Champion leaves his best for last

South Africa’s Martin Vorster boxed a 30-footer for eagle in the final hole of regulation play on Thursday to force a play-off, then wore down his opponent in the fourth hole of the sudden-death shootout to win the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club.

The 18-year-old Southern Cape golfer edged out Great Britain’s Olly Huggins when he made par on the first hole, after replaying the 18th three times was not enough to break the deadlock when both players finished on four-under-par for the tournament – and those play-off holes were interrupted by a lengthy weather delay after they had played 18 again twice.

For long periods of the final round, Huggins was in control by virtue of his smart play and his great putting. He laid up on all the par-fives, aimed for the biggest part of the greens in the face of tough pin positions and then making putts when he needed them.

Vorster, however, was stalking him through the back nine.

A birdie on 15 put him within two strokes of the lead.

“The putting definitely saved me this week,” he said. “I made a few good ones down the stretch, and the one on 18 in regulation was the longest for the week and it happened at the right time.”

For the play-off, Vorster unfurled his power game, and Huggins, so conservative in regulation, was compelled to follow suit. It all worked well for the Huggins until they returned after the weather delay to set off down 18 for the third time.

He took advantage of a tailwind that had picked up, and smashed his drive 40 metres further than he had at any time before during the week.

It left him a gentle wedge to the green on the par-five with the island green, and, although the pair shared the honours for the third time in the play-off, the change in the routine to the first had left Huggins clearly somewhat intimidated.

Although Vorster smashed his drive into the right rough on the first – the next designated play-off hole – he had got into Huggins’ head.

“I’m gutted obviously,” said Huggins, “but I’m really happy with the week.

I’ve done what I said I was going to do, which was hit fairways, hit greens, make the putts – I played really nicely. I found out how to play this course after the first round when I shot four-over.”

For Vorster, it was a victory to savour. “I just want to thank everybody for the support,” he said, “and the people who came out to watch the play-off. It was a relief to find my ball on that final hole, and then to get it up and down from the edge of the green was great.”