Jarvis in SA squad
“Casey is the only member from the victorious senior side who won the team competition in 2020 to return for duty.”
State Mines Country Club’s Casey Jarvis has been named in the GolfRSA National Squad, which will represent South Africa at the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek from February 14 to 17.
“We have named our top four available players from the Open Amateur Ranking – Christiaan Maas, Casey Jarvis, Christiaan Burke and Jordan Duminy – to the GolfRSA Senior Protea team,” said South African Golf Association (SAGA) acting president Henk Smith.
“Casey is the only member from the victorious senior side who won the team competition in 2020 to return for duty. Christiaan (Maas) and Jordan graduated from the junior team that gave chase and finished second two years ago, and it will also be the first time Christiaan tees it up in a senior side.”
The GolfRSA Senior Protea team will be managed by SAGA acting senior vice-president Deon Nel, while renowned biokineticist and GolfRSA National Squad fitness trainer Gavin Groves will look after the juniors.
“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that it has been almost two years since our top-ranked amateurs represented South Africa, and naturally there is a lot of excitement in both camps for the upcoming African Amateur,” said Nel.
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“All eight golfers hold positions in the top five of the Open Amateur and u-19 rankings and have performed consistently well at home. We are confident that we are sending two very strong teams in to bat for South Africa.”
Since the African Amateur joined the South African swing in 2016, the event quickly became a popular stop on the international calendar.
GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn is delighted that almost 30 international players will tee it up at Leopard Creek this year.
“Over the first four years of the event, we witnessed some fantastic battles and crowned four South Africans and two international champions,” he said.
“Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, only a handful of international players made the trip to South Africa last year, and we had to move the event to Glendower for health and safety reasons. Despite the travel restrictions levied against South Africa late last year, it is heartening to see so many players from abroad back to support the championship.
“International competition plays an important role in the development of our amateurs, and we are thrilled that we can once again give our golfers the opportunity to compete against and gain invaluable experience from top international talent.
“We also applaud the selection committee. They have named eight in-form golfers to fly the flag for South Africa, and I am confident that these teams will do us proud at Leopard Creek.”
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