Arthur and Brown secure dream victories
- GolfRSA
- Jan 31
- 7 min read
It took a gritty birdie on the first extra-hole of a sudden-death play-off on Friday for Astin Arthur to overcome the challenge of Charl Barnard and win the GolfRSA International Amateur Championship at Royal Johannesburg Golf Club on the East Course.
In the final round, the pair had gone toe-to-toe on one of the country’s fabled championship courses and Arthur’s bogey-free 68 had trumped Barnard’s three-under-par 69 – and Barnard was left ruing the lone bogey he made on the par-five seventh.
Arthur had a chance to win it coming down the stretch. “Coming down 18, I was one ahead,” he said, as he and Barnard made their way up the reachable par-five which closes out Royal Johannesburg East. “I hit a good tee shot and I had four-iron in. The wind gusted and changed as I played it and I double-crossed it. I missed it in a terrible spot. To be honest, I though Charl was going to make the eagle putt because he was putting great coming down the stretch.
“My heart-rate was definitely up. I just kept focussed on my own game and played the 18th exactly the same in the play-off. I just didn't miss the shot. I hit it on the green and put the pressure on Charl and just lagged the eagle putt up.”
It was a long eagle-putt and he judged the weight to perfection, leaving himself a tap-in for birdie, while Barnard had a difficult 15-footer for his birdie after he hit his chip past the hole. Barnard missed and had to look away as Arthur stepped up and slotted the winner.
The pair had left Jordan Burnand two strokes back in third place on 15-under-par after his closing five-under 67 had brough the reigning South African Stroke Play champion close, but not close enough.
South African Golf Development Board Elite Squad player Johndre Ludick and Frenchman Octave Bailo shared fourth a further four strokes back on 11-under after closing rounds of 70 and 72.
For Arthur, it was all about evaluating what the win means for the South African No 1: “This victory is right up there amongst my wins; probably right at the top,” he said. “It’s obviously one of the big three in the GolfRSA Summer Swing, so you want to play well and get the world ranking points and I had a lot of points to defend from last year.
“Personally, this win means a lot. This off-season was long but I didn’t take a day off since I played the Afred Dunhill in December. I haven’t played great and I wasn't happy with the way I finished the season, so to see some results is definitely a step in the right direction and I’m just going to keep going from there.”
With a flight to catch to Leopard Creek for the African Amateur Championship – and a place in The Open at Royal Portrush at stake there – he didn’t have much time to savour how he achieved things but one thing was certain.
“I said to myself I was just going to stay in my own lane. I didn’t want to get too involved in what everyone else was doing because I didn’t do that for the last three days. I knew what I had to do, where I needed to hit the ball to score. Fortunately, I was able to do that today.
“I handled the pressure pretty well. I’ve been in this kind of situation a few times now, so I was able to call on previous experiences. I was very present and aware of my surroundings and what I needed to do.”
That mindset and those skills married together suggest he’s going to be tough to stop.
Meanwhile, Bobbi Brown was in a league of her own on Friday as she romped home by eight shots to take victory on Friday.
Brown’s closing five-under-par 67 was comfortably the best round of the final day as she rammed home the advantage she had held since she took the lead in the second round with a six-under 66 at the challenging Royal Johannesburg East Course.
With Olivia Wood a distant second in her rearview mirror, 21-year-old Brown could have been forgiven for taking her foot off the gas but such thoughts had no place in the mind of someone who has become pretty efficient at closing things out.
She made two birdies and a bogey on the front nine to turn in one-under and then she turned the screw with four birdies in the final seven holes, making one gain every two holes from the 12 on home.
“I have been playing very aggressively in all my recent tournaments and especially going into the last rounds,” the Western Province golfer said. “I prefer to stay as aggressive as possible, as playing more tentatively could let other girls get in the frame.”
“I am definitely playing the best golf of my career by far,” she said. “This is what I’ve been working towards. This is what I've been waiting for and it feels great.”
Wood had a good front nine in what was a strong start to an attempt to hunt down Brown, with three birdies ahead of the turn moving her to within two of the leader.
However, her chase stuttered down the final nine and a double-bogey six on the 11th – the only time she dropped any shots on that hole all week – put paid to whatever faint chances there were of chasing down Brown.
The KwaZulu-Natal golfer posted 71 to take second place on a creditable six under-par and she finished a gaping 10 strokes clear of the duo who shared third on four-over-par, Megan Marais and Lourenda Steyn, with Reunion’s Melliyal Schmitt in fifth place on seven-over-par. Marais closed strongest of this with her final round of four-under-par 68.
