Premlall take to SA open again
“Premlall made international headlines last year when, at just 15 years and five months, he became the youngest amateur to qualify for the SA Open.”
Glendower golfing prodigy Yurav Premlall is set to tee off at the South African Open Championship, hosted by the City of Johannesburg for the second year in a row.
The 16-year-old will join fellow GolfRSA National Squad members at Randpark Golf Club from January 9 – 12.
Premlall will be teeing up with South Africa’s leading amateur Jayden Schaper, as well as Casey Jarvis, Martin Vorster, Sam Simpson, Kyle de Beer, Jordan Duminy and Jovan Rebula, who lifted the Freddie Tait Cup as the leading amateur in last year’s championship.
When Premlall competed in the Open in December 2018, the Edenglen resident was the youngest golfer to compete in the SA Open since Phil Jonas competed in 1977.
“Premlall made international headlines last year when, at just 15 years and five months, he became the youngest amateur to qualify for the SA Open and the youngest to make the 36-hole cut,” said South African Golf Association president Naadir Agherdien.
“We nominated our top six ranked players in the GolfRSA Open Amateur standings to fill our six exemption spots for the 2020 championship, but Premlall initially missed out as he was ranked seventh at the cut-off date.
“However, when the Sunshine Tour invited Rebula to return as the defending amateur champion, they also offered us an additional spot.”
Agherdien said there was no hesitation nominating Premlall.
“He has earned the privilege of teeing up in the world’s second oldest Open with two exceptional seasons in 2018 and 2019.”
Agherdien said the Open is a learning opportunity for amateurs to gain invaluable experience.
Premlall is thrilled at the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the cream of the Sunshine, European and Asian Tours on the Firethorn and Bushwillow courses at Randpark.
The Glendower junior announced himself early in the season with a runner-up finish in the Nomads SA Boys u-15 Championship and a top 13 finish in the SA Stroke Play Championship. Buoyed by six top 10 finishes on the junior circuit and three top fives on the Open Amateur circuit, Premlall gave a fine account of himself in Italy, placing 11th in the Reply Italian u-16 Championship.
A maiden Sunshine Tour Junior Series win in the Cape Town Junior Open in October last year sparked a great run over the last few months as Premlall celebrated an Open Amateur breakthrough in the Silver Salver and Central Gauteng Open.
Picking up where he left off, Premlall won the season opening Nomads National Order of Merit Coastal in 2019 and reinforced his status as one of South Africa’s emerging stars with victories in the KZN Amateur Match Play and Harry Oppenheimer Trophy on the Open Amateur circuit.
“Premlall has been one of the most consistent performers on the GolfRSA National Squad with four runners-up and 18 top 10 finishes in his 27 starts this season and were equally impressive abroad,” said GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn.
Hepburn said Premlall finished fourth in Italy last year and during the GolfRSA National Squad Tour to Great Britain and Ireland he reached the match play stage of The Amateur Championship and finished top 10 in the East of Ireland Open Amateur.
“On top of that, Premlall became the youngest winner on the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour and won on the Bridge Fund Managers Junior Series,” said Hepburn.
Additionally, he was a major contributor to Ekurhuleni’s historic first victory in the premier South African Inter-Provincial.
Playing at number one, he helped the juniors to seal a hat-trick of SA u-19 IPT titles at Oubaai Golf Club in December.
“The SA Open is the Holy Grail of Golf for our amateurs,” said Hepburn.
“We are grateful that the South African Golf Association and the Sunshine Tour recognise the tremendous work ethic, dedication and enthusiasm of our amateurs by offering them another opportunity to tee up in our national Open.”
