North Coast junior golfers dominated the KZN Nomads U19 A Division Trophy, with four locals finishing in the top five at Mt Edgecombe.

Contested over 36 holes, the strong North Coast showing saw four of the top five finishers emerge from Simbithi, Umhlali and Zimbali Country Club, while an impressive 11 local golfers finished inside the top 20 at Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate’s The Woods course on April 25 and 26.

Zimbali Country Club’s Harry Clayton (-1) produced a composed performance to finish just one stroke behind tournament champion Jamie Smith of Kloof Country Club. Callum Lingley (+1) of Umhlali Country Club secured third place, followed by Jake Cronje (+4) from Simbithi Country Club in fourth. Dylan Bezuidenhout (+6) of Umhlali rounded out the top five.

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Zimbali’s depth was further underlined, with Nicholas Ullyett (+8) finishing tied sixth and Santiago dos Santos (+9) placing tied ninth. Just outside the top 10 were Umhlali pair Matthew Smith (+11) and Callan Oldreive (+12).

Simbithi’s 14-year-old female golfer Taylor Hope (+14) achieved a notable 15th-place finish among the otherwise all-boys A Division field, while Daniel Samuelson ended 16th. Kyle Waller (+22) finished tied 20th to cap off an excellent weekend for the region’s junior golfers.

Adding to the developmental value of the event, Ballito-based Sunshine Tour professionals Gerhard Pepler and Rourke van der Spuy spent Sunday playing alongside the juniors. Pepler teed off from the first hole, with Van der Spuy starting on the 10th, each joining every four-ball for three holes to offer guidance, advice and encouragement during competitive play.

“It was really great to play alongside the KZN juniors,” said Pepler, who this month relocated to Ballito from Pretoria.

“The future of South African golf looks very promising with the amount of talent on display. I was especially impressed by the etiquette and maturity shown by the players, as well as the high standard of golf.”

Van der Spuy, who recently moved to Salt Rock and grew up playing these tournaments, echoed those sentiments.

“I was impressed with the all-round quality from our local players,” he said.

“It was nostalgic for me. It felt great to give back to the sport.”