19-year-old Janko Van der Merwe of North West Province in South Africa, claimed his first win of the season on the first playoff hole at the Bobby Locke Invitational at Parkview Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Janko carded rounds of 70-73-70 (3-under 213) to join Nicko Venter of Ekurhuleni who himself shot rounds of 69-70-74 to match Janko’s total and force a playoff, where Janko made par on the first extra hole to clinch the title.
The event continued its recent trend of playoff finishes, making it four straight years the title has been decided in extra holes. Dian Kruger beat Sean Paxton in a playoff last year, Jordan Wessels edged Vian Jansen van Vuuren in 2023, and Ivan Verster defeated Janko himself for the 2022 crown.
Janko started his final round standing T-2 four-strokes behind at 1-under 143, following Nicko who held the 36-hole lead at 5-under 139. However, Janko posted a final round 70 and Nicko managed to shoot a 74 to force a playoff.
Janko who finished runner-up in the event in 2022, has played in 20 ranked events in South Africa this year, where he has registered 8 top-10 finishes to his name, his previous best being a T-5 at the Western Province Amateur Championship
The defending champion, Dian Kruger carded rounds of 75-71-69 to register a third place finish at 1-under 215.
The tournament saw participation from 142 players, with 61 making the 36-hole cut. While the majority hailed from South Africa, there was representation from neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, Swaziland, Zambia, and Seychelles.