Pretoria teenager Otto van Buynder staged a dramatic comeback to seal a sensational maiden victory on the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour at Randpark Golf Club on Wednesday.

In just his second start on the new golf development circuit, Van Buynder led by six shots overnight, courtesy of an opening 11-under-par 61 and 70 in the second round at the Firestone Course.

Some thought it would be just a formality for him to win. Others thought the 19-year-old amateur would crumble under pressure.

Van Buynder did bend under the stress but, despite a very shaky front nine, he staved off a charging DK Kim to close out a two-shot victory with a final round 73.

“I got it done thanks to three holes,” said the delighted HPC Golf Academy player, who beat the Korean by two shots on 12-under. I was nervous at the start of the round, especially after I bogeyed at two and three. A couple of guys made some early birdies and chipped away at my lead. I told myself it’s got to stop,” Van Buynder said with a broad smile.

The 18-year old Van Buynder stemmed the bleeding with a birdie at four, dropped another shot at five and recovered with another gain at six.

“When I dropped at nine, DK closed in. He had five birdies on the front nine and two more at 12 and 14 to cut my lead to one shot. So, I had two choices – step it up or break under the pressure. I hit my tee shot at 10 into threes on the left. I had to punch out sideways and I ended up where the rest of the guys had hit their drives. I got on the green with my third and holed a six-metre putt to save par. That was one of the key moments of the round,” Van Buynder said about his last round.

The former Tshwane Junior Open champion nearly holed out for another eagle at the par-five14th. He tidied up for birdie and made a solid par at the short hole, but another setback at 16 put Kim in the frame again.

“My second shot went right and I was pin-high right under the trees with some branches in the way. I clipped the branches and the ball dropped on the green and rolled all the way down into the water. I walked off with a seven on my card. With DK just one shot behind again, I needed another birdie and 17 saved the day. It was playing 195 metres and I hit a six-iron to 12 metres and holed that triple-breaker to go 12 under. Then I heard that DK dropped at the last for a 67, so I knew I had two putts to win,” Van Buynder concluded.

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