Craig wins Nomads SA Boys U17 with final-round fireworks

JOHANNESBURG, 11 July 2025 – A pair of electrifying eagles on the eighth and 17th holes propelled Cilliers Craig to a commanding four-stroke victory at the 2025 Nomads SA Boys Under-17 Stroke Play Championship at Reading Country Club.

Craig’s final-round four-under-par 67, the lowest round of the week, lifted him to a winning total of six-under-par 204, comfortably clear of Henru Walters and Jamie Smith, who shared second on two-under.

In doing so, Craig not only claimed his first major national title, but also completed a unique family double – joining older brother Roelof Craig, who won the Nomads SA Boys Under-19 Stroke Play Championship earlier this year.

“I’ve been waiting for quite a while to win something big,” said Craig. “It’s a huge relief to get it done. I just wanted to put together a good final round and focus on my own game – and I did exactly that.”

After leading the first round with a superb five-under 66, the Silver Lakes junior stumbled with a four-over 75 in round two, opening with a quadruple-bogey eight on the first hole. That dropped him into a share of the lead with Walters, who posted a steady even-par 71.

“It burned me a bit,” Craig admitted about the triple. “But I knew there was still a long way to go, and every tournament has that one bad hole.”

He rebounded brilliantly in the final round, picking up early birdies on holes 2 and 4, while Walters faltered with a double-bogey on the first. From there, Craig held steady, choosing not to watch the leaderboard and instead sticking to his game plan.

“I didn’t even know what the scores were until the 18th,” he said. “The eagle on 17 sealed it, and the bogey on 18 didn’t bother me — I knew I had done enough.”

His eagle at the par-5 8th came after a 405-metre drive left him with a lob wedge in, which he stiffed to three feet. On the drivable 17th, another mammoth tee shot left him inside 20 feet, and he calmly rolled in the putt.

“They were definitely two of the best drives of the tournament for me,” he said. “When my driver works, it really gives me an edge.”

Smith closed with a second successive two-under 69 to join Walters (72) in second, while Minjun Heo and Nicholas Schrieder shared fourth on two-under-par, after rounds of 71 and 73 respectively.