24-year-old South African Jayden Schaper claimed a dramatic first DP World Tour victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, delivering a stunning eagle in a playoff to claim victory.
Schaper, who came close to winning his first title last week with a second-place finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, fired a closing round 67 featuring three birdies in his last five holes, highlighted by a chip on the 16th with his MG5 wedge to force a playoff.
On the opening playoff hole, Schaper found the fairway bunker off the tee. From the bunker, he pulled his Qi35 hybrid and executed a masterful rescue shot to find the back of the green which he described as “probably one of the shots of my career”. He then proceeded to hole the 20-foot eagle putt to secure the championship and his maiden tour victory.
“To know I had finally managed to get it done was incredibly special, it’s been so close the last few weeks and probably the last couple of years, it’s a dream come true. When that putt went in, it was an overwhelming sense that all the hard work over the years had been worth it.”
– Jayden Schaper
Since turning professional in 2020, Jayden has steadily built momentum and had a consistent 2025 DP World Tour season securing eight top-10 finishes. He has started the 2026 season with a bang with his second-place finish last week and securing the title this week. Jayden leads the 2026 stroke average on tour with an impressive 67.14 and is third in Putts Per GIR with 1.65 using his Spider Tour Z putter.
The Spider momentum continues
Jayden is another member of Team TaylorMade who has reaped the rewards from moving to a Spider putter. At the start of 2025 Jayden moved from the TaylorMade TP Reserve to a TaylorMade Spider Tour Z and the rest is history. With this win he moves to a career-high 94th in the OWGR. Schaper’s commanding display under pressure not only ends his wait for his first win but also cements his status as a rising star in international golf.
Jayden Schaper Alfred Dunhill Links
Jayden Schaper WITB
Qi4D LS 9.0 driver
Qi35 15.0 fairway wood
Qi35 19.0 hybrid
P·7MC 4-6 iron
P·7MB 7-PW
MG5 50.SB, 56.SB & 60.LB
Spider Tour Z putter
TP5x golf ball
Taylormadegolf.co.uk
