Schaper, Lamprecht headed for epic SA Boys final
Reigning Sanlam SA Amateur champion Christo Lamprecht punched his ticket to what promises to be a do-or-die battle of wits against Jayden Schaper for the Nomads SA Boys U-19 Championship title on Saturday.
The GolfRSA National Squad duo will slug it out in a mouth-watering final after Lamprecht defeated Boland golfer Tyron Davidowitz 1-up and Schaper downed Wilco Nienaber from Free State 3 & 2 in Friday’s semi-final rounds at Langebaan Golf and Sports Club.
But 36 holes might not be enough for this highly-anticipated shootout.
Mpumalanga’s Zander Gous joined Richard Sterne (1999) and Dylan Frittelli (2008) as only the third junior golfer to achieve the rare double in the 29 year history of the prestigious event when he triumphed at 37th hole at Benoni Country Club in 2013.
Schaper has already written his name into the amateur record books with stroke play victories in the Nomads SA Boys U-13, U-15 and U-19 Championships and the Ekurhuleni golfer will want to go the whole hog to add his name to that illustrious but incredible short list.
And Lamprecht from the Louis Oosthuizen Junior Academy in Southern Cape put the golf world on notice when he became the youngest ever winner of South African amateur golf’s premier match play championship.
Schaper beat Otto van Buynder 2-up in round one and Franklin Manchest 2-up in round two before he handed All-Arica Junior Golf Championship team-mate Luca Filippi his marching orders 3 & 2 in the quarter-finals.
Lamprecht whipped Wian van Aswegen 7 & 6 to advance to the second round where he downed Daniel Cronje 4 & 3 before he knocked out 2016 Stroke Play champion Deon Germishuys 3 & 1.
Both finalists got off to bogey starts in the semi-final, but followed diverse routes to victory. Schaper squared his match against Nienaber at second hole and never looked back, while Lamprecht pounced at the final hole.
Nienaber dropped the second and Schaper went 1-up with par at the third. He answered Nienaber’s birdie at four with an eagle to go 2-up and went 3-up when the reigning Curro SA Juniors International champion let another slip at six. Nienaber birdied seven, but the Grant Veenstra Academy player kept his two shot lead after both players birdied the eighth and the 12th holes. He birdied 14 and sealed the 3 & 2 result with back-to-back pars.
Davidowitz was 1-up after the first and the status quo held for 15 holes as the pair halved the second, fourth, eighth, 11th and 12th in birdies, the 15th in bogeys and the rest in pars, but the Boland golfer opened the door for Lamprecht when he bogeyed 16 and 17,
The two-shot swing gave the big-hitting Pinnacle Point golfer a 1-up advantage heading down the par-five closing hole and he bombed a three-wood to 35 feet. Davidowitz responded with a second shot that finished 20 feet below the pin.
Lamprecht lagged his eagle attempt to eight inches and Davidowitz gave him the putt, but it was a decision the Theewaterskloof Academy golfer would live to regret after his own effort at eagle brushed the side of the hole and stayed out.
And Lamprecht will have an added bit of incentive after Nienaber denied him twice – first in a play-off for the Nomads SA Boys U-13 title in 2012 and again on Wednesday, when he lost to Schaper at the second extra hole in the 72-hole Stroke Play Championship.
Semi-Final Result
Jayden Schaper defeated Wilco Nienaber 3 & 2
Christo Lamprecht defeated Tyrone Davidowitz 1-up
Quarter-Final Result
Jayden Schaper defeated Luca Filippi 3 & 2
Wilco Nienaber defeated Reece Haikney 2 & 1
Christo Lamprecht defeated Deon Germishuys 3 & 1
Tyron Davidowitz defeated Yurav Premlall 19th hole
Second Round Result
Jayden Schaper defeated Franklin Manchest 2Up
Luca Filippi defeated Crismar Engelbrecht 4 & 3
Reece Haikney defeated Garrick Higgo 2Up
Wilco Nienaber defeated Carlo Heunis 1Up
Christo (Jnr) Lamprecht defeated Daniel Cronje 4 & 3
Deon Germishuys defeated Martin Vorster 3 & 2
Yurav Premlall defeated Luke Mayo 2 & 1
Tyron Davidowitz defeated Andre van Dyk 3 & 2
First Round Result
Jayden Schaper defeated Otto van Buynder 2Up
Crismar Engelbrecht defeated Ruan Groenewald 1Up
Garrick Higgo defeated Tyran Snyders 3 & 2
Wilco Nienaber defeated Saul Moss 5 & 4
Christo (Jnr) Lamprecht defeated Wian van Aswegen 7 & 6
Deon Germishuys defeated Christiaan Burke 5 & 4
Luke Mayo defeated Gianni Pera 7 & 6
Andre van Dyk defeated Bradley de Beer 3 & 2
Franklin Manchest defeated Marco Massiceti 2 & 1
Luca Filippi defeated Aidon Willemse 5 & 3
Reece Haikney defeated Werner Deyzel 2 & 1
Carlo Heunis defeated Alex van Wyk 1Up
Daniel Cronje defeated Chris Woollam 4 & 3
Martin Vorster defeated Kifentse Nukeri 1Up
Yurav Premlall defeated Jakub Hrinda 2 & 1
Tyron Davidowitz defeated Kyle Solomon 4 & 2
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA, a SAGA and WGSA Not-For-Profit company.