South Africa’s No 5 amateur Charl Barnard rolled on into the final of the South African Amateur Championship on Thursday with a pair of tight victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals on a windy day at Humewood Golf Club.
Barnard dispatched France’s Louka Morin 1-up in their quarterfinal to set up his date with South African Golf Development Board player Mitch Phigeland.
That was after Phigeland had beaten Dian Kruger 3/2 in their clash.
In their semifinal, Barnard took care of Phigeland 2/1 to get himself into Friday’s 36-hole final.
He will meet Great Britain’s Cameron Mukherjee, who beat East London teenager Arron Louw 5/4 in the quarterfinal.
The East Lothian, a member of both Gullane and Craigielaw, met Christiaan Heyman in the semifinal, after Heyman had beaten Ruben van der Berg 4/3 in their quarterfinal.
Mukherjee defeated Heyman 4/3 in their semifinal.
Last Men Standing:
— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) February 20, 2025
Well done Cameron and Charl for reaching the 2025 #SAAmateur Championship Final at Humewood Golf Club!
Cameron Mukherjee beat Christiaan Heyman 4/3
Charl Barnard beat Mitch Phigeland 2/1#golfrsa #itstartshere #matchplay pic.twitter.com/Vfg5ZqsIFR
For Barnard, it was a day on which he shut doubts out of his mind. “I kind of knew from the start that I could win,” he said.
“I kind of doubted myself on the front nine, being two down early, but as the back nine started and I dropped a few putts, I kind of thought I could do this.”
It was never a question of letting his opponent into his approach on the day. “I kind of just see it as the course,” he said.
“I just play the course and try and do my best. My opponent will do what he does. But if I can just try and beat the course, I can beat him.”
For Mukherjee, being a little more circumspect was the way to go to get his two wins which were much more comprehensive than Barnard’s.
“I was trying not to think about getting the job done in the semifinal, to be honest,” he said, “but I love playing in the wind. I was just in a good rhythm and I didn’t think I could get the job done up until the end. I actually won the last few holes to get the win.
“It’s pretty tough to deal with an opponent as well as a challenging course, especially in these conditions. But you’ve just got to acknowledge that you’re not going to get every distance right, and you’re not going to hit perfect shots in these conditions. You’ve just got to play your own game, I think, and then try and put as much pressure on when you can.”
Mukherjee’s own game this week has depended a lot on his father. “My dad is on the bag,” he said.
“He always reminds me to keep smiling and keep appreciating. We always do quizzes from the tee to the ball and whether we’re down or up, it just gets my mind off the golf. He always knows what to say at he right time, and he does all my distances for me, and he’s got these wind charts, which really helps. He tries to help on the greens to, but I’m pretty good on the greens. He saves me a lot of shots for sure.”
QUIET CONFIDENCE
Barnard will go into the final with a quiet confidence built on a solid record as well as a proven approach.
“I’ll take big confidence with me into the final,” he said. “I’m not really used to wind like this, but I’m happy with how I managed it.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and I hope I can get the win. It really helps knowing that I’ve done it before, that I’ve been in that situation. I’m definitely going to look back on that and it will give me some more confidence when things get tough and tight. It will help me handle the pressure and perhaps give me the win.”
Mukherjee will be happier in the windy conditions which will surely face them: “I obviously played great today,” he said. “But I’ll try and stay in the present and play one shot at a time, as I said.
“And in the wind, I like to be able to play a low runner. Sometimes, the easier you swing it, the farther it will go because it will just keep rolling. I quite like that, because you don’t feel like you have to try and rip everything.”
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Cameron Mukherjee beat Christiaan Heyman 4/3
Charl Barnard beat Mitch Phigeland 2/1
QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
Cameron Mukherjee beat Arron Louw 5/4
Christiaan Heyman beat Ruben van der Berg 4/3
Mitch Phigeland beat Dian Kruger 3/2
Charl Barnard beat Louka Morin FRA 1-up