South Africa’s Christiaan Maas conquered a golf course he once thought was ‘impossible’ to win the Brabazon Trophy by five shots from England’s Arron Edwards-Hill.
When the 18-year-old first clapped eyes on Saunton Golf Club and played a practice round in driving rain and howling wind, he thought he’d struggle to make an impact in his first major event on English soil.
Fast forward four days and after racking up 25 birdies in 72 holes, the young golfer from Pretoria was crowned the English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play champion.
The teenager started the day one shot ahead of Edwards-Hill and three clear of defending champion Sam Bairstow in his pursuit of the famous Brabazon Trophy.
However, it soon became clear that the pressure of leading going into the final round was not going to weigh down the teenager from Pretoria.
In fact, he seemed to thrive under the weight of expectation rather than wilt.
In the end, Maas carded a final round 68 to go with previous scores of 65, 70 and 67 for a total of 270 (-14) and a five-shot victory over Edwards-Hill with Ireland’s Matt McClean in fourth spot a further shot back after closing with a three-under par round of 68.
Defending champion Bairstow – hoping for a final day charge – had to settle for fourth spot after shooting a two-over par round of 73.
Clutching the famous gold trophy and draped in the South African flag, Maas said: “I’m proud to win this tournament – a big one and I don’t really know what to say. I’m just glad I pulled it off.
“The first practice round on this golf course – well, it seemed impossible with all the wind and the rain. The weather was then perfect for me all week so I got lucky on that.”
In truth, there was nothing fortunate about the win as Maas joined compatriots Kyle McClatchie (2017) and Charl Schwartzel (2002) in winning one of amateur golf’s most prestigious titles.
The foundation for Maas’ victory was laid on the front nine.
Maas – with 20 birdies to his name in the first three rounds - knocked in two more birdie putts on the second and third to stretch his lead.
His next birdie - at the par three, fifth hole - was nothing more than a tap-in after he almost aced his tee shot.
The birdie on the sixth was of a different variety – a tramliner from beyond the green after a wayward approach. At that stage, the advantage over Edwards-Hill had grown to six shots.
Even a dropped shot on the eighth after once again overshooting the green, was nothing more than a blip for Maas.
He simply knocked in a 10-footer on the 10th for the fifth birdie of his round and stretched his lead over his English rival and playing partner to seven shots.
“The front nine was good, confirmed Maas.
“I hit solid golf shots and left myself in good positions.
“I had a couple of flyers out of the rough and dropped a shot on eighth but made a great par on 12 when Arron made birdie to keep the momentum going.
“All in all, a great performance.
“It has to be the best golf, ball-striking wise, I’ve ever played. Off the tee this is the first tournament that I haven’t lost a golf ball!”
For Edwards-Hill from Chelmsford, it was a disappointing day.
The England men’s squad member said: “I struggled on the firmer greens with distance control and my pace putting wasn’t getting the ball close enough. You can’t leave it six feet every time as you’ll miss eventually.
“It was a shame not to get the win, but I’ll move on and take this week’s performances into the next few months. I think a win is coming and I look forward to the season.”
Meanwhile, the George Henriques Salver – awarded to the leading GB&I player aged under 20 – was won by Tiverton’s Eliot Baker with a 72-hole score of +4.
· The 2023 Brabazon Trophy will be staged over the New Course at Sunningdale from 25-28 May.
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