Two-for-two in victories for the 2025 season after a runaway 10-stroke triumph in the Eastern Province Border Stroke Play Championship last weekend, Brown was thrilled to back to form.
“It’s very motivating for me to be playing so well in such a big tournament,” she said. “It’s the first time that I have had about a year of training solidly, so it’s nice to see it all paying off. This time last year, I was struggling with my back injury. I hadn’t had a solid amount of time to practice and prepare and you could see that by my results.
“I’ve been putting a lot of work into my golf, so it’s nice to be standing here now. It’s nice to see some positivity in my game and it’s just very encouraging for my golf going forward.”
Looking ahead for the GolfRSA National Squad member means Leopard Creek and the Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational next week.
“I know Leopard Creek. I was there last year, and I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It should be the same feeling as going into today with a four-shot lead. I know I’m playing really well, so I just need to keep a calm head and play aggressively.”
Scores
MEN’S TOURNAMENT
271 - Astin Arthur 65 70 68 68
271 - Charl Barnard 73 66 63 69
273 - Jordan Burnand 68 71 67 67
277 - Johndre Ludick 70 69 68 70; Octave Bailo (FRA) 68 65 72 72
280 - Vuyisani Makama 75 71 67 67
281 - Devon Valentine 70 67 71 73
282 - Sean Paxton 70 66 73 73
283 - Oliver Scriven (ENG) 72 71 69 71
284 - Janko van der Merwe 73 68 72 71
285 - Logan Leisher 68 79 68 70; Juan Coetzee 73 65 74 73; Minjun Heo 71 68 73 73; Nathan Schuldt 70 71 69 75
286 - Damian Osner 75 67 72 72; Dian Kruger 71 69 72 74
287 - Tristan Leonard 69 66 76 76
288 - Dewan de Bruin 72 71 77 68; Benjamin Weber 71 73 69 75
289 - Bryan Newman 74 73 72 70; Gregor Tait (SCO) 70 77 69 73
290 - Tristan Fichardt 71 72 70 77
291 - Fabrizio de Abreu 74 74 71 72; Morris Schiefner (GER) 76 68 75 72; Jack McDonald (SCO) 74 73 69 75; Liam McKenna 74 71 75 71; Vian Jansen van Vuuren 69 76 70 76; Christiaan Heyman 71 76 69 75; Roelof Craig 72 70 78 71
292 - Marno Lange 72 75 71 74; Ivan Verster 74 74 72 72; Bradley de Beer 73 73 75 71; Pieter Coetzee 78 76 68 70
293 - Jean-Pierre van der Watt 75 70 73 75; Keegan Shutt ZIM 73 72 73 75; Noa Auch-Roy (FRA) 78 73 69 73; Darren Strachan 73 69 78 73; Tanaka Chatora (ZIM) 74 71 76 72
294 - Jeré Brits 69 78 72 75; James Truter 71 75 72 76; Cilliers Craig 73 75 73 73
295 - Michael Wallace (ZIM) 71 70 75 79; Andries van der Vyver 73 73 76 73; Kaiden Chetty 74 72 76 73
296 - Samuel Aiach (REU) 75 72 73 76; Matthew Mortimer 71 75 76 74
297 - Daniel Copeman 73 75 73 76
298 - Max Hopkins (WAL) 72 74 74 78
299 - Keegan du Plessis 72 75 74 78; Lorenzo Sakota (ITA) 73 79 69 78
300 - Tylor Phillips 77 73 68 82
301 - Harry Watkins (WAL) 71 75 74 81
WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT
274 - Bobbi Brown 72 66 69 67
282 - Olivia Wood 71 69 71 71
292 - Megan Marais 76 74 74 68; Lourenda Steyn 71 71 74 76
295 - Melliyal Schmitt (REU) 69 77 75 74
300 - Lisa Coetzer 70 81 74 75; Casey Twidale 72 82 72 74
301 - Kesha Louw 74 73 75 79
302 - Shannon Butler 73 70 84 75
304 - Liezl Smit 78 77 74 75
305 - Gio Raad 79 75 75 76
306 - Jasmine Furstenburg 78 78 70 80
307 - Zayaan Hendricks 78 76 78 75; Charlotte Millard 82 77 74 74
310 - Ophelie Odin 76 79 79 76
311 - Zané Kleynhans 81 74 75 81
312 - Maegan Webster 75 76 82 79; Celeste Darloy 83 75 77 77
314 - Bea Breedt 81 75 78 80
315 - Kamaya Moodliar 78 77 77 83
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