Scotland’s James Wilson knows his country have produced four South African Amateur Champions since 2011. Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT

SCOTLAND’S James Wilson is dreaming of becoming a fifth Scottish winner in a decade after reaching the quarter-finals of the South African Amateur Championship, at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC.

The Scots  have dominated the third oldest championship in the world of golf which dates back to 1892. And 15 year-old Pretorian Christiaan Maas (see below) stands between Wilson and a place in the semi-final on Thursday afternoon.

Wilson, from Balmore GC, beat England Boys international Robin Williams 4&3 to book his place in the last eight at Royal Johannesburg, which has been a regular venue for the European Tour in South Africa.

Williams is one of the best teeange talents, certainly in Europe, having won a MENA Tour event as an amtaeur in the autumn, and would have been dreaming of claiming his first international men’s amateur title.

But Wilson ensured at least one Scot remained in the hat by producing two commanding performances on Wednesday.

Wilson beat Parkview’s Cole Stevens by one hole in the second round before lunch, after making a birdie two at the driveable par-four 16th to take the lead.

The winner of the Welsh Open Strokeplay two years ago closed out his last 32 match with a four on the last before facing Williams, from Peterborough Milton).

Wilson needed to be at his best, winning five holes in a row thanks to a run in which he made four birdies.

If Wilson can make it into the semi-finals, he will be guaranteed to face the Auld Enemy in his bid to make Friday’s final.

Frilford Heath’s Olly Huggins, will be hoping to go one better in the South African Amateur after losing a play-off in the African Amateur Stroke Play. Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT

England are guaranteed at least one player in the semi-finals of the South African Amateur Championship with B.B.&O. county player Olly Huggins meeting Jake Bolton in the top half of the draw, in Thursday’s quarter-final.

Frilford Heath’s Huggins – who lost a play-off for the African Amateur Championship two weeks ago – will be up against Wiltshire’s Bolton.

The winner of that match will face the winner of Wilson’s match.

Bolton has been climbing up the rankings over the past year – boosted by victory in the Scottish Amateur Strokeplay Championship, in August.

The runner-up in last year’s Hampshire Salver, after losing a play-off in the Selborne Salver at Blackmoor – against England junior international Charlie Strickland – has been promoted to the England A squad as result.

And the Ogborne Downs member beat another Englishman in the shape of Haider Hussain, winning the 18th to go two-up to book his place in the last eight.

That was the match-up that Huggins, from Oxfordshire, was keen to have after he pulled off a pair of 4&3 wins – over South African Nash de Klerk in the morning, and over the imposing Nordin van Tilburg, from the Netherlands, in the afternoon’s third round.

“I’m really happy,” said Huggins. “I’m hitting my driver really good, hitting the fairway, and my caddie is giving me good lines.

“I’ve been struggling the last two weeks with lines.”

The Oxfordshire ace got it to five-up through 12, but then Van Tilburg came back at him after lunch.

“I knew he was going to come back at me with a couple of birdies,” said Huggins. “I was ready for it, and he holed some really good putts coming in, and I just made a 20-footer on 15 to close him out.”

Bolton also finished first in the strokeplay qualifer at last year’s Amateur Championship, played at North Hants GC, and Hankley Common, but lost in the second round to Surrey’s Lewis Hinton.

England’s selectors sent the A squad to South Africa hoping to see them emulate the success of Yorkshire’s Ben Schmidt, who claimed the New South Wales Open, in Australia, last month.

And their hopes of producing the first English winner of the South African Amateur title since Somerset’s Laurie Canter back in 2010, were strengthened by results in the bottom half of the draw.

Gloucestershire’s Joe Long defeated South Africa’s Luca Filippi 3&2 and will now play Aneurin Gounden – one of four players from the host country still left in the competition.

Lansdowne Golf Club’s Joe Long is in the bottom half of the draw in the South African Amateur, and will be hoping to reach the semi-final after losing in the last eight in 2017.
Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT

Long was beaten in the final of the English Amateur two years ago by Sussex’s Tom Thurloway.

And having reached the quarter-final in the South African Amateur three years ago, he is still on course to claim a first international victory.

He has the motivation of wanting to play in the Eisenhower Trophy later this year, having seen his county team-mate Mitch Waite – who joined him on their first trip to South Africa three years ago – go on to become a full England international, and play in the last World Amateur Team Championship at Ireland’s Carton House, in 2018.

