Mpumalanga, South Africa (My Sportsbook) - Richard Sterne shot a three-under 69 on Sunday and emerged after the collapse of two other players to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa.

Sterne finished at 17-under-par 271 for his fourth career European Tour title, edging Johan Edfors (66) and Robert Rock (70) by one shot.

He gained from the terrific follies committed by the final group of Thomas Aiken and Len Mattiace, who both held the lead during the final round at Leopard Creek.

Aiken, the overnight leader after he shot a course-record 61 on Saturday, was in control of the tournament until he played holes 9-11 at four-over par. He closed with a bogey at the 18th and slipped into a share of fourth place with Rafael Cabrera Bello (68) at 15-under 273.

Mattiace, meanwhile, fell all the way into a tie for 14th place after a disastrous 77 that included two triple-bogeys on the back nine. In the lead after 11 holes, he ended five strokes back at 12-under 276.

While Aiken folded and Mattiace collapsed, Sterne emerged.

Picking up two birdies on the front nine, the 27-year-old South African remained within striking distance of the lead. He faltered to a pair of bogeys at the 10th and 12th, but recovered in a big way.

Three consecutive birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th holes netted Sterne a lead heading to the final holes, and he would hang on with a trio of pars for his second win of the 2008 calendar year.

Sterne was as surprised as anyone by the collapse of the players behind him.

"I actually only saw the leaderboard on 16 and thought the leaders would probably be on 17- or 18-under," said Sterne, who won the Joburg Open last January.

"So I got a bit of a surprise when I was leading by one. I made a good two- putt there (at 16) and I knew that 17-under was probably going to be good enough. But I'm quite happy."

While Sterne emerged as the leader late on Sunday, Edfors and Rock stormed to the top of the leaderboard with strong back nines that left them tied for second place.

Edfors, after tripping to a double-bogey at No. 7, made five birdies on his last 11 holes, including two in a row at the end of the round. He had started the day in a tie for 13th place.

Rock, meanwhile, came on strong right at the end, collecting three birdies on his final four holes to join Edfors in a share of second.