SA stays on winning streak

The South African junior boys’ and girls’ teams defended their All Africa Junior Teams Championships (AAJTC) with a dominant performance at Benoni Country Club (BCC).

The gulf in class was evident as both teams could barely put a foot wrong on the four rounds, leading from the opening day on April 22 until close of business on the final day on April 26 for their 17th title.

Boys

At the end of day one, Pearce Lewin, Charl Barnard, Janko van der Merwe and Dylan Kane managed a combined 211 strokes to shoot SA into the lead.

Lewin led the scores with a clinical three-under 69 while Barnard and Van der Merwe each registered one-under 71.

On the second day, the quartet added 212 strokes to their overnight score to increase their team’s lead to nine-under 423, with Barnard putting another brilliant individual performance of three-under 69.

After three days, SA’s lead had stretched to 633 after the team added 210 strokes. Kayne made up for his below-par performances on days one and two to score four-under 68 while Lewin scored two-under 70.

On the final day, the players added seven-under 209 as SA won the tournament convincingly by 842 for the championship.

Barnard and Kayne were both in their element, posting their best tournaments performances of four-under 68 on the final day.

Zimbabwe and Zambia were second and third, respectively.

Girls

SA started the competition positively as the team of Gia Raad, Zanè Kleynhans and Kesha Louw combined for 149 strokes at the end of play to grab the lead.

They added 136 strokes to their overnight score to end day two on three-under 285, with Raad the peak performer on five-under 67 while Kleynhans scored three-under 69.

On day three, the girls added a further 137 strokes to increase their lead to 422. At the close of business on the final day, the trio was crowned the champions as they added 148 to their overnight score to win the tournament by a gross score of 570.

Kenya came second while Morocco rounded-up the podium.

Reflecting on the outcomes of the competition, tournament director Neil Homann explained expectations were high for SA to perform because of their track record.

“We are seen as the leading country in Africa when it comes to golf because of our history and players like Gary Player, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. When we put on an event, the pressure is on. We have to try and do better than everyone else and ensure we have our ducks in a row,” said Homann.

On SA assisting in the development of golf on the continent, Homann said, “Putting on an event like this, we give the players experience, which elevates and helps them to learn and grow.”

The AAJTC, one of the premier events on the continent’s annual schedule, is a qualifier for the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan and the top two teams in each division will represent the continent when the tournament tees off in June.

The tournament saw a record 16 countries tee off on the picturesque and well-manicured BCC course.

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