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Christiaan Maas (above) extended a remarkable run when he beat Englishman Jack Dyer, 3 and 2, in a closely contested final of the South African Amateur Championship over the East Course at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
The 17-year-old from Pretoria came into the event having claimed five titles since his country’s amateur circuit reopened after its enforced COVID-19 lockdown and he added his biggest to date with an impressive 13-birdie haul against his overseas rival.
The final proved to be a high-quality contest with Dyer holding a one-shot lead after seven holes before Maas fired six birdies over the next 11 holes to go into lunch with a two-shot lead. The Englishman battled back to all square when he produced a birdie of his own on the 27th hole but further birdies on the 28th, 31st and 32nd saw Maas build a three-hole lead before sealing the title with pars on the next two holes.
“I knew I had to be at my best because Jack has played so well all week,” Maas said. “I made a lot of long putts and got away with a few wayward drives.
“I’m delighted because I proved I can compete with the best on the amateur stage, not only in South Africa, but around the world. This is the biggest tournament we play in South Africa and I’m so proud to have won it. It gives me so much confidence going forward.”
“Seeing Casey (Jarvis) and Martin (Vorster) winning them (this year) has certainly pushed me to work even harder and have more belief in my own abilities.”
Christiaan Maas
Maas wasted no time in looking ahead to the future.
“My main goal this year is to try to win the Freddie Tait Cup as the leading amateur at the SA Open, like Casey (Jarvis) did last year,” he confirmed. “I’ll also be trying to win the SA Stroke Play and the African Amateur next year.
“Seeing Casey and Martin (Vorster) winning them (this year) has certainly pushed me to work even harder and have more belief in my own abilities.”
For Dyer, an England Golf Squad member from Boyce Hill in Essex, it was a disappointing end to a week which started in style when he collected the Proudfoot Trophy awarded to the winner of the championship qualifier. That, coupled with his subsequent run to the final of the match-play stage, will give GB&I Walker Cup selectors much food for thought when they sit down to name their team for May’s match at Seminole Golf Club in Florida. Indeed, with so few other top events for the contenders to play in ahead of the match, it may well be enough to clinch his spot.
The South African Women’s Stroke Play and Match Play Championships, also played at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, were dominated by GolfRSA Elite Squad members Caitlyn Macnab and Megan Streicher.
Last year, Macnab clinched both titles but, 12 months later, 18-year-old Streicher fired rounds of 72, 72 and 67 to claim a single-shot victory against her rival in the stroke-play event before South African No 1 Macnab turned the tables in spectacular style with a devastating performance in the match-play final.
Macnab was five ahead after 18 holes and any hope that Streicher could get back into the match were extinguished when the 19-year-old from the Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate started the second round with an eagle-birdie-birdie burst. That increased her lead to eight holes before further birdies on the 24th, 26th and 27th holes saw her complete a comprehensive 11-and-9 victory and become the first player to successfully defend the title since Ashleigh Buhai (née Simon) in 2007.
“This is huge, it’s massive,” Macnab said after lifting the trophy. “The first win last year was very special, but this one is huge. I’m incredibly proud of this achievement and it’s hard to put into words what it means to me.
“To have done this gives me so much confidence and self-belief. I hope to win a few more titles on the amateur circuit and contest on the Sunshine Ladies Tour before I take up my golf scholarship at Texas Christian University in August.”
Colin Callander