Andries van der Vyver equalled a world record when he closed the Nomads SA Boys U19 Stroke Play Championship with a nine-under-par 64 to reach 35-under-par at East London Golf Club.
The 18-year-old Strand Golf Club junior matched the 35-under-par total set by Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January 2025 on the PGA Tour, and he eclipsed the 34-under-par total set by Daniel Bennett at the 2023 Nomads SA Boys U19 Stroke Play Championship at Pecanwood.
“I reached the 14th in the final round at 33-under, and I knew it was on then,” said Van der Vyver. “I made a couple of good par-saves on 15 and 16 and then managed to make birdies on 17 and 18.
“It’s a heck of a record to match, let alone beat. When I finished the third round at 26-under-par, I decided that I really had to try to get to 34-under. To get to 35 is just incredible.”
Incredible hardly does justice to the level of dominance displayed by Van der Vyver, who had round of six-under-par 66, nine-under 64, 11-under 62 and his closing 64.
Admittedly, East London Golf Club was vulnerable to such an assault, with the wind not playing much of a role, and some rain during the second and third days making the greens more receptive, but it takes some scoring to get so far ahead.
For context, last year’s runner-up in the championship, Dewan de Bruin, was a distant 18 strokes off the pace with rounds of 66-71-66-72 on the par-73 East London layout, and local Luke Moore was third with rounds of 70-70-68-68 at 16-under-par.
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— GolfRSA (@GolfRSA) March 31, 2026
GolfRSA National Squad member Andries van der Vyver fired a 9-under 64 to reach 35-under and equal the 72-hole scoring record set by @Hidekima
at the Nomads SA Boys U19 Stroke Play Champs at East London GC. 🔽🔽https://t.co/jpM7wRIq21 pic.twitter.com/V4Ru56SQWI
“I tried to go bogey-free, but, unfortunately, I dropped two shots,” said Van der Vyver of the bogeys which came on the 13th in his first round and on the same hole in his final round.
Those bogeys were matched by his two eagles on his card, both of which came in the same rounds as the bogeys: He eagled the par-five first in the first round, and he picked up a three on the par-five 11th, playing downwind, in the final round.
By way of contrast, De Bruin had nine bogeys on his card for the 72 holes, and chasing Van der Vyver was not made any easier for him by the fact that three of those came in his final round. Moore had five bogeys and a double-bogey as well during his 72 holes.
Van der Vyver brought some great form into the championship, having pulled off the individual win last week in the All Africa Junior Team Championship in Kenya, and anchoring South Africa to their 19th consecutive win in the event.
“I have been playing well,” he acknowledged with a large dollop of understatement. “But this is the big one for me. It’s such a great way for me to sign off on my junior years and it’s an honour for me to get my name on the trophy.”
The top 32 players from the Stroke Play Championship advanced to the knockout-out stage with two rounds each scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday to determine the finalists, who will go head-to-head in a 36-hole final for the Match Play title on Friday.
Van der Vyver, who joined such luminaries as Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Dylan Frittelli, Thriston Lawrence and Jayden Schaper on that silverware when he surpassed Bennett’s 34-under total, and joined 2021 Masters champion Matsuyama as the holder of the lowest total to par in winning a 72-hole tournament, is not done yet.
“Now it’s all about the match play,” said Van der Vyver, as he looks to take his red-hot form that yielded 33 birdies over 72 holes into a format which is sometimes a leveller for players on a streak such as his. “I don’t want to take my foot off the pedal just yet”.
TOP 10 RESULT
257 Andries van der Vyver RSA 67 64 62 67
275 Dewan de Bruin RSA 66 71 66 72
276 Luke Moore RSA 70 70 68 68
278 Ryan Melville RSA 67 74 67 70
279 Willem Brand RSA 72 69 69 69; Benjamin Weber 69 68 72 70
280 Leonard Swart RSA 73 73 63 71; Henru Walters RSA 69 68 71 72
281 Schalk van Ettinger 71 68 70 72; Cilliers Craig 70 70 69 72