Branden wins in good Grace

South Africa's Branden Grace won for the fifth time this year as he claimed the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews by two shots from Dane Thorbjorn Olesen.

The 24-year-old from Pretoria began the week with a European Tour record-equalling 60 at Kingsbarns - the £3million pro-celebrity event is staged over three courses - and was never overtaken after that.

Olesen did catch him with seven holes to go, but Grace promptly birdied the next three holes and with another on the last finished with a tournament record-equalling 22-under-par total.

Scot Stephen Gallacher, winner in 2004, was fourth on his own and still had hopes of catching Grace when he played the wrong ball at the 16th, incurred a two-stroke penalty and ran up a quadruple bogey eight. A birdie at the last did at least enable him to finish in a seven-way tie for fifth.

"It feels awesome," said Grace, who has risen from outside the world's top 300 to inside the top 40 and might even yet deny number one Rory McIlroy the European money list title next month. He is up from 12th to third and added: "It's definitely in my sights."

Like Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, Grace is a product of the Ernie Els Foundation and the current Open champion has already tipped him to be another major champion.

Winning at the Home of Golf, as Oosthuizen did in the 2010 Open, will do for the time being, though.

"I've really dreamt of this moment my whole life," Grace said. "I had goosebumps thinking this morning about Louis and the possibility of holding a trophy here myself. It was a tough day, but the putter started working and that's all I needed to do."

Grace's caddie Zack Rasego was on Oosthuizen's bag two years ago and, after asking him to start reading the lines with him on the back nine, he took control again.

Using a new driver after his usual one cracked last week, Grace shot a closing 70, while Olesen's 68 left him two ahead of Swede Alex Noren.