Long made his Home Internationals debut as England won the Raymond Trophy at Conway GC, off the back of losing to Thurloway at Formby GC, but lost his place in 2019 despite finishing third in the European Amateur Championship.

Having qualified in second place in the strokeplay qualifier earlier this week, and gone close in the South African Amateur Strokeplay Championship last week, Long will be longing to make it into Friday’s final.

But first he must beat Gounden, who went all the way to the 21st hole before he downed Gergory McKay – and that was after he took 19 holes to defeat Scotland’s Darren Howie, from Peebles GC, in the morning.

It could have been even better for the Scots but Castle Park’s Scottish international Connor Wilson – who was fourth in last year’s St Andrews Links Trophy, also lost to youngster Christo Lamprecht by two holes.

Lamprecht, the youngest champion in the Aon South African Amateur championship, overcame that shaky victory to run out a 4&3 winner over Dutchman Koen Kouwenaar, last year’s Spanish Amateur Champion to reach the quater-final.

Reigning South African Stroke Play Champion Casey Jarvis kept his ‘double’ dream alive when he overcame left-handed Frenchman Nicolas Muller, on the 20th hole, in a tough match.

Jarvis’ win came after 4&2 win over compatriot and 2019 finalist Jordan Duminy in the morning’s second round.

Teeanger Christiaan Maas pulled off the shock of the day beating African Amateur Strokeplay Champion Martin Vorster to reach the quarter-finals. Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT

Maas makes charge by knocking out African Stroke Play champ Vorster

YOUNG gun Christiaan Maas charged through an open door after Martin Vorster’s putter deserted him, to play his way into the quarter-finals.

The 15-year-old Pretoria junior defeated Vorster by one when the African Amateur Stroke Play champion left his eagle putt on 18 agonisingly short – a putt which would have handed him the hole – and a chance to extend the match into sudden-death.

For Maas, there is the thrill of playing in the quarters that awaits him.

“I’m taking a lot of confidence from the win into the quarter-finals,” Mass said.

“Now I know I’ve beaten Martin, who has won all over the world, and he’s a great player. I feel like my game’s almost there, but I must get a little bit better.”

Mass stepped up and nervelessly rammed home a 10-footer to seal the victory and set up a quarter-final clash with another Scot – James Wilson.

The GolfRSA Junior Protea got to two-up through the 11th. But his lead was cut to just one after the 13th when Vorster made birdie to arrest his slide, which had started with bogeys on nine and 11.

“I played extremely good golf this morning,” said Maas of his 4&3 win in the previous round over Germany’s Connor Engelmohr.

“And my putter was on fire. In the afternoon, my putter went a bit cold, but I managed to not make a drop against Martin.

“Unfortunately for him, his putter went cold on the back nine, and fortunately for me, I made a 10-footer on the last to win.

“He’s a very tough opponent. He hits it miles, great iron-play, his putter was just a bit cold today.”

Vorster had two earlier opportunities down the stretch to pull things back.

After Maas hit the flag with his birdie chip on the 16th, Vorster missed his birdie putt on the right edge. Then, on 17, he had a three-footer for birdie and it just missed the edge.

“My putting let me down today,” said Vorster.

Now Maas will face Scottish ace James Wilson for that place in Thursday afternoon’s semi-final.

Wilson will be clearly motivated by the chance to join that list of Scottish winners – Michael Stewart (2011), Brian Soutar (2012), Daniel Young (2015) and Craig Ross (2016).

•To follow the results of Wilson in the quarter-finals, click here.

The post James Wilson faces fight with Maas for place in the last four at South African Amateur appeared first on Golf North.

Haider Hussain is second in the South African Stroke Play Championship at Randpark Golf Club after an opening seven-under 65. Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT

SCOTLAND’S James Wilson fired a stunning eight-under par 64 for the first round lead in the South African Stroke Play Championship at Randpark Golf Club.

Wilson, the reigning Welsh Amateur Strokeplay Champion, will start the second round with a one-shot advantage over Gloucestershire’s Haider Hussain, who stole into second late in the afternoon.

Hussain – the winner of The Berkshire Trophy in 2019 – was particularly impressive with a seven-under 65, which also featured an eagle on the 14th.

