• South African golfer Justin Walters has taken the positives out of his performance at the UK Championship.
• Walters lost to teenager Rasmus Hojgaard in a playoff at the Belfry course in England.
• It is Walters' best finish in a European Tour event.

Justin Walters was poised to take home a maiden European Tour title this past weekend at the UK Championship.

He was leading by two strokes ahead of the final round and was grouped alongside two-time major champion Martin Kaymer.

After a wild drive, the South African bogeyed the second hole but then responded with a hat-trick of birdies. Walters missed the chance for an easy victory with a triple-bogey on the eighth before recovering with four birdies in his round of 70.

It turned out to be a dramatic finish at The Belfry as Walters and 19-year-old Rasmus Hojgaard finished level on 14-under par.

In the playoff, Walters and Hojgaard both parred the 18th but on the second trip down the 18th, the South African made a bogey to hand the Dane his second European Tour win.

It's been an emotional week for Walters, who on Friday solemnly reflected on the one-year anniversary of his father's passing.

Heading into last week's US Championship, Walters had missed five cuts in six European Tour events.

The 39-year-old acknowledged that his triple-bogey on the eighth hold cost him the title at the final event of the UK Swing series.

"It's disappointing but I only have myself to blame really," Walters said after his final round on Sunday.

"Certainly, the drive on eight and that short, missed putt... that's cost me the tournament. You would have thought I would have learned the value of one-shot by now. But it's a major step forward from what I have been doing. The more I put myself in that situation I think I'll come out on top eventually.

"Other than that, I'm quite happy with how I did things. The playoff didn't really go as planned, two pretty weak iron shots... but that's where I found myself. If you gave me that at the beginning of the week - a playoff after being up against a very worth adversary in Martin Kaymer, there are loads of positives I can take away. That will be the wise choice to look at it like that."

Walters took home a cool €101 475 (R2 million) for his runner-up finish and jumped 143 places in the World Golf Rankings to lie 250th.

He also received £10 000 (R198 654) to a charity of his choice thanks to finishing ninth on the 'UK Swing' Mini Order of Merit. He chose Birdies4Rhinos as the recipient.

The European Tour now moves to Spain for this week's Andalucia Masters, which was won last year by South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Walters confirmed that he will play at Valderrama this week and hopes to continue his form from the past weekend.

"I'll play the next two weeks, I committed to playing eight in a row. I wasn't sure I was up for it, but I'm just starting to find a bit of stride and rhythm, so we'll see," said Walters.

"Valderrama is a hard golf course, I'm going to need my patience doubled next week, especially being my seventh week, but I've found a bit of rhythm and hopefully it can transfer on.

"I haven't shown any consistency this year, none whatsoever, I don't think I've made two cuts in a row. I'll just crack on, keep doing what I'm doing and see where that lands me."

- Compiled by Lynn Butler