Knysna Open champions

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KNYSNA NEWS - The 42nd edition of the Knysna Men's Amateur Open Championship took place last weekend, with more than 100 golfers taking to the greens at Knysna Golf Club on Saturday 11 December.

The Knysna Open is an annual golf day sponsored by PSG Wealth that welcomes amateur golfers from far and wide to battle it out for top honours.

The competition is played across 36 holes at Knysna Golf Club. It is played in the medal format, meaning every shot counts until the ball drops into the cup.

This year golfers were sorted into two divisions based on their handicaps - A Division (handicap of nine or lower) or B Division (10+ handicap). The former was the most-competed division with 72 golfers taking part in the A Division while the B Division welcomed 40 entrants.

Photo gallery: Knysna Men's Amateur Open Championship

The tee-off times started bright and early at 07:00 on Saturday, with four-balls split between the first and 10th tees. The weather was consistently inconsistent throughout the day, starting off overcast and chilly with some rain in the morning, but then switching between sunny and cloudy as the day went on.

After the first 18 holes Ivan Williams and Christian du Plessis were tied for the lead in the A Division, both shooting five-under-par rounds of 67.

In the B Division Matt Valenti held the lead with an opening round of 80, two strokes ahead of second placed FG Fouché.

Dorian Popham about to strike the ball during his first tee shot.

The A Division lead remained safe in Williams' hands in the second 18 as Du Plessis fell off the pace later in the day and finished third. Read an article about the winner, Ivan Willams, on page 40.

Jason Tarboton worked his way up into second place courtesy of a four-under-par 68. He was still three shots off Williams at the end though, as a final round of three-under-par 69 secured top honours at eight under for the tournament.

Matters were far tighter in the B Division at the end of 36 holes. Fouché fell back to fourth place, with Le Roi Bredenkamp finishing strong to secure third place. At the top it was a close affair as Valenti's second round did not go to plan and he shot 89 in the final round. Shaun Brown, third after 18 holes, shot 86 in his second round to tie with Valenti after 36 holes.

This meant a play-off was needed to separate the two, and Brown secured the win.

Clint Langford follows through on his first tee shot. Photos: Blake Linder