Dewan de Bruin produced a moment of pure class to claim the Proudfoot Trophy in the South African Amateur Championship when he holed a superb 35-foot left-to-right downhill putt for eagle on the first play-off hole at Pretoria Country Club on Monday.
The 18-year-old’s closing four-under-par 68 in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier saw him finish six-under alongside first-round leader and home favourite Marais Vorster, before he sealed victory on the 18th hole in extra time to secure the No 1 seed for the match play stage, which gets underway on Tuesday.
Vorster, who signed for a 70, recovered well after from a double bogey on the third with birdies on holes two, four, nine and 17 to set the clubhouse target.
De Bruin only dropped one shot in his second round, on the par-five 12th, and racked in three birdies before he eagled the 18th in regulation play to force the play-off.
“The big thing for me was definitely just sticking to my routine and trusting the process,” said De Bruin. “Off the tee, I was very strong, and then it was just playing my own game and forgetting about everyone else.”
Ice in his veins ❄️
— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) January 26, 2026
Dewan de Bruin 🇿🇦 sealed the Proudfoot Trophy & the No. 1 seed at the SA Amateur Championship in unforgettable style!
The 18-year-old drained a 35-foot downhill eagle putt on the 1st extra hole to win a sudden-death play-off vs Marais Vorster on the 18th at… pic.twitter.com/RfAXHC5fCM
The 18-year-old Fancourt member enjoyed a strong 2025 season that included runner-up finishes in the Nomads SA Boys U19 Stroke Play and Match Play Championship.
He kicked off 2026 with fifth and second in the two Nomads National Order of Merit events.
Despite his youth, De Bruin handled the pressure with maturity, admitting he surprised himself with how comfortable he felt at the top of the leaderboard.
“I’m actually speechless about it,” he laughed. “I thought and imagined the pressure would be a bit worse, but I was in my zone the whole way. Nothing bothered me and I was just in my own headspace.”
There was a long wait for the second round to finish, so getting into the right frame of mind for the play-off was a challenge.
“I was able to go back home, come back, stretch and go through my whole routine again, and take it as a whole new round,” he said. “I just had to play my game, and I knew that I had eagled 18 in regulation, so I just tried to recreate that.”
De Bruin will take some good momentum from that pair of eagles on 18 from the stroke play into the match play stage, but there will be more than just momentum for him.
“The greens get much firmer as the day goes on,” he said. “As the sun burns them out, the greens get dryer and it becomes much tougher with iron shots and wedge shots into tight pins, or front pins. So, it’s about playing smart and not trying to be over aggressive.”
MENTAL SWITCH
Jayden Hoskins, who won the Nomads Coastal National Order of Merit event at Selbourne earlier in January, tied for third with Sieber Wiid on four-under after closing rounds of 69 and 67, while Astin Arthur’s level-par 72 lifted him to fifth on three-under.
The cut for match play stage fell at eight over par, with 10 players tied on the number battling it out for the final eight spots, which went to South Africans Josh Hirsch, Ryan Melville, James Truter, Liam McKenna and Ivan Verster, as well as Zimbabwe’s Darlington Chikanyambidze, Namibia’s Kyle Johnston and Scotland’s Ewan Farquhar.
Meanwhile De Bruin immediately made the mental switch going into the match play stage.
“There’s a bit more freedom to match play,” he said. “You can play a bit more aggressively but still play your own game. There’s a bit more freedom to it. My strengths in match play are definitely my driver and my putting. Those have been on a hot streak and I’m going to keep it going that way.”
He’s fully aware that there is work to do, but he can allow himself to dream a little about the No 1 spot after the dust settles on the match play on Friday.
“It would be amazing,” he said. “I wouldn’t have words for it. That’s the ultimate goal of the week, so I’m just going to go out tomorrow, restart as if it’s a new tournament and just play the golf I’ve been playing the whole week.”
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