cover feature
BACK
in the Game
The rise, fall and rise again has helped one of South Africa’s most talented golfers set himself up for what lies ahead
By Michael Vlismas
It was a comeback that made everybody smile. Haydn Porteous’ victory at the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm Lodge & Golf Course this year broke an eight-year win drought for a golfer who was once the country’s top amateurs and then a rising young professional who won DP World Tour titles early in his career before it suddenly stopped.
In those eight years, Porteous went to hell and back.
‘It’s no secret that it’s been quite a horrible ride,’ he says. ‘Knowing what I’m capable of and how my career started, to where I am now is something I didn’t foresee.’
Porteous was a golden child of South African golf. A top amateur blessed with good looks and a great attacking game who made his professional early with his Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year Award in 2014 and with two DP World Tour titles to his name by the age of 23.
Suddenly, as can so often happen in this game, it just went away. It led to some of the most arduous years of Porteous’ life as he worked harder without results, dug deeper without any success, and started to question everything.
‘I felt like I was going head-on into a big collision and I couldn’t do anything about it’
118
The number of places Lamprecht rose in the World Ranking, to 145, after his first win in 27 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour when he took the Pinnacle Bank Championship by one shot.
331.9
yards
The driving distance averaged by the South African on the Korn Ferry Tour, which makes him the longest on the Tour. The average is 308.5 yards.
BEST FINISHES
2014 Zimbabwe Open (3rd)
2015 Kenya Open (1st)
2016 Joburg Open (1st), Investec Cup (1st), Paul Lawrie Match Play (T5th), Dubai Desert Classic (T8th), The Open Championship (T30th)
2017 D+D Real Czech Masters (1st), Made In Denmark (T6th), Nedbank Golf Challenge (T12th)
2018 South African Open (T7th), Nordea Masters (T6th)
2020 Tour Championship (2nd)
2024 Stella Artois Players Championship (T2nd)
2025 VOG – Gowrie Farm Lodge (1st)
And he can clearly remember the moment he looked around a golf course and, for the first time in his life, started to see trouble instead of opportunity.
‘Since I picked up a golf club things came to me relatively easily. I got a lot of success early. I never had to deal with hard times. Then you get on to the world stage and you realise how everybody else is exactly the same as you, and that one shot is the difference between making the cut or being in contention.
‘You start to pull the brakes a bit and think about the trouble out on the course. That was never how I played golf as an amateur. I’d never had to deal with that. I lost a bit of belief and my confidence plummeted.’
It was at a tournament in Austria on the HotelPlanner Tour a few years ago where Porteous hit his lowest point.
‘I was asking myself some very dark questions and wondering whether I’d lost it completely. I didn’t see light at the end of the tunnel. That was hard. I felt like I was going head-on into a big collision and I couldn’t do anything about it. I was struggling with anxiety attacks on the golf course just because I saw no route back.
DID YOU KNOW?
There are 26 South African golfers who have played on the Korn Ferry Tour, with eight of them winning – Tim Clark (twice), Garth Mulroy (twice), Deane Pappas (twice), Dawie van der Walt (twice), Trevor Immelman (once), Brendan Pappas (once), Aldrich Potgieter (once) and Lamprecht (once).
‘Maybe it was the biggest blessing to start right from the bottom and learn how to play again’
‘I wasn’t getting any happiness from anything outside golf either. I don’t ever remember being an anxious person at all. I was that guy who if you told me you battled with anxiety, I’d say just harden up. But then I started to see what it’s all about. So I came home and simplified my life and tried to find some normality again.’
Porteous went right back to the beginning and started his career from the ground up playing on the Blu Label Bushveld Tour and Betway Big Easy Tour.
‘Maybe it was the biggest blessing to start right from the bottom and learn how to play again. I’m very grateful to those Tours for giving me the opportunities to incorporate the practice I’ve been doing into these events and get more tournament rounds under my belt, and to find my game again. Sometimes you just have to start from the bottom and go from there.’
But it was still a long and hard process, with no guarantees and a world of doubts.
‘There were times where I thought of doing something else. Luckily, I was relatively smart with the money I made at the beginning of my career so that gave me some income. And I still believed this was what I was born to do.’
WHAT’S IN THE BAG
Lamprecht won the Pinnacle Bank Championship with a two-driver set-up. This is what was in his bag for his first Korn Ferry Tour title:
Drivers:
G430 LST (10.5º), #G440 MAX (12º)
Hybrid:
iCrossover (3)
Irons:
#Blueprint S (5-6), Blueprint T (7-9)
Wedges:
#s159 (46º, 48º, 52º, 56º, 60º)
Putter:
#PLD Anser
Gallery below
The key swing difference for Porteous was getting rid of that ‘one bad shot’ that would cost him during every round.
‘I eradicated the really bad swing in my game. That’s what has been my downfall – that odd bad shot that costs me too much. I started to eradicate that and it’s starting to show in my game.’
But mentally is where he’s made his biggest change, with the help of those closest to him.
‘You learn so much more about yourself through something like this. My parents have supported me right through and their backing has been huge. My wife has always believed in me and given me the right motivation when I’ve needed it. And somebody like my best friend Graham van der Merwe has always been there for me. They’ve been with me through some really dark times.
‘I’ve also simplified my life quite a lot and tried to find a healthy balance that makes me happy outside golf, because I believe that will feed into my game.’
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Get an inside look at how Lamprecht prepared for the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
watch NOW
Gallery below
Now married, moving into a new home and expecting a baby girl soon, Porteous is looking forward to a second half of his career that he believes could be better than the first.
‘I know I’m capable of playing on the world stage. It’s just about unlocking that and getting myself into a frame of mind where I believe that. It’s really exciting times. I learned a lot about myself and how to deal with my emotions. I think everybody grows at their own pace. I deal with thoughts as just thoughts now, and learning how to do that has been huge.
‘I can see myself moving forward and getting back to where I know I can be. I think I’m going to definitely appreciate it more than when I was younger.’
MAGIC AT WORK
See how the 24-year-old won the Pinnacle Bank Championship on the 18th hole.
watch NOW
CARL FOURIE/DEON VAN DER MERWE/SHAUN ROY/SUNSHINE TOUR
