Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) gave his hopes of a place in the Walker Cup team at Royal Aberdeen in September a major boost today when he won the South African Amateur Championship, beating fellow Scot Paul Shields by 5 & 4 in the 36 hole final.
(Report from the SGU website)
The young Ayrshireman, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Sunday, lost the opening two holes of the morning round but recovered in style to repeat his 2008 Scottish Boys Final victory over Shields with a superb short game performance.
Victory earns Stewart a spot in next season’s South African Open Championship alongside Ernie Els and significantly boosts his chances of a place in Nigel Edwards’ GB&I Walker Cup team to face the USA at Royal Aberdeen in September.
“I’m absolutely delighted to win the South African Amateur Championship. To have my name alongside famous names such as Bobby Locke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman, who all went on to win Majors, is an incredible feeling,” said the reigning Scottish Amateur Champion.
“Paul was a fantastic opponent and it was tough to see a friend lose, but he’s had a great week. It’s a brilliant start to the season for Scottish amateur golf and having three of the squad in the last four as well as eight making the cut shows the strength in depth we have,” he added.
“My game seemed to get better as the week progressed and although I got off to slow starts against both Paul and Jordan, I was confident in my ability. I feel really comfortable in the match play format and my short game has been in great shape for the whole trip to South Africa. “ concluded Stewart, who will lead the Scotland side in a Test match against their hosts next week at Leopard Creek.
Reflecting on the competitive winter trip to South Africa and the warm weather training stint in the UAE, Stewart commented: “The training we’ve had over here and in Dubai is really benefiting us all and I’m hugely grateful to the SGU, Aberdeen Asset Management and Johann Rupert for giving us these opportunities. It’s nice to pay our supporters back with results like this and hopefully there’s much more to come from us this season.”
It was Kirkhill golfer Shields who took the initiative early in the 36-hole final with back-to-back birdies at the opening two holes but Stewart bounced back with a birdie at the third and drew level with a stunning eagle at the fifth.
His putter came alive on the back nine, firing birdies at the 13th, 14th and 17th to reach the half-way stage with a four-hole cushion, posting a 7-under par 65 in the morning round. The Troon man increased his lead to five up at the 19th but Shields rallied with a birdie blitz to narrow the lead to two holes with nine to play.
Stewart, however, drew upon his experience of previous match play finals to force the advantage again, winning the 29th before Shields three-putted the next to extend Stewart’s lead to three. He won the 31st to go four up and the match was conceded when Shields came unstuck at the 32nd hole, leaving Stewart to claim his third major national championship.
SGU National Coach Ian Rae, who is out with the squad in South Africa, praised the performance of both players:
“It’s fantastic to see two young Scots who have come through our programme from an early age perform so well on such a big international stage. All the players in the squad have been working very hard over the past few months and it’s great to see all the good results in recent weeks. South African golf is very strong and they’ve both beaten some excellent players along the way.”
