Jack Buchanan birdied the iconic par-five 18th at Leopard Creek, but still finished two shots shy of Zimbabwe’s Tanaka Chatora in the opening round of the R&A Africa Amateur Championship, while South Africa’s No 1 Lisa Coetzer opened up a two-shot lead in the Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational.
Chatora responded in the best way possible to two early bogeys on Wednesday with a pair of eagles for a leading seven-under-par 65.
After bogeys on the first and the third, the 18-year-old Zimbabwean didn’t put a foot wrong as he made five birdies and those eagles to take the lead in the tournament that will give the winner exemptions into The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush and The Amateur Championship, among others.
Leader after 18 holes 🤝 pic.twitter.com/kfDL3r7fI2
— Africa Amateur Championship (@AfricaAmChamp) February 5, 2025
A stroke back on four-under-par in a share of third were Kenya’s Michael Karanga and South Africans Johndre Ludick and Craig Roelof, while former Nedbank Junior Challenge champion Bryan Newman slotted into sixth with an opening 69.
“I’m very happy with how I came back,” said Chatora. “The two bogeys that I made were pretty much unforced errors. On one it was a three-putt basically, and on three, it was just a bad tee shot. It kind of annoyed me in the moment, but I got past it very well, and I’m very happy to have managed to bring it back on the back nine.”
The eagles came on the par-four 10th and the beautiful 15th with water lurking all the way down the right-hand side, waiting to gobble up an errant approach. “How often do you have two eagles in a round?” he asked. “It’s not very often. It comes once in a while, and I’m very, very happy and grateful to have signed for a 65. It tells me that I do have what it takes to compete with everyone around here.”
Chatora was in the same match as Buchanan, and the pair spurred each other on throughout.
“If you hit a good shot, definitely clap for each other,” said Chatora.
“I think if we kind of do that. It prevents the other guy from feeling as if they're not doing as well as they are. From my perspective, those guys did very well to spur me on, and I did very well to spur them on, as well.”
Buchanan eagled the par-five second, and, with two more birdies on the front nine, was primed for a great round.
He picked up another stroke on the scenic par-five 13th but had his first bogey of the day on the 14th. Although he birdied the remaining two par-fives, he dropped another shot on the 17th.
“Yeah, it was nice to birdie 18,” Buchanan said. “I tried not to let the bogeys get in the way of the good round I was having, so it was nice to birdie the hole. It’s such a good hole.
“The eagle, I hit a good approach; I think it was a six-iron to about 20, 25 foot and holed one, which was quite nice.”
#doneanddusted
— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) February 5, 2025
And that's a wrap on the opening day at Leopard Creek - and what a fiery start to the 2025 Africa Amateur Championship & Africa Amateur Women's Invitational 🔥 #golfrsa #itstartshere pic.twitter.com/VMERRuB7uw
Tanaka and Karanga are both members of The R&A African High Performance Programme.
Karanga is ranked 52th on the World Amateur Golf Rankings released on Wednesday, the second-highest in Africa behind Christiaan Maas and the highest-ranked player in the field.
The Kenyan eagled the par-five 18th on his way to his 68.
“On 17, I three-putted from having a 15-foot putt for birdie. So, I hit my drive on 18 and I had to go for it to look for birdie to make up what I did on 17. Luckily, I had a good putt, and I made an eagle.
“It’s a good competition. We are playing with really good golfers, the best ones in South Africa. I was trying to do my best, so it doesn’t beat me. In the process I end up playing four-under, and for tomorrow I’m looking forward to going even deeper.”
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR SA'S NO 1 AMATEUR
Coming off a tie for fourth in last week’s GolfRSA International Amateur Championship, South African Golf Development Board member Ludick made the most of his invitation to and played bogey-free golf up to the final hole.
“I played really solid today,” said the GolfRSA National Squad player from the Eastern Province.
“I didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I’ll take a 68. It gives me a lot of confidence, actually. I’m just going to stick to my game plan and just play like I played today and just go out there and enjoy myself.”
Meanwhile South Africa’s No 1 and last week’s champion Astin Arthur had to withdraw.
"Hugely disappointed that I had to withdraw for health reasons,” said Arthur.
“This is an amazing golf course and wonderful venue. I wish everyone competing in the Africa Amateur a fantastic week and I will especially be rooting for my squad mates."
🇿🇼🇿🇦🇰🇪🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦
— Africa Amateur Championship (@AfricaAmChamp) February 5, 2025
Leading the pack at the Africa Amateur Championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/IaSfRy1qEv
Coetzer, meanwhile, held on to a two-stroke lead at two-under-par 70 in the women’s tournament, despite making a double-bogey seven on the 18th.
It rather spoiled a great back nine during which she had made three birdies up until that final hole.
On the front nine, the 14-year-old had also made three birdies but dropped shots on the fourth and the tough par-three, the seventh.
“I’m really proud of myself for how I managed myself out there because it’s really hot and you can really quickly lose your head,” said the reigning Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Champion.
“Probably one key to this golf course is to stay cool and then just miss it in the right spots, which I did really well.”
She had made birdie on 17, after hitting a big drive down the left side of the fairway, and she hit a delightful approach over the bunker just short of the flag for a kick-in birdie from just over a foot.
“I hit a beautiful drive down 18, and I had 168 in to the flag. I was trying to protect my score, and I laid up to the bottom of the hill short of the water. It was still lying on the slope, however, and I had 80 in. I had to grip down for that shot. I tried to control the bounce, but I lost control of the distance, and it spun back into the water. I played my shot from the drop zone slightly long, chipped back and had a short putt left for the double-bogey.”
Last week’s GolfRSA International Championship winner at Royal Johannesburg, Bobbi Brown, also only had one really bad hole on her scorecard, with a triple-bogey seven on the eighth. She made an eagle-two on the short par-four 11th and also had three birdies and two bogeys.
Brown shared second with Gia Raad, who had a double-bogey six on the first, but then made four birdies and two bogeys for her level-par total.
One shot back in fourth was Kenya’s Chanelle Mwangi, with compatriot Bianca Ngecu three shots further adrift on four-under in fifth.
ROUND 1 LEADERBOARD
— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) February 5, 2025
70 Lisa Coetzer
72 Bobbi Brown; Gia Raad
73 Chanelle Mwangi KEN
76 Bianca Ngecu KEN
77 Kesha Louw
78 Danielle Becker ZIM; Isabella Ferreira
79 Olivia Wood; Zané Kleynhans; Madina Hussein TAN
2025 Africa Amateur Women's Invitational | Leopard Creek… pic.twitter.com/mOzAQlhX4u