Local golf players excel at SA Amateur Championships
Local players performed brilliantly at the South African Amateur Golf Championships at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club this past week and with a little luck, two players from Pretoria can be crowned with championship titles during the weekend.
Pretoria is assured of at least one title at this weekend’s South African Amateur Golf Championships, while a second title is also a possibility.
The stage is set for the finals of the championships, with three mouth-watering 36-hole matches to look forward to that will determine the country’s champions of the year at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s East Course.
With two local players in the final of the women’s Flight Division, this title will definitely come to Pretoria, while one of the city’s rising stars will also be involved in the final of the men’s division.
* In the men’s event, top seed Jack Dyer continued his sublime form as he crushed Randpark’s Conner Mackenzie 6 & 5 in the quarter finals, with the Englishman at 7 under par when the pair shook hands on the 13th hole.
He then beat GolfRSA No 1-ranked Martin Vorster in a clash between two of the pre-tournament favourites.
The England Golf Men’s A-Squad member will come up against one of the rising stars in South African golf in 17-year-old Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies) learner, Christiaan Maas, who edged Jonathan Broomhead 2&1 in the quarter final and Kieron van Wyk 2&1 in the semi-final.
“I knew I needed start off strong because Kieron has been playing so well these last few weeks on the SA Swing,” said the GolfRSA National Squad member, who came out firing against Van Wyk, recording six birdies in his first eight holes to take a 4-up lead.
He then held on as Van Wyk rallied, eventually signing for a 2 & 1 win.
Photo: Supplied
The Pretoria Country Club youngster has gathered momentum as the tournament has progressed and has only recorded two bogeys since the second round of the tournament – to go with 24 birdies.
He has a good idea of what he needs to do to have any chance of beating the in-form Englishman tomorrow.
“My game plan won’t change tomorrow. I’ll go out there and try to make as many birdies as possible,” said Maas.
* In the Women’s Flight Division, 13-year-old Zané Kleynhans (Centurion Country Club) will go head-to-head with 31-year-old Charlene Oosthuizen (Waterkloof Golf Club) and both Pretoria golfers were brimming with delight at the prospect of playing in their first 36-hole final.
Kleynhans was made to work for her spot. She birdied the 16th to go 2-up on Lauren Clough and pars on the next two holes was good enough to secure a 1 up win. Her semi-final match against Zara le Keur was an even tougher affair.
Oosthuizen, who made her debut in the SA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in October last year, had just one goal this year and that was to reach the match play stage.
She spoiled Paola Sakota’s bid of playing the final on her home course, when she knocked out the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington junior 3 & 2 in the quarter-finals. In the afternoon, she edged Nicole Strydom from Benoni Lake with a birdie on the 16th hole to win the match 1-up.
* In the Women’s Senior Event, top seed and recent SA Women’s Stroke Play winner Megan Streicher (Southern Cape) will face defending champion Caitlyn Macnab (Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate in Ekurhuleni).
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: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
