André de Kock, a Grade Seven learner of Laerskool Malelane, shone bright at the recent Nomads SA U13 Championship where he stood tall among some of the best young golfers in the country.

André was one of four budding golf stars from Mpumalanga selected to represent the province at the tournament, which was held at the stunning Magaliespark Country Club in Hartbeespoort. He competed alongside his teammates Janco Cronjé, Shalom Lebakeng-Magadla and Godfried Watermeyer between October 7 and 9.

Over the course of the three-day competition, André consistently proved he wasn’t just there to make up the numbers, but instead to compete as one of the top golfers taking part. He carded a six-over round of 78 on day one to find himself in tied-14th place on the leaderboard.

André showed that consistency is key and scored 78 once more in the second round to move up to tied-11th and within striking distance of a spot in the top 10. In the third and last round of the week, André pulled out all the stops and carded his best round of the week, ending with a five-over round of 77 to finish off his three days in Hartbeespoort.

Unfortunately, though it was his best round of the week, he remained just outside the top 10 and finished in tied-13th overall with a final score of +17 to his name. André can be immensely proud of his achievement, having shown he is one of South Africa’s top young golf talents by rubbing shoulders with the very best.