Charl Barnard etched his name onto the storied Freddie Tait Cup Trophy as leading amateur at the Investec South African Open, while another former amateur winner, Casey Jarvis, cruised to a three-stroke victory in the world’s second-oldest national open at Stellenbosch Golf Club.
Barnard missed the cut in his SA Open debut at Durban Country Club last year and, when it came down to the crunch, the 20-year-old was ready for redemption on Sunday.
He reeled off four birdies in a row over the closing holes to race to the trophy, as Jarvis grabbed the headlines with a performance best characterised by a fearless long approach to a tucked pin on the final hole.
Barnard’s achievement proved a fitting cap to a gutsy campaign, and a two-under-par 68 earned him a place on a trophy adorned with some of the greats of South African golf: Bobby Locke, Denis Hutchinson, Dale Hayes, Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel and, more recently, Jayden Schaper and Christiaan Maas.
Admittedly, it took him a while to warm to his work at Stellenbosch Golf Club, but he finished in a hurry, with those four gains taking him two clear of Dian Kruger.
“It feels very, very good,” said Barnard. “Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking about it the whole week, probably up until today. It was really trying to push for a top-10 or a better finish, but I’m still really, really happy with that. Awesome.”
Kruger went into the final round two strokes ahead of Barnard, and with bogeys on one and five, was caught after an opening bogey from Barnard followed by a birdie. Kruger edged one clear with a birdie on six, and it stayed that way until the turn.
Two bogeys from Kruger gave Barnard a three-stroke lead through 11, but Kruger pulled two back with a birdie on 12 while Barnard dropped a shot. Another bogey from Barnard on 14 levelled matters once more.
Then Barnard launched his birdie spree from the 15th, and not even a birdie from Kruger on 16 threatened to derail him. With a closing bogey from Kruger on 18, it was all over.
“That run was amazing,” said Barnard. “It feels like all my struggling of the first three days kind of just went away for the last four holes. Yeah, it was awesome.”
With the frustration of his opening five-over 77 in Durban last year eased, he applauded the systems the national golf body has put in place to help players grow.
“All that GolfRSA does for us helps so much,” he said. “The tours, the camps, everything. It’s unreal. It really improves us as players, and I think that’s why I’ve obviously improved on my performance from last year. You only have to look at what Casey achieved to understand how important it is to follow the right pathways.”
Champion Jarvis is a powerful example. In 2020, he joined an elite club of two when he matched Bobby Locke and Neville Clarke with one of the rarest trifectas in South African amateur golf, winning the SA Amateur, the SA Stroke Play Championship and the Freddie Tait Cup in a single calendar year. He then became the first amateur to complete the Big Four by adding the Africa Amateur Championship to his r?sum?. On Sunday, he levelled up again, capturing South Africa’s national open title - a victory that also secures him a Masters invitation and a place in The Open Championship.
For now, Barnard plans to savour the moment and digest the lessons learned.
“I’ll just say believe in yourself because, if you told me three years ago I’d even be playing in the SA Open, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Things can change very, very quickly.”
Especially with four birdies in a row.