Emotional Grace felt late father's guidance in Puerto Rico triumph

Rio Grande, March 1: Branden Grace believes he was guided to victory at the Puerto Rico Open by his late father as the South African secured an emotional triumph.

Grace holed a chip-in eagle from the bunker at the 17th and closed with a birdie to finish on 19 under, one stroke ahead of Jhonattan Vegas.

The 32-year-old's PGA Tour success on Sunday comes after his dad died with coronavirus in January.

Murray and Campos share Puerto Rico Open lead

"My old man passed away not too long ago, and he always said I'm an aggressive player and I knew he was watching over me," Grace said following his final-round 66.

"It was good. I was just able to hit the shots that I needed. I just stayed in the moment, in the zone. I played the right shot at the right time. I got aggressive.

"I spoke to my wife today and she said that my dad's watching over me and he'll give me the guidance I needed, and he did."

Five weeks ago, @BrandenGrace lost his father.

Today was an emotional win @PuertoRicoOpen. pic.twitter.com/5lq8knytZg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 28, 2021

Home hope Rafael Campos, ranked 666th in the world, finished in a tie for third after shooting a closing 70.