17 year-old punches ticket to 2023 Masters Tournament

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (AP) — Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa is the British Amateur champion.

The 17-year-old from South Africa raced out to a 7-up lead through 18 holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Then it was a matter of holding off Sam Bairstow of England. Bairstow rallied to cut the deficit to 2 down with four holes to play. But a double bogey on the 15th all but ended his chances.

Potgieter’s victory gets him into the British Open next month at St. Andrews, along with next year’s Masters and U.S. Open. He’s only the third South African winner in 127 years.