PE schoolboy wins national title in playoff
A CHANGE in tactics at the fourth extra hole yielded a huge payoff for Eastern Province junior Kyle de Beer, who bagged his first national victory in the Africa Junior Open in a playoff on Monday.
The Port Elizabeth golfer had taken the outright lead in the final round at the Fish River Sun Country Club, but squandered his chance of victory with back-to-back bogeys at the closing holes.
De Beer, 18, got a reprieve for his late wobble, though, when Luca Filippi from Western Province also dropped a shot at the closing hole.
De Beer’s 69 and a 71 from the overnight leader saw them tie for six-under-par 210 at the end of regulation play.
They were still deadlocked after playing the 18th hole twice and one trip down the 10th.
“Neither of us got really aggressive at the first three playoff holes, but I changed my tactics when we went down the 18th for a third time,” the St Dominic's Priory matriculant said.
“Luca hit his second to the far side of the green and he had at least 10 metres to the pin, so I attacked the pin. The ball rolled about 10 feet past the flag. Luca lagged his putt to tap-in distance and I knew I had to nail the birdie putt to win.
“I got really nervous over the putter at the last two holes in regulation play and I missed two short putts. This time I just blocked everything out.
“I went through my routine like I would for any putt at any hole and I struck it perfectly.”
Filippi won in the Nomads National Order of Merit event at St Francis Links in June and the 17-year-old Milnerton junior looked to be heading to the winner’s circle for a second time after taking the 36-hole lead with rounds of 67 and 72.
De Beer had gone into the final round two shots behind Filippi and one off the pace from Ekurhuleni’s Jayden Schaper – already a two-time winner this season – and Kian Rose from Central Gauteng.
The Port Elizabeth schoolboy closed the gap with birdies at three, eight and nine and surged into the lead with birdies at 14 and 15.