17-year-old SA golf sensation books trips to 3 majors after thrilling Amateur Champs win

The 150th Open. The 87th Masters. The 123rd US Open.

This is where teenage sensation Aldrich Potgieter will be heading in the year after he claimed amateur golf’s biggest prize with his dream win in the 127th Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes on Saturday.

In a thrilling 36-hole final at the Lancashire links, the 17-year-old South African displayed a maturity beyond his years and stood his ground in the face of a superb comeback from Englishman Sam Bairstow to seal a nail-biting 3 & 2 victory.

With the win, Potgieter became the third SA to lift the prestigious title after Bobby Cole (Carnoustie, 1966) and Jovan Rebula (Royal Aberdeen, 2018), and the second youngest winner of The Amateur since Matteo Manassero triumphed in 2009 at the age of 16.

"It's really amazing," Potgieter said.

"I can't really find the words; there's no feeling like it and I haven't felt this good before. It will take some time to sink in, because right now the words can't even come out of my mind to describe how I feel."

The GolfRSA National Squad member was extraordinarily impressive over nine rounds considering this was his first-ever visit to the UK and only his third competitive start on British soil.

He laid down a marker for the life-changing achievement with rounds of 71 (Royal Lytham) and 69 (St Annes Old Links) in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier – won by fellow squad member and reigning SA Stroke Play champion Jono Broomhead – to advance to the match play stage.

Potgieter then made quick work of his first-round match against Englishman Monty Scowsill (6 & 4) and exacted revenge for his Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy teammate Jordan Duminy, who was knocked out by Matteo Cristoni in the top 64 play-off, by beating the Italian 3