A chilly winter morning greeted players as they arrived at Atlantic Beach Links for the 2024 Open.

The course would favour the long hitters as the par 5’s could set up eagle opportunities however some tricky pin positions would make accuracy vital to converting birdies.

The top of the leaderboard after Round 1 was riddled with familiar names on the Open circuit. Cole Cruickshank (Royal Cape) took the early lead with a score of 68 followed by Riaan Lewis (King David Mowbray) and Pascal Gunther (Bryanston), both posting 69.

As Round 2 commenced, the leaderboard changed every few minutes. Struan Currie (Clovelly) made an early charge with an eagle on the par 5 6th hole. A double on the 10th hole cost him, however he carded 2 more birdies on the back 9.

Once the scores were in, a tie at the top would return. A 3-way playoff would be needed to decide the winner. Struan, Cole & Riaan headed back to the 18th hole. All 3 made par and proceeded to the 1st hole. Struan, coming up short with his approach shot would be eliminated and take 3rd place.

Riaan and Cole headed to the 9th hole as daylight became scarce. Two exemplary tee shots put them both in prime positions. Cole slightly pushed his approach shot and ended up in the collection area right off the green. Riaan was safely on the green. Unable to scramble for par, Cole missed his par putt and Riaan was crowned the 2024 Atlantic Beach Open Champion.

In the Men’s Stableford Section, Beavin de Kock from Clovelly took the outright lead after Round 1 with a 12-point lead over Antonio Kiximba. Beavin ultimately won the Stableford prize.

A thrilling playoff in the Open section did not take away from what transpired in the Women’s Section. Jordan Rothman from Durbanville made her intentions clear as she carded 10 birdies in Round 1 to score 64.  Following her lead, Atlantic Beach local Zayaan Hendricks converted 4 birdies and 1 bogey to shoot 69 in the opening round.

Jordan continued her dominance as she converted 6 more birdies in round 2 and posted a final score of 69. This helped her take the title with a 17-shot lead over Zayaan.

Up and coming junior, Tyra Booysen (Rondebosch) took the top stop in the women’s Stableford section as she secured 73 points with her consistent golf in both rounds.