Ayanda Jaco dominates Tembisa Golf Club championships

The prodigal golfing son of Tembisa Golf Club, Ayanda Jaco, fired a 36-hole gross total of 145 to win the 2019 club championship at Kempton Park Country Club almost two weeks ago.

Pint-sized Jaco was true to the adage that dynamite comes in small packages when he demolished the entire field.

On Saturday he fired a gross score of 73 followed with a 72 on Sunday.

Six players were within four shots of him after the first 18 holes, making for a lot of speculation. Many pundits put their money on defending champion Jerry Mosia, who opened with a gross score of 77.

Also in the mix was erstwhile champion Nzima Tsotetsi with 75. Matome ‘Mfana Ndi’ Maenetja was only one stroke behind after a fantastic 74, with Harry Mthembu also within striking distance after shooting 74 as well.

Also lurking behind Jaco was Alastair Magumise, who opened his Saturday account with 77.

Jaco was grouped with Maenetja, Magumise and Mosia on Sunday and they constituted the leading and final 18-hole group. Although not in the final group, Tsotetsi was on the hunt as after opening his Saturday account with 75.

After the first nine on Sunday, Mosia had closed the gap to two shots. Jaco produced a solid 37 for his first nine.

According to Jaco, the heat was on after Mosia’s first-nine 35. They both birdied the 10th on Sunday and then Jaco parred the 11th to draw first blood as Mosia dropped a shot on the 11th.

When Mosia went out of bounds on the 14th and struggled on the 15th, the writing was on the wall as Jaco continued conquering the Kempton layout.

Mosia went down gallantly as he defended his 2018 title down to the wire.

Tembisa Golf Club has a new king in Jaco, who collected the first prize and the trophy that goes with being the club champion. It was his second major win after claiming victory in the Ebuhleni Tembisa Open last October, hardly two months after returning to the game.

Ashwin Gobourdan won the B division. Going into the final 18 on Sunday, Gobourdan was two shots adrift. He played alongside Themba Nxumalo, who was the B division defending champion, Ace Mthembu and Joko Makhoba.

For the first time, Tembisa Golf Club included a women’s contest in the championship. Mumsy Boshomane, who is a regular Sunday ball striker and drives the golf ball long, was unsurprisingly the winner. Dorah Nonyane came second.

Sixty players took part in the club championship and more than 30 prizes were on offer, including prizes for longest drives, nearest the pins and best net prizes.

The event was crowned with an evening gala dinner and a glittering prize-giving ceremony.

The executive committee of Tembisa Golf Club once again thanked Xara Books from Midrand for their generous sponsorship that assisted in ensuring the success of the championship.