Hume begins season on high with third place finish in South Africa

Walker Cup hero Jack Hume got his season off to a flyer with a joint third-placed finish at the Gauteng North Amateur Stroke Play Championship in South Africa.

The Naas star, aged 22, produced a sparkling final round seven-under par 65 to shoot up the leaderboard on day four, with the highlight a stunning eagle three at the second hole.

He also holed six birdies with just one bogey – on 14 – to finish 11-under par overall with a 72-hole aggregate of 277 following earlier rounds of 72, 70 and 70.

Hume finished joint third with German Max Boegel, two strokes back on winner Englishman Jamie Bower.

Hume is the only one of the five Irishmen who helped Great Britain and Ireland win the Walker Cup against the USA at Royal Lytham & St Annes back in September still in the amateur ranks.