Local golfers claim second successive Gauteng Championship title
Two local golf stars made history this past weekend by successfully defending their title in the Gauteng team championship.
Two local golf stars, JC Ritchie and Jaco Prinsloo, made history this past weekend when they claimed the 2020 Gauteng Team Championship hosted by Dainfern, becoming the first team to defend this title since its inception in 2018.
Ritchie and Prinsloo signed for a tournament total of 25-under-par 191 to claim a two-stroke victory over the team Jaco Ahlers and Vaughn Groenewald after rounds of 61, 68 and 62.
The due, both affiliated with The Els Copperleaf Golf Club in Centurion came into the final round leading by a single stroke at 15-under-par. A bogey on the first hole marked a shaky start for the defending champions but what followed next was nothing short of spectacular.
“We are very chuffed to have defended this title. I think we were expecting a little bit of a charge from the guys who were coming behind us. But we played brilliantly together as a team after a tough struggle at the start. But we are happy we managed to turn on the fireworks and bring it home,” said Ritchie after the tournament.
The bogey they made on the first hole was quickly forgotten as they made birdie on the next hole.
Two pars later something clicked. Five consecutive birdies followed as they turned in 31 but that was not the end of it. A birdie on the 10th was quickly followed by an eagle on the 12th hole. Then birdies on the 17th and the 18th holes sealed the victory for Prinsloo and Ritchie.
“After a good stretch of holes bringing back a bad start, that eagle really settled us down, giving us a nice cushion to play the last six holes with,” continued Ritchie.
Prinsloo was equally ecstatic to become part of only the first team to successfully defend this title.
“The conditions today were similar to yesterday’s because we started with the umbrellas out because it was raining. It was tough but I just took a back seat and watched JC play the golf course the way it should be played. We are really happy with this win,” Prinsloo said.
The first round of this exciting tournament was a betterball format, the second round was foursomes while the final round was also a betterball.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
