Rory McIlroy has narrowly missed out on victory at the BMW SA Open in South Africa after a tight playoff.
The four time major winner went head to head with England's Graeme Storm with victory at stake but the Englishman edged to victory.
Both golfers finished on 18-under after four rounds on course, one shot clear of England's Jordan L Smith, the force a two way playoff.
McIlroy had shown consistency throughout the tournament, carding a 67 followed by a 68 for his opening two rounds.
An eagle on the 7th hole in Round 3 allowed him to once again card a 67, before a 68 after 18 holes after Sunday's action to set up a playoff against Storm.
18th hole this week:
McIlroy: 2 over par
Storm: 1 under par#BMWSAOpen pic.twitter.com/6LiR62f9T0— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 15, 2017
The pair began the playoff action on the 18th tee, which had gone in Storm's favour overall during the tournament.
Both shot level par on the 18th, extending the playoff on to the
Advantage McIlroy. pic.twitter.com/FNPHi6rpJp
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 15, 2017
What McIlroy faces on the 2nd playoff hole.#BMWSAOpen pic.twitter.com/64PYH2bMTj
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 15, 2017
The second hole of the playoff left McIlroy in a difficult position through the trees. But he managed to extricate himself from that predicament extremely well:
What an escape... pic.twitter.com/QHbm3N4GMP
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 15, 2017
Both McIlroy and Storm parred that hole to take the playoff further.
But ultimately it was the Englishman who prevailed as McIlroy failed to par.
Storm had come close to losing his European Tour card ahead of 2017 but retained it after US golfer Patrick Reed failed to fulfill the requirements to maintain his.
Darren Clarke had also been in action at the SA Open but missed the cut for the weekend after finishing on 4-over overall after two rounds.
McIlroy's putt slides by.@StormyGraeme wins the #BMWSAOpen 🆠🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/FO5ejV1aFh
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 15, 2017
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