MOSSEL BAY NEWS - In a gripping final round in the South African Amateur Championship at King David Mowbray Golf Club, the world number 59 and SA's top ranked amateur, Wilco Nienaber, was ruthlessly tested by 16-year-old Mossel Bay golfer, Jordan Duminy in the 36-hole final.
Nienaber won, but the Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy player from Pinnacle Point, Duminy, did not make it an easy win for Nienaber.
The championship is SA's most coveted amateur title. It took place on Friday, 22 February.
The 2018 Amateur Championship qualifier winner was undoubtedly the favourite going into the final day, but unheralded Duminy showed maturity beyond his years to knock out two top Irish golfers to reach the final and he never backed off in the last clash.
On the back foot for most of the final, an uncharacteristic fist-pump after he holed a par-putt at the 36th hole to beat Duminy one-up, signalled Nienaber's joy and relief at achieving a lifelong dream.
There was little to separate the two players after their first tee shots.
Duminy gave Nienaber a three-foot putt at the first, but got his first inkling of playing in the really big leagues after he lagged his first putt from the front of the green to three feet and had to putt to halve the hole in birdies.
"Jordan never gave an inch. He never gave me a chance to pounce, but my own game didn't allow for it to happen either. I really had to work for this one. I'm absolutely ecstatic," said Nienaber.
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