Soudal Open: Richard Sterne ends 13-year wait for victory with shot of his life

South Africa's Richard Sterne claimed his first DP World Tour title in more than 13 years at the Soudal Open. 

His compatriot Zander Lombard held a three-shot lead with nine holes remaining at Rinkven International Golf Club in Antwerp. 

But Lombard imploded down the stretch and could only manage a final day three-over 74 to finish in a share of eighth place on 15-under.

Sterne's 66, which included an eagle on the 17th that was set up with one of the shots of the season, saw him finish on 18-under and two clear of a group of six players. 

Jacob Skov Olesen, Jorge Campillo, Kota Kaneko, Marcus Armitage, Marcus Kinhult and LIV Golf recruit Victor Perez shared second. 

"It's been a tough ride," Sterne, 44, told Sky Sports after claiming his first win since the 2013 Joburg Open, citing numerous surgeries and setbacks. 

"I've been through it all, so I'm pretty happy. I've been putting in a lot of hard work and trying to figure things out. It's been tough.

"It's been very tough, to be honest, the last couple of years, but there's been some signs of good things."

Sterne's best shot of the final round came on the par-five 17th. After finding the fairway, Sterne muscled a 5-wood from 276 yards onto the green and threatened to hole out for an albatross. 

"I thought I was a couple behind," added Sterne. "I thought Zander was still on 19-under. I wasn't really looking at boards, to be honest. I did see on 17, but it was a long way for me.

"I had a 5-wood in the bag. I don't have a 3-wood. It was 276, and I needed to hit a little draw on there to get the distance.

"It just came out as good as I could. It ended up great. Three, four feet away, and he had one of the best shots I've hit."

Sterne said one of the biggest sources of inspirations was the thought of winning in front of his children. 

"[And]I suppose also just to prove to myself that I can still compete at this age. 

"After all, I've had a lot of injuries. I've probably been out six, seven years with injuries. 

"I've been out, I think, 24 years. With those injuries, it's only been 16, 17 years.

"Having that time off made me realise that I still wanted to give it a go. 

"I worked very hard in the gym to get my body back and be able to get through what I was going through. 

"There were tough times, but here I am."