Rising star Bryan Newman once more demonstrated his uncanny capacity to ship within the pressured moments when he edged South Africa’s No 2-ranked Dan Bennett to assert the 2023 Nedbank Junior Challenge with a brand new match file at Sun City in May.
Adding a rising listing of huge match wins within the final 18 months, the 15-year-old North West junior fired rounds of 71, 68 & 72 on the Gary Player Country Club to triumph by one shot on a complete of five-under 211.
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‘Amazing’ win for Newman
“It feels amazing to get the win, especially at a course like the Gary Player Country Club. We have all grown up watching our heroes play this course, so get the win here is very special,” Newman stated.
Like the earlier two winners, Yurav Premlall in 2021 and 2022 champion Stefan Jacobs, the champion will benefit from the probability to rub shoulders with golf royalty at this yr’s version of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
“It’s such a huge prize, and I’m really looking forward to it,” he stated. “To spend time with the world’s top pros and have the chance to walk inside the ropes with them and to get a first-hand look at their process and course management is huge.”
Newman was simply 14 when he introduced his arrival on the nationwide junior circuit with a wire-to-wire victory within the 2021 Joburg Junior Open. Last yr, he led from begin to end within the Nomads Gowrie Farm U15 Challenge earlier than efficiently defending his Joburg Junior Open title, profitable by 9 strokes, once more in wire-to-wire fashion. He ended the season at No 1 within the U-15 rankings, and picked up the place he left off with a win within the 2023 Nomads National Order of Merit Coastal occasion at Selborne Golf Club in January.
This string of huge titles means that the Pecanwood junior is on target to turn into a {golfing} star and he greater than confirmed his standing when he completed because the runner up within the 2023 Scottish Boys Open Championship at Lundin Golf Club in April, ending the week because the top-ranked Under-16 participant.
Coming into the week because the No-1 participant on the U-17 rankings, Newman trailed the leaders by three photographs within the opening spherical, however the Pecanwood junior hit the entrance on day two and began the ultimate spherical with a three-stroke lead over GolfRSA National Squad member Dylan Kayne.
Bennett, together with Bernhard Koster and Morris Schiefner, have been within the chasing pack, hoping to catch the proficient teenager.
A bogey on the primary gap may need given them hope, however a string of pars adopted by a birdie on the par-five ninth noticed Newman end the entrance 9 on degree par. After a drop on 12, he chipped in for eagle on 14 and a birdie on the par-three sixteenth lined bogeys on the ultimate two holes.
“I definitely played a bit more conservatively,” he explained. “I knew that the blokes chasing me would come arduous, and so they did, however this course is a troublesome one to assault, so my technique was to maintain issues regular.
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“I drove the ball well in all three rounds, but a lot more putts dropped in the second round. My putting saved me again on the last day, because I had a lot of two-putts and got away with a lot of pars. You have to respect this course, plan your way around it and play to your strengths and I think I did that well. I’m very honoured to add this title to my list of wins.”
Bennett so shut
Bennett fired a ultimate spherical of 69 that included 4 birdies and an eagle, however in the end the 17-year-old fell one stroke wanting Newman’s file complete.
Kayne, who wanted a birdie on the final to get right into a playoff, made a closing bogey to slide again into third place, with Koster ending fourth, the final of the gamers in purple numbers.
The 78-strong restricted subject included 19 of the main lights from the South African Golf Development Board. First spherical co-leader Devon Valentine and Zinan Maimane led the problem, ending joint thirteenth on six-over, with TJ Sandys third finest in a tie for 18th on eight over.
Nedbank Head: Group Sponsorships and Cause Marketing, Tobie Badenhorst, was delighted on the success of the third version. “We are proud to have partnered with GolfRSA and Sun International to launch this main junior match three years in the past. We repeatedly search alternatives to assist the event of golf in South Africa and the Nedbank Junior Challenge has exceeded our expectations.
“Not only does the Nedbank Junior Challenge showcase the depth in junior golf talent in South Africa, but it is wonderful to see how the SAGDB players embrace the opportunity to level up and gain invaluable experience at one of the top courses in South Africa,” provides Badenhorst.
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Every South African golfer who has lifted the Nedbank Golf Challenge trophy started their careers within the constructions of GolfRSA, and Tournament Director Ken Payet is impressed with the expertise coming by the ranks.
“We are very proud to host this tournament, together with our longstanding partner Nedbank, and to play our part in helping GolfRSA grow and develop the game in South Africa,” he stated.
“The Gary Player Country Club is a challenging course which puts a premium on course management, and it is wonderful to see the progress from youngsters returning for a second or third year. It is also encouraging to see SAGDB players improve year on year, and to holding their own among the top ranked juniors in the country.”
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