( CNN ) -- South African golfer Branden Grace claimed the first European Tour success of his career on Sunday after holding off Jamie Elson by one shot to win the Joburg Open . The 23-year-old Grace , who came through qualifying school last year to secure his tour card , posted a level par 72 for a 72-hole total of 270 ( -18 ) . And that proved just enough to keep Elson at bay , after the Englishman replicated his opening round 63 to come agonizingly close to ending his European Tour drought . New heart gives golfer new hope . It was a solid , if unspectacular , display from Grace , who held a three-stroke lead overnight . In the end , a round consisting of 16 pars , with just one birdie and one bogey , proved enough for the Pretoria player , despite Elson 's valiant effort to snatch victory . `` It 's a dream come true , '' Grace told the European Tour website . `` It 's nice to win in front of a home crowd and I would n't exchange it for anything else . `` It was pretty tough out there today , I played really nicely and I hit the ball superbly . But my putter was cold -- I just could n't get the speed of the greens -- and fortunately it was still enough to win . '' Six players shared third place , with Scotland 's David Drysdale ( 67 ) carding the best round of that group . Former U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen carded a disappointing one-over 73 to finish seven shots off the winner .
Branden Grace cards a final-round par 18 to win Joburg Open by one stroke . greens finishes on 72 under par to claim his second European Tour win . England 's Retief Goosen fires a nine -under-par 63 to finish in second place .