On another day of fluctuating weather, Harding withstood charges from experienced professionals such as Ulrich van den Berg, Darren Fichardt and Alan Michell and closed with a 71 to win on seven under par.
Van den Berg took second place on six under with an impressive 66 in which he birdied his final two holes.
And Michell was third on five under, also closing with two birdies for a 70. But his challenge was undone by a double-bogey six on the 14th.
Harding’s victory was particularly sweet in that he made it into the tournament as the first reserve, and then led from the start.
"My first round of 68 was the most challenging of all and pretty much one of my best rounds in many months. It set me up for the week and I managed to just keep it together. It was awesome and I’m thoroughly pleased. But it was also nerve-wracking," he said, having led a professional tournament for the first time in his short career on tour.
"I’ve led plenty of amateur tournaments in my life, but this was by far the hardest to get in the bag."
Harding started the round tied for the lead with Fichardt. But he soon found himself battling to stay in touch on a front nine where the majority of the field dropped shots as heavy rain began to fall.
"It was very tricky and I started poorly," said Harding of his outward nine of two over par. "But I hung in there and made a couple of good putts down the stretch, which kept me in it."
His last dropped shot came at the seventh, from where he composed himself and then parred his way to the 13th before closing with three birdies in the final five holes.
Harding also paid tribute to his caddie, JJ Senekal, for his role in the win. "He did a phenomenal job. I think he was more nervous than I was. But he kept me under control and helped my composure."
This was the final of the six-tournament pro-am series, which this year paid honour to Ernie Els.
And it also raised a significant amount for charity through the Birdies for Kiddies campaign, in which the Vodacom Foundation has donated money for every birdie or eagle made on the series to various charities working with underprivileged children. This year’s campaign raised a record amount of R3-million for charity.
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Aubrey Josia (middle) and Justin Oliver (left) in conversation with journalist Michael Vlismas.
