Haydn Porteous dug deep on Thursday to beat John Parry on the 19th hole at Archerfield Links during his first-round duel at the Paul Laurie Match Play tournament.
The South African was forced to go an extra hole against the Englishman after the match was all-square through 18, but pulled off the victory with a par.
‘The last time I played this format was the SA Amateur Match Play and that was about four years ago. It’s an awesome game and hopefully we have a long week here,’ he said after the round.
The 22-year-old, who won the Joburg Open earlier this year, led on Thursday morning with a birdie at the third. He made further gains at the seventh and ninth to turn 2up, having conceded the eighth hole.
He dropped a shot at the 11th and gave back another hole, but made amends with birdies at the 13th and 14th to regain a 3up advantage.
Parry fought back with three birdies in the last four holes to extend the match, but lost on the 19th, where he made bogey.
‘To be 3up through 14 holes, you’re expecting to have a fairly easy way coming in,’ Porteous said. ‘I missed a couple that I should have made and John came at me quite hard. It was a tough fight, but Match play is like that.’
Porteous survived the onslaught and progressed to the second round, where he’ll face David Horsey.
