Reigning SA Amateur champion Christiaan Maas eclipsed Masters champion Charl Schwartzel’s tournament record with an eight-shot victory in the Nomads SA Boys u.19 Stroke Play Championship at Waterkloof Golf Club.

Schwartzel’s 72-hole tournament record of 272, set in Benoni in 2001, had stood for almost 20 years until the 17-year-old prodigy rewrote the amateur golf history books with a masterful display to triumph on 23-under-par 265.

Over the first three rounds of the championship, Maas was composure and confidence personified.

He began with successive rounds of eight-under-par 64 to open up a six-shot lead, and no one cut into that gap as he stayed at the summit with a third round 67.

The Pretoria junior was briefly dismayed that he failed to reach the 30-under target he had set himself after posting a frustrating 70 in the final round, but his mood lifted with the news of the new tournament record.

“I had no idea. That is awesome news. To be honest, I was really annoyed with myself. The lowest tournament record is 30-under in the Ekurhuleni Open. I came so close in the Silver Salver last year and I thought this week I’d get there for sure,” said the elated champion.

Maas said after going 16-under in the first two rounds, he felt he could shoot 15-under in the last two rounds, but the double in the third cost him.

“I just didn’t play well enough in the final round. This was one that I really wanted to win and the record takes the sting out of the disappointment that I didn’t get to 30-under,” he remarked.

Maas racked up 24 birdies and two eagles over the four rounds of the championship.

After a flawless first round, he had a single bogey in the second and made amends for the third-round double bogey on the 11^th (par 4) with a three at the 15^th (par 5). He also erased four bogeys in the final round, but he was brutally honest in his assessment of his performance.

“I didn’t play at my best on the last day. The fairways here are generous and when I hit the driver hard, I take out all the trouble. Even when you miss a fairway, you can still make birdie or par. I hit driver on almost every hole and executed my strategy really well over the first two rounds,” the GolfRSA National Squad member commented.

Maas finished in the winner’s circle on the junior and open amateur circuit and professional golf development tours since competitive golf started up again last September, and the Waterkloof win boosts his winning tally to 13.

With the first hurdle crossed and the Nedbank Golf Challenge coming up next week, Maas has already set himself new goals for the Nomads SA Boys u.19 Match Play Championship, which tees off on Thursday.

“Winning the double has been a goal of mine for a long time. It’s the biggest junior event on our circuit and to become a double winner will be huge honour. But I also really want to win Nedbank Golf Challenge after missing the cut by one shot in the SA Open,” he concluded.

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