Mea Swart wins Junior Classic as the only girl in the field
Mea Swart made history as the only girl in the Emole Junior Classic, winning by one shot at the Polokwane Golf Club.
POLOKWANE – Mea Swart claimed a remarkable victory at the Emole Polokwane Junior Classic held at the Polokwane Golf Club on July 15-16.
Swart, notably the only girl in the tournament, won the event with a score of 151, narrowly edging out first-round leader Morgan Allison by a single shot.
Both players are teenagers from Polokwane.
The tournament was open to junior golfers under the age of 19 and drew a competitive field of 47 players, all holding official handicaps.
Tournament director and provincial coach for the South African Golf Development Board, Mike Baylis, praised the event as one of the strongest junior competitions in Limpopo in recent years.
“It’s the first time in many years we’ve had the best junior golfers in the province go head-to-head in a tournament dedicated to juniors,” he said.
The tournament also featured an u/12 division, which Baylis described as “very competitive”.
Kamogelo Kekana of Zebediela won this category with a score of 86, followed by fellow Zebediela golfer Hlelo Mlisa on 98. In the B division, Magnificent Mahlakwane of Phalaborwa took the top spot with 175, while Karabo Luphondo, also from Phalaborwa, was runner-up on 180.
After the tournament, junior players remained in Polokwane for training and to participate in a North vs South junior challenge.
“We have eight juniors from the north, places like Polokwane, Tzaneen, and Phalaborwa, playing against southern juniors from Mokopane, Groblersdal and Modimolle,” Baylis explained.
He encouraged more junior golfers to join local clubs to access opportunities and improve their game through formal competition structures.