The former England Boys squad member also lost just one shot to the field with a bogey at the scenic 439-yard closing hole.

The Firethorn Course’s best defence – its fast and challenging greens – were left soft after torrential rain fell upon the home of the South African Open over the weekend.

The soft conditions favoured players with a firm control on their approach shots, like Wilson, who could get aggressive and go flag hunting to set up birdie opportunities.

Wilson, from Balmore GC, north of Glasgow, made a perfect start with short-range birdies on the 10th and 12th holes.

The runner-up in last year’s Tennant Cup then accelerated through the field with an eagle at the par five 14th.

Another birdie followed on 18 and further gains came on the second, third, fourth and ninth.

His scorecard sported just one blemish – a lone bogey at the par three fifth.

“I played really nicely; hit a lot of fairways and most of the greens and I took advantage of the par fives,” said James Wilson.

“The tees were up so just a lot of short irons in and I played sensible on the tougher strokes.”

Scotland’s James Wilson who led the South African Stroke Play Championship at Randpark GC after carding an eight-under par 64. Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT.

Wilson broke par only once at last week’s African Amateur Stroke Play Championship, in his third round 71, but certainly came into his own this week at the Firethorn course, which stands at 19,363 feet above sea level.

“This course is way more forgiving than Leopard Creek,” Wilson joked about his experince of playing at altitude. “It’s cooler – the greens are not as grainy and less slopey and it’s not as penal off the tees.

“It’s been more relaxing around here and it’s not as long,” added Wilson, who was fourth in the 2019 St Andrews Links Trophy – one of the top three strokeplay events in Europe alongside the Brabazon and European Amateur Championship.

Big-hitters Casey Jarvis from South Africa and Ireland’s Rowan Lester also capitalised with some great pin-seekers and tied for third on six-under.

Sixteen-year-old Jarvis fired a 64 at the Firethorn on his way to winning the Joburg Junior Open, in December, and only a bogey finish meant he had to settle for a 66.

“I really played nicely and I got the putter going early on,” said the GolfRSA National Squad member.

“I didn’t putt well at Leopard Creek, so I worked on it over the weekend and I was rolling it well.

“I hit it just left of the fairway on 18 and had a perfect shot into the green, but I shanked it and had to get myself out of trouble.

“Came away with a good bogey. Shots like that happen some times. I’m not going to dwell on it too much. Still 54 holes to go.”

Lester, who won twice times while playing US college golf in 2019, got off to a very fast start and racked up six birdies through the first nine holes.

“Last week was a bit of a struggle; I wasn’t hitting the driver well, but everything else was solid,” said the Hermitage GC member, who won the Nassau Invitational in New York, in October.

“Today it all just worked. I got the driver going and thought I would do well.

“The back nine was okay. I just kind of hung in there,” Lester added. “The course is amazing. Last week and this week – we are really spoiled.

“I’ve been in college in America, which is why I couldn’t make the last few years, and it’s really great to be back,” said the Texas Wesleyan University player.

South African pack chasing leaders

AT least 14 players will start the second round within five shots of Wilson, and with favourable scoring conditions set to continue, the leaderboard could change hands dramatically in Tuesday’s switch draw.

Kyle de Beer, who skippered Team South Africa to victory in the Team Competition in last week’s African Amateur Stroke Play Championship, drew on his 36-hole experience in the SA Open to register a round of 67 for a share of fifth with Scotsman Connor Wilson.

Martin Vorster, who edged out Olly Huggins in a four-hole play-off for the African Amateur title at Leopard Creek, is also back in the mix at three-under.

Vorster is tied in seventh with fellow GolfRSA National Squad members Kieron van Wyk and Tyran Snyders, compatriots Louis Liebenberg, Shaun Jones and Thabiso Magwaza – a member of the South African Golf Development Board’s KwaZulu-Natal chapter – as well as Germany’s Constantin Unger, and Dutch pair Bob Geurts and Koen Kouwenaar.

•To follow the progress of James Wilson in the second round of South African Stroke Play on Tuesday, click here.

A first round six-under par 66 gave Irishman Rowan Lester, from Dublin’s Hermitage Golf Club, a share of third place at Randpark. Picture by ERNEST BLIGNAULT

The post James Wilson leads way from Hussain in South African Stroke Play at Randpark appeared first on Golf North.