Masterful Buchanan punches Open ticket at Africa Amateur

Jack Buchanan punched his ticket to the 154th Open Championship in emphatic fashion on Saturday when he cruised to a dominating six-stroke victory in The R&A Africa Amateur Championship.

Buchanan was untouchable at Royal Johannesburg’s notoriously challenging East Course, posting rounds of 68, 65, 67 and 67 to seal a commanding victory on 21-under and set a new tournament record.

He left Dewan de Bruin, who smashed the championship low round record with a 12-under-par 60 for his closing round, foundering in his wake in second place.

Sharing second with De Bruin were countrymen Charl Barnard and Ivan Verster.

Confident. Composed. Controlled.
Jack Buchanan was untouchable at Royal Johannesburg, posting rounds of 68, 65, 67 & 67 to seal a commanding 6-shot victory on 21-under, PLUS set a new tournament record at the 2026 Africa Amateur Championship 🏆#golfrsa #itstartshere pic.twitter.com/bI5I9jFOGZ
— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) February 7, 2026

“When I holed my last putt on the 18th green on the last day, that was the only time I felt the tournament was in my hands,” said Buchanan afterwards.

“Going into the final round, I knew that I had a few shots to work with, but I got off to a good start. After going four or five-under on the front nine, I knew if I just kept making pars, the guys I was playing with would have needed to make a lot of birdies.”

Speaking after lifting the trophy, Buchanan said: “I believe my first Open that I went to was Royal Birkdale in 2017. So, to go back somewhere where I was a kid watching what feels like not too long ago, but was actually 10 years ago, it’s going to be really special.

“Kevin Na gave me a golf ball that he just got a hole-in-one with in a practice round. Rickie Fowler gave me a signed glove. It’s going to be unbelievable to tee it up with these types of names in a few months’ time,” he added.

MASTERCLASS

It was a masterclass from Buchanan, who dropped just four shots the whole week, with two of those bogeys coming in the first round.

The GolfRSA National Squad member opened with a four-under 66, finishing a shot behind Verster, but a bogey-free seven-under 65 in the second round took him clear of the chasing pack.

In the third round, his eagle on the eighth more than made up for the single bogey, which came on the 13th.

The result of his five-under-par 67 was that he was four shots clear of Malan Potgieter and Verster, with the trio playing in the final group of the championship.

His second eagle of the week came on the sixth in the final round, by which stage only an other-worldly round from one of the chasers could possibly upset him.

Even that was not enough for De Bruin, who scorched the East Course with 10 birdies, including a run of four from the 12th and a closing eagle.

That vaulted him into a share of second, but such was Buchanan’s dominance, not even the fact that De Bruin closed in a breathtaking 12-under-par 60 was enough to cause any concern.

“I’m quite speechless,” said De Bruin, who felt vindicated after afterwards. “I just felt like I was floating almost and wasn’t there on the course. I was just enjoying it, playing some good golf. Birdies came and that’s how all this happened.

“It’s a real confidence boost I must say. It’s a surreal experience, and just now I know my game is there and I know what I can do and I know I can play. I mean, I’ve been struggling a bit to get a low round in for the last couple of months, so this brought me incredible joy.”

Barnard was pleased with his finish, and philosophical in the face of Buchanan’s dominance.

“Obviously you want to win this championship, but I think with Jack playing how he did, he was unbeatable this week,” said Barnard.

“I’m still very happy how I played today. I think that’s the main thing I’ll take out of it, just knowing I can shoot those low numbers going into the next tournaments.”

A DREAM TO PLAY WITH FAVOURITE GOLFER AND SA GREATS

For Buchanan, who made the trip from the University of South Carolina, where he is a sophomore for the Trojans, to be able to take advantage of his opportunity was important.

“I’m so grateful that The R&A puts on such a good event,” he said. “My coach at school let me come play, so I’m just really fortunate to play in an event with has so much meaning.

“It feels great to get the job done this week. Any time you win, it’s really good, but to win a championship of this calibre it really means a lot to me. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but it feels unreal to get into the events that you get into by winning this. Royal Johannesburg has been a great host this week and the course has been in unreal condition.”

Besides getting into the Open at Birkdale, he has also earned exemptions into The Amateur Championship, the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the Investec South African Open Championship and the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq.

“Going into the final round, I tried to put all the exemptions that would come with winning aside, and I just tried to extend the four-shot lead even more,” he said. “I don't think I've won a tournament in about a year-and-a-half.

“I've been playing good golf, but when you leave junior golf in South Africa and go to the US, it's definitely a lot tougher. In the US, greens are firmer and courses are longer, so I feel like playing golf in the US has served me well coming back here.”

Buchanan is very excited to tee it up in the Investec South African Open in a few weeks, but there is one thing that’s making him excited about his time at Birkdale: “My favourite golfer since I was a kid has been Rory McIlroy, so just to see him up close would be pretty cool and to be among the greats of South Africa will be wonderful for me, too.”