South Africa’s rising star Jovan Rebula defeated Robin Dawson 3 & 2 to win The 123rd Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen on Saturday.
Rebula led 1 up through 18 before holding on for a famous win.
The 20-year-old George golfer was just the sixth South African to reach the last round but only the second to go the distance following Bobby Cole in 1966.
David Suddards (1980), Ben Fouche (1988), Trevor Immelman (1997) and Zander Lombard (2004) all got there but only Cole, and now Rebula, can claim the honours.
Before lunch, Rebula birdied three of his first 12 holes to move out to a three-hole lead. The birdies dried up as his Irish competitor played himself back into the contest and trailed by just a single hole at the break.
Rebula was suddenly 5 up with nine to play after a mixture of steady golf and a few errors from Dawson. The straight pars did the job of draining up the chance for a comeback and even a run of bogey, double, bogey did little to deter his victory march.
A par on the 16th was enough for a win, one that has him on the path to play in the footsteps of his famous uncle Ernie Els.
