His opponent’s putter deserted him, and young gun Christiaan Maas charged through that open door on Wednesday to play his way into the quarter-finals of the South African Amateur Championships at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
The 15-year-old Pretoria junior defeated Martin Vorster one-up in the round of 16 when the African Amateur Stroke Play champion left his eagle putt on 18 agonisingly short – a putt which would have given him victory on the hole and a chance to extend the match.
Mass stepped up and nervelessly rammed home a 10-footer to seal the victory and set up a quarter-final clash with James Wilson of Scotland.
The GolfRSA Junior Protea got it to two-up through the 11th, and it came back to one-up on the 13th when Vorster made birdie to arrest his slide which had started with bogeys on 9 and 11.
‘I played extremely good golf this morning,’ said Maas of his 4&3 win in the previous round over Connor Engelmohr of Germany. ‘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 16, 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.
The youngest champion in the Aon SA Amateur championship, Christo Lamprecht, overcame a shaky two-up win in the morning over Connor Wilson of Scotland to run out a 4&3 winner over Koen Kouwenaar of the Netherlands.
Reigning SA Stroke Casey Jarvis kept his ‘double’ dream alive when he overcame the left-handed Nicolas Muller of France 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.
One of the most impressive performances on the day came from England’s Olly Huggins, who pulled off a pair of 4&3 wins – over Nash de Klerk in the morning, and over the imposing Nordin van Tilburg of the Netherlands in the afternoon.
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,’ he 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.’
Draw Quarter-finals:
Olly Huggins GBR vs Jake Bolton ENG
Christiaan Maas vs James Wilson SCO
Casey Jarvis vs Christo Lamprecht
Joseph Long GBR vs Aneurin Gounden
Results Round 3
Olly Huggins GBR beat Nordin van Tilburg NED 4 & 3;
Jake Bolton ENG beat Haider Hussain ENG 2Up;
Christiaan Maas beat Martin Vorster 1Up;
James Wilson SCO beat Robin Williams GBR 4 & 3;
Casey Jarvis beat Nicolas Muller FRA 20th hole;
Christo Lamprecht beat Koen Kouwenaar NED 4 & 3;
Joseph Long GBR beat Luca Filippi 3 & 2;
Aneurin Gounden beat Gregory Mckay 20th hole;
Results Round 2
Nordin van Tilburg NED beat Samuel Simpson 5 & 3;
Olly Huggins GBR beat Nash de Klerk 4 & 3;
Jake Bolton ENG beat Jules Helary 5 & 4;
Haider Hussain ENG beat Andrew Williamson 22nd hole;
Christiaan Maas beat Connor Engelmohr GER 4 & 3;
Martin Vorster beat Kyle de Beer 19th hole;
James Wilson SCO beat Cole Stevens 1Up;
Robin Williams GBR beat Yurav Premlall 3 & 2;
Casey Jarvis beat Jordan Duminy 4 & 2;
Nicolas Muller FRA beat Christiaan Burke 3 & 2;
Christo Lamprecht beat Connor Wilson SCO 2Up;
Koen Kouwenaar NED beat Kian Rose 2Up;
Joseph Long GBR beat Hugo Archer FRA 5 & 3;
Luca Filippi beat Bob Geurts NED 2 & 1;
Aneurin Gounden beat Darren Howie SCO 19th hole;
Gregory Mckay beat Theo Boulet FRA 4 & 3.
