De Smidt carded rounds of 69 and 66 to claim a three stroke victory on nine under 135 over Tristen Strydom and David Meyers.
“I guess a provincial victory and getting one up on your older brother will do that to a guy,” jested the 20-year-old.
“I couldn’t stop smiling. Up to this point, the most special moment of my golf career was being on Ruan’s bag when he won the Nedbank Affinity Cup on the Sunshine Tour.
“It was so great to be there to share it with him, but I’m sorry bro, this tops that. Ruan never won an amateur event that counted for world ranking points. It feels pretty good to have beaten him at this. We are highly competitive and always trying to outdo each other, but this is so much better than taking his money in a social game.”
The championship was scheduled for 72 holes, however, torrential rain rendered the course unplayable and forced the organisers to reduce the event to 36 holes.
“It’s a pity, because I have to wonder how I would have done if we had gone 72 holes,” said De Smidt. “I’ve been hitting the ball so well in the last four months that I knew if I stayed patient, the pay-off would come.
I believe I would have won this, the way I was playing. There were two pivotal moments in the tournament that was key for me to winning and I managed both of them really well.”
