Van Zyl began the final round with a one-stroke lead and finished strongly to shoot a three-under-par 69 and post a 14-under-par winning total, finishing two shots clear of Hennie Otto.

In a thrilling finish, Otto was close behind but a bogey at the par-four 13th and then a string of pars coming in saw the veteran fall just short after a final day 70.

Sean Bradley also flirted with the lead, but a double-bogey six at the penultimate hole put paid to his chances, a birdie at the last seeing him claim third place on his own on 11-under after finishing with a 69.

Pieter Moolman pushed hard too, but a pair of double-bogeys on the back nine saw him finish in a tie for fourth on 10-under with Jaco Ahlers (68).

Van Zyl gave them all a sniff when he faltered with a bogey at the par-four 14th, but he showed his composure of old as he then birdied the par-three 15th and then followed up with another birdie on the 17th.

“I was playing nicely the whole time and I felt I was hitting really good putts but they just weren’t going in,” Van Zyl said. “I actually made a seven-footer for bogey on 14, and it sounds strange, but that got me some momentum.

“On 15 I sank a big putt that turned 15 feet off the left and that really got the confidence going. Then I hit a great wedge on 17 to about two feet, and to have a two-shot lead on the 18th hole is always nice.

“I’m over the moon with the win, it’s been a rocky road and I’ve been fighting a lot of demons. So it’s a real sense of accomplishment. In golf, it’s a case of how well you are doing both on and off the course, and I can sense I am on the right track,”

Van Zyl said after his 16th Sunshine Tour win and his first title since triumphing at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship in February 2016.

To win an event bearing the Gary Player name was also a tremendous joy for 43-year-old Van Zyl.

“Gary was our team captain at the Rio Olympics in 2016, which was very special for me. I spent quite a bit of time talking with him in Rio and it’s really nice to now win his tournament,” Van Zyl said.

Van Zyl is now up to 14th in the Luno Order of Merit and is going to be taking renewed confidence into the lucrative summer events on tour.

Scores:

202 - Jaco Van Zyl 68 65 69

204 - Hennie Otto 66 68 70

205 - Sean Bradley 65 71 69

206 - Jaco Ahlers 67 71 68, Pieter Moolman 66 69 71

207 - Kyle McClatchie 71 70 66, Louis Albertse 71 69 67, Brooklin Bailey 64 72 71

208 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 68 73 67, Neil Schietekat 70 68 70, Jared Harvey 67 70 71, Albert Venter 65 70 73

209 - Martin Vorster 71 70 68, Wynand Dingle 68 72 69, Nikhil Rama 69 70 70, Daniel Bennett 73 64 72

210 - Rourke van der Spuy 70 72 68, Ryan Van Velzen 69 73 68, Lyle Rowe 72 70 68, Herman Loubser 74 67 69, Fredrik From 68 72 70, Kyle De Beer 66 72 72

212 - Keagan Thomas 72 70 70, Sean Cronje 66 76 70, Combrinck Smit 67 75 70, Anthony Michael 68 74 70, Casey Jarvis 69 72 71, Luca Filippi 71 67 74

213 - Ruan Conradie 69 73 71, Clinton Grobler 69 73 71, Colin Nel 70 70 73

214 - Toto Thimba Jnr 69 72 73, Richard Joubert 71 70 73, Ruan de Smidt 70 70 74

215 - Divan van den Heever 70 72 73, Ruan Korb 65 76 74, Chris Cannon 69 72 74, Quintin Wilsnach 71 70 74, Dean O'Riley 68 72 75, Martin Rohwer 67 72 76

216 - Christiaan Basson 70 71 75

218 - Callum Mowat 72 70 76

220 - Erhard Lambrechts 71 71 78, Jacquin Hess 69 72 79

221 - Riekus Nortje 70 72 79