Golfers spend exciting week at Lalapalm tournament
About 80 golfers were on the course each day from Wednesday to Saturday during this year's Malalane Toyota Lalapalm Tournament.
The popular four-day Malalane Toyota Lalapalm was held for the 34th time and this time tournament regular David Moore was the overall winner.
The young development golfer Thabo Dube came in second place and Reghard Neethling was third. Brett Thornley was the winner of the Marshmallow Drive, where golfers competed to see who could hit a marshmallow the farthest.
The Malalane Toyota Lalapalm is one of the longest-running amateur-golfing events in the country and is open to anyone with an official handicap.
This was the first Lalapalm since Malelane Golf Club came under the management of Golf Course Solutions a few months ago.
The golf club’s goal is to be the best nine-hole country golf course in the country and they aim to reach it within the next three years.
Tournament days were Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, with a fun tournament on Friday and each featured a different format. On Saturday players could also try to score a hole-in-one for a massive cash prize, with one player missing it by a few centimetres. The weather proved an extra challenge, with little respite against the blazing sun.
Several Gauteng players and their families camped out at the club for the week and everyone enjoyed socialising together after each night’s prize-giving ceremony. Among them were Dave and Ina Moore, who have attended every Lalapalm since its inception, as well as John van Niekerk and his fellow Kyalami Swallows members, who have supported the Malelane Golf Club for the past eight years.
Besides professional local players, a handful of young Golf Development Academy pupils also competed. The academy is assisted by the Lowveld Golf Association and Malelane Golf Club to train talented youngsters in the art of golf and help them compete in tournaments across the country.
One of the academy’s pupils, Lucia Mhlabane, lifted the Lalapalm trophy last year.
READ MORE: Youngster wows at Lalapalm Tournament
There was a great spirit among players and supporters, who applauded competitors from the club house veranda when they reached the green on the 18th hole. Many players remarked on how much fun they had, how beautiful the course was and the great food by Hooked on Malelane.
Malelane Golf Club would like to thank main sponsor Malalane Toyota for its support as well as all of the other sponsors, support staff, players and supporters for their invaluable contributions to the success of the tournament.
