Overall, he took four big titles over three months, starting in May at the tour’s flagship event at Wentworth, where he edged Shane Lowry by a shot on a course where he missed the halfway cut the previous two years.

That victory came days after cancelling a wedding and relationship with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

At the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September, McIlroy won three points as Europe successfully defended the title.

“If I had won any one of those four titles it would have been a good year, but to win all four, to win The Race to Dubai, and to be part of another fantastic European victory in the Ryder Cup, means it is a great one,” McIlroy said.

“The European Tour has always been good to me, so it is always special to be recognized in this way.”

MALELANE, South Africa – Branden Grace held his nerve while others faltered Sunday, pulling away for a commanding seven-shot victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Grace started the day with a one-shot advantage over Lucas Bjerregaard, but quickly widened the gap when the Dane had a bogey on the first and Grace birdied the second.

Bjerregaard fell away badly thereafter to card a 17-over 89, while Grace finished with a 4-under 68 and a 20-under total of 268 for the event. It was the 26-year-old South African’s fifth victory on the European Tour, and he became the first person to lead after all four rounds of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

“It’s special to win it wire-to-wire, more so because it’s in front of a local crowd,” Grace said. “It was a pretty flawless round today and the perfect way to finish off an incredible tournament – a great week in the office.”

Fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen shot a 69 to finish second, while Trevor Fisher Jr., Andrew Johnston and Danny Willett were three shots further back in third.

Willett was two shots behind Grace going into the final round but only managed a 76 after finishing with a double bogey on the 16th, bogey on 17 and a triple bogey on 18. Francesco Molinari was fourth overnight but also shot a 76 to drop to a tie for sixth, 11 shots behind the winner.

Grace mixed six birdies with two bogeys and never looked threatened, finishing with a birdie on No. 18.

Bjerregaard unraveled after a triple bogey on the par-3 seventh hole where he landed in the water. He needed 50 shots on the back nine, which included a quadruple bogey on the par-4 11th, two double bogeys and five bogeys.

MALELANE, South Africa — Branden Grace had his lead cut to just one stroke at the Alfred Dunhill Championship after shooting a level-par 72 in the third round Saturday, allowing several challengers to close the gap behind him.

Grace had a five-stroke cushion after the second round, but a late surge by Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark erased most of the advantage. Bjerregaard had an eagle on the 13th and then birdied his last three holes for a 66 to climb to second place.

Grace has a 16-under total of 200, with Danny Willett of England two shots behind after a 67 and Francesco Molinari another stroke back following a 70.

“A couple of the easy holes I managed to make mistakes on,” said Grace, who mixed four birdies with four bogeys. “But I’m in the position I want to be in and looking forward to tomorrow.”

The wind picked up considerably during the third round, but it didn’t seem to bother Bjerregaard, who played his back nine in 6 under.

“We’ve had no wind pretty much all week and it was tough, especially on the first couple of holes, to adjust to that all of a sudden,” Bjerregaard said. “It will be fun tomorrow. It’s not a position that I’ve been in that many times. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully I can find a couple more fairways and give him a challenge.”

Willett is chasing back-to-back European Tour victories after his win at the Nedbank Golf Challenge last week.

MALELANE, South Africa — Branden Grace increased his lead to five strokes after a 6-under 66 Friday in the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The South African had three birdies on the front nine and another four after the turn at Leopard Creek Country Club to move to 16-under 128 overall.

Grace, who won all four of his European Tour titles in 2012, dropped his only shot of the competition on the par-3 fifth.

“This is a golf course that suits me and if I keep hitting everything in play the way I have been the first two days then it should be a good weekend,” Grace said. “The pins have been kind so far. I’m sure there’s going to be a couple of tricky and sticky pins out there on the weekend but I’ll just stick to the game plan and see what the next two rounds offer us.”

Francesco Molinari (65) had the low round to move into second place. The Italian had five birdies through the first 12 holes followed by an eagle at No. 13, but he missed an opportunity to cut the deficit to four strokes at No. 14 when he failed to make a three-foot putt.

