Record low score wins golf champs

The 19th annual Prince’s Grant National Amateur Invitational (PGNAIT), held from May 4-6, saw some of South Africa’s future top professional golfers play red hot golf.

Centurion Country Club’s Andrew van der Knaap destroyed the field with rounds of 70, 68, 65 and 71 to win the tournament on 14 under par 274, equaling the tournament record set by current Sunshine Tour professional Brandon Stone in 2012.

“I scored below par on all the par fives, made par on the par fours and missed only about six fairways all week,” said Van der Knaap.

He said the course played really nicely, however the greens were tough to read because of the grain that had a very big influence on the pace of the greens.

This was Van der Knaap’s first amateur tournament and he viewed his success as a sign that hard work pays off.

He said Stone (one of his best friends) told him after the first round over the phone that he was good enough to win and he should forget about the golf, believe in himself and go win the tournament.

Gauteng North’s Teagan Gauche took an early lead on day one, walking off the 18th with a magnificent five under par 67. But with further rounds of 72, 74 and 75, Gauche finished on level par 288, only holding on to fourth place.

Gauteng North’s Philip Kruse took second place over Central Gauteng’s Rupert Kaminski in a count out after both finished the tournament on two under par 286.

Past winners of the PGNAIT include accomplished professional golfers like Charle Schwartzel (2002), JBE Kruger (2005) and Brandon Stone (2011 and 2012).

Day one of the tournament is traditionally a celebrity day which sees two amateurs team up with two celebrities, playing in a fourball alliance for honors in the Hugh Baiocchi Challenge (The amateurs’ individual scores count towards their overall results).

The team of Malcolm Mitchell, Tom Watson and Debbi and Mark Meyer won this competition with 91 points, one point better than runners-up Philip Kruse, Clayton Mansfield, Angela Starkey and Mark van Niekerk.

In third place on 89 points were Andre Nel, Albert Venter, Vaughn Baptiste and Anton Visagie.