Team England staged a remarkable comeback to overcame a 10-shot overnight deficit to deny the GolfRSA Juniors a second successive victory in the Team Competition at the Africa Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek outside Malalane on Wednesday.
The Team Competition was played over 54 holes from Monday. Countries were represented by teams of four, with the three best scores, each day, to count.

The defending champions opened up a commanding lead with rounds of 217 and 206 to start the final round of the 54-hole competition on nine-under with England, Sweden and Team South Africa a distant second.

Team England were languishing in fourth place, on 225 after 18 holes on Monday. GolfRSA Juniors held a two-shot lead over Team Sweden.  After Tuesday’s round England (208) moved up to joint second.

The Englishmen’s best was to come on Wednesday on a typically hot and humid Onderberg summer’s day, weather the European teams were certainly unaccustomed to. While the rest of the field wilted in the Lowveld heat, the Roses kept a steady foot on the gas pedal.

Landsdown’s Joe Long fired three birdies on the bounce from the fourth and made three more on the trot from 10.  The skipper overturned a bogey at 14 with a birdie finish for a five-under 67 to give the team a well-timed boost.

David Langley from Castle Royle closed the gap on the front runners to four shots with a four-under 68 and Rowland Castle’s Billy McKenzie’s run of straight pars from the seventh for a 74 took England to a final round total of 209.

Meanwhile the GolfRSA Juniors struggled on the final day.

Missed opportunities and a rush of bogeys over the closing holes proved costly for the GolfRSA Juniors. Samuel Simpson and Martin Vorster posted a pair of 73s and a 74 from Jayden Schaper meant the defending champions came up one shot short of England’s six-under 642 target.

“All credit to the GolfRSA Juniors for setting a really high target over the first two days. We knew we had a huge gap to close on the GolfRSA Juniors, but with three scores to count, anything could happen. Leopard Creek had taken a fair amount of scalps over the first two days, so we went into the final round with patience and a positive approach,” said Long.

“We are absolutely delighted with the win. It was a much tougher week than any of us anticipated. This is not one of the top courses in the world for nothing. It’s very demanding off the tee and the conditions added to the challenge.

“Bogeys, double bogeys and even triple bogeys come quickly at Leopard Creek, especially if you get too aggressive. Tom (Plumb) put us in the running with his 67 in the second round and today, every guy had a job to do. We stayed patient, tried to keep the bogeys to a minimum, played for the best score we could put together for the team and got the job done,” concluded Long.

Scotland’s Euan Walker eagled the tough par five closing hole for a five-under 67 to surge into a four-shot lead and his effort boosted Team Scotland to third on 648. Jim Johnston contributed a 70 and Kieran Cantley 76 to their 213 final round total.

Team Competition final results

642 Team England 
Day 1: 225 Tom Plumb 73, David Langley, 75 Billy McKenzie 77
Day 2: 208 Tom Plumb 67, BillyMcKenzie 67, David Langley 74
Day 3: 209 Joseph Long 67, David Langley 68, Billy McKenzie 74.

643 GolfRSA 
Day1: 217 Jayden Schaper 69, Martin Vorster 71, Samuel Simpson 77
Day 2: 206 Samuel Simpson 68, Christo Lamprecht Jnr 69, Jayden Schaper 69
Day 3: 220 Samuel Simpson 73, Martin Vorster 73, Jayden Schaper 74.

648 Team Scotland
Day1: 224 Euan Walker 72, Jim Johnston 76, Kieran Cantley 76
Day 2: 211 Euan Walker 67, Jim Johnston 70, Kieran Cantley 74
Day 3: 213 Euan Walker 67, Jim Johnston 70, Kieran Cantley 76