“Five shots is still a very good margin, but the greens are firming up nicely so it might be slightly different over the weekend,” Molinari said. “I started 12 behind this morning and tried not to think about it. I just tried to do my best and I’m really happy with how I played.”

Tjaart van der Walt (67) is a shot behind Molinari, while Shaun Norris (67), Lucas Bjerregaard (67) and Danny Willett (69) are a further shot behind at 9 under.

Defending champion Charl Schwartzel, who is trying to become the sixth European Tour player to win the same event three years in a row, shot 70 and is 11 strokes behind Grace.

MALELANE, South Africa – Branden Grace made light work of the Leopard Creek Country Club course as he shot a 10-under 62 to claim a three-shot lead after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Thursday.

Although the South African missed an eagle chance at the last hole that would have seen him equal the course record, that was his only disappointment of the day as he fired in 10 unanswered birdies.

“I hit the ball superbly,” said Grace, who came within a whisker of holing approaches at Nos. 11 and 15.

“I can’t remember the last time I hit 18 greens in a row, which is pretty nice, especially around this place, where there are some daunting approaches. It’s a good feeling going into the rest of the tournament.”

Grace’s compatriot, Jake Roos, lay second after his first day as a full European Tour member, leading fellow rookie Matt Ford by one stroke after the Englishman’s 6-under 66.

Ford had been set to accept a job as a postman before his success at Qualifying School last month changed his winter plans, while Roos claimed the last spot available on The Race to Dubai via last season’s Challenge Tour.

The limited field at the Nedbank Challenge last week delayed the involvement of players coming through the Challenge Tour and Qualifying School.

“I’m very happy and it was a dream start to the tournament and my season,” Ford said. “It’s the first time I’ve had my European Tour card, so I’m pleased with how today went.”

Ford was joined in third place by countryman Danny Willett, who carried his good form through from last weekend’s win at the Nedbank Challenge.

Spain’s Nacho Elvira and South Africans Michael Hollick and Tjaart van der Walt were tied for fifth on 5 under, while defending champion Charl Swartzel had a decent day that left him at 3 under and tied for 21st.

SUN CITY, South Africa — Danny Willett spoiled Luke Donald’s birthday with a final-round 66 to charge past his English compatriot and win the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City by four shots on Sunday.

Willett claimed his second European Tour title ahead of Ross Fisher (68), while overnight leader Donald slipped to third in an all-English top three.

Willett had an impressive amateur career but had won just once on the tour – at the BMW International Open in 2012 – before his $1.25 million payday at the first event of the 2015 European season. The 27-year-old Willett made six birdies and no bogeys on the final day to finish with rounds of 65 and 66 over the weekend for an 18-under-par total of 270 at Gary Player Country Club.

The former top-ranked Donald, seeking a first title in more than a year, couldn’t quite celebrate his 37th birthday in style and ended with a 73 with four bogeys. He was six shots behind Willett.

Willett trailed Donald by one heading into the final round, but had overtaken his compatriot by No. 5, when Donald made his second bogey of the round after a wayward tee shot. Willett pounced with his third of six birdies on Sunday to move ahead and he led to the end.

Willett’s chasers had a glimpse of hope when he missed the green at No. 14, leaving himself with a tricky chip over a bunker back to the hole. But the former top-ranked European amateur recovered so well he still made birdie, and Fisher and Donald saw their hopes slip away. Willett entered the tournament as the No. 82-ranked player, but shoots to the top of the new European Order of Merit standings.

Behind Donald, Germany’s Marcel Siem was alone in fourth on 9 under, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat was fifth and Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez completed a solid weekend with back-to-back 69s for sixth.

SUN CITY, South Africa — Luke Donald birdied to the last hole for a 3-under 69 Saturday to hold on to a one-shot lead after the third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Donald had been tied with Danny Willett on the leaderboard before his shot out of the rough and over some trees ended up within four feet of the pin on the last hole.

Donald moved to 13-under 203 overall to sit one shot ahead of Willett and three ahead of Ross Fisher, as Englishmen made up the top three at Sun City in the European Tour’s 2015 season-opener.

