Charl Barnard form the Centurion Country Club produced the best performance of his career and played his way into the Investec South African Open when he defeated Cameron Mukherjee of Great Britain 5/3 in an enthralling the 36-hole match play final in the South African Amateur Championship at Humewood Golf Club.

It was a shaky start for the South African on a windy and rainy day in Port Elizabeth. He lost the first hole on the morning 18 to a player who had shown his credentials as a front runner, but Barnard hit back to win the next four holes, after which he was never headed throughout the match.

“I told myself to not let it get to me after I lost that first hole,” said Barnard, who got it to four up after eight holes.

Mukherjee fought back after he birdied the ninth. He brought it back to just one down after an eagle on 11, and a birdie on 13.

It was Barnard’s turn for an eagle, on the 15th, and another on 17 saw him stretch out to the four-up lead he held at the break.

“Those really helped me get momentum on the first 18, and it was good to take a solid lead into the afternoon,” he remarked.

Mukherjee hit straight back at the start of the second 18, with a pair of birdies on the first two holes bringing him back to just two down. That was as close as it got for the remainder of the match, however, as the GolfRSA National Squad member picked up wins on the par-five 11th to go three up, on the 14th to go four up, and he closed it out with a birdie on the par-five 15th.

“I tried to not focus too much on what he was doing and just tried to play the course as well as I could. I got on a good stretch there in the middle of the first round, which really helped,” Barnard explained afterwards.

According to the new star of Centurion, he had a three-putt on hole five in the second round, and his opponent hung in there very well for a while.

“I managed to hole out on the ninth, which was where it changed for me. After the turn and that hole-out, that is when I started feeling confident. I felt especially so after making that birdie on 11,” Barnard commented.

For Mukherjee, there were no regrets.

“I just never stopped trying. I did not have a great front nine in the morning, but I hit a few balls on the range in between the rounds and found something and I was able to try and get back in the afternoon. With match play, you never give up because you never know. To be fair to Charl, he played some solid golf when he needed to, and he is a great champion,” Mukherjee remarked.

Barnard, who came back from an attempt at playing some golf at a US college because he just felt he could get more and better work done on his game at home, was able to point to this victory as vindication of his decision.

“This is big for me. Standing here with this trophy in arms is what every South African amateur dreams of. Coming back from college, people were always going to doubt me and wonder why I came back. I am really happy to get this win, and it validates my decision perfectly,” he said.

Gaining a start in the Investec South African Open Championship at Duban Country Club this weekend was the cherry on top of a very special week for the 20-year-old Centurion golfer.

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