Willett surged into second after carding eight birdies and just one bogey for a 65. Fisher, the first round leader, is third after a 70.

The former top-ranked Donald didn’t match his blistering 63 on Friday, when he also had to deal with a charging baboon on the course, but is in position for his first title since late 2013 and his first on the European Tour for over two years.

“I really haven’t put myself in position very often in the last year,” Donald said. “So I’m excited to be in that position again. That’s why we work hard and that’s why we practice so much, and I’m excited for the challenge tomorrow.

While Donald has a good chance at his first Nedbank title, former Sun City champions and former No. 1s Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood struggled.

They are both tied for 24th in the 30-man field at 4 over, with Westwood slipping to a 78 on Saturday at Gary Player Country Club, where he holds the course record with a 62 in 2011. Westwood’s chip in from the bunker on No. 14 for an eagle did little to make up for his five bogeys and a triple-bogey 7 on No. 17.

Donald slipped up at Nos. 13 and 17 for his first bogeys since the sixth hole of his opening round. But he rolled in his birdie putt on 18 after the brilliant approach got him out of trouble and ensured he was the outright leader going into Sunday.

Marcel Siem is fourth, five shots behind Fisher and eight off Donald’s lead, while South African Louis Oosthuizen pushed up into a tie for fifth to give the home fans something to shout about.

Brendon Todd is the highest-placed American, but is still only tied for 17th after a 3-over 75. The high point of Todd’s day was his tee shot on No. 16, which rolled over the edge of the cup and was less than an inch away from the first hole-in-one on No. 16 in the 33-year history of the tournament.

SUN CITY, South Africa — Luke Donald birdied seven of his first 10 holes Friday to shoot 63 and take a two-shot lead after the second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

The former top-ranked Englishman was one shot off the course record at the Gary Player Country Club, giving himself a chance of a memorable end to a pretty average year.

Donald’s round was four strokes better than anyone else to move to 10-under 134. He leads Ross Fisher (70), with Alexander Levy (70) a further two shots back at 6 under.

Brendon Todd of the United States was another big mover with a 4-under 68 to tie for sixth in the European Tour season-opener.

SUN CITY, South Africa — Ross Fisher opened the 2015 European Tour season with a 6-under 66 to lead the Nedbank Golf Challenge after Thursday’s first round.

Fisher last won on the tour in South Africa in March and the Englishman felt right at home at a sweltering Sun City with four birdies on the front nine and three on the back. His only slip came with a bogey on No. 16.

He’s two shots clear of a three-way tie for second between South African George Coetzee, Germany’s Marcel Siem and Frenchman Alexander Levy.

Siem had the shot of the day when he holed out with an 8-iron from the fairway for an eagle on the par-4 on No. 17, his ball taking a lucky kick off the right edge of the green to head back across the surface and into the cup to win him a new car.

Defending champion Thomas Bjorn was last after the opening round of the new Oder of Merit schedule following an error-strewn 80. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer, a former winner at Sun City in 2012, started with a 74 for a tie for 22nd. The German had four birdies, but also four bogeys and a double bogey.

Along with Kaymer, there are two other former No. 1s playing the 30-man invitational tournament in the wilderness of northern South Africa this week. Two-time champion Lee Westwood was subdued on one of his favorite courses for an even-par 72. Luke Donald went around in 71.

Brooks Koepka of the United States made a flying start on his Sun City debut with birdies on two of his first three holes. The European Tour’s 2014 rookie of the year found it a little tougher later in his round at Gary Player Country Club, and had a costly double bogey on No. 15 to end with a 70.

Fellow American Brendon Todd was 1 over and Kevin Na 5 over.

That wasn’t as bad as Bjorn, who had two double bogeys and five bogeys in a disastrous start to his title defense after finishing with two back-nine eagles here 12 months ago for the biggest payday of his career.

Major winners Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa both came into the tournament in mediocre form, but returned solid 70s to give the home country four players in the top 10 alongside Coetzee and Tim Clark.