Teenage upstart claims his maiden club championship title

Rich history is painstakingly earned and key to that success is having a strong conveyor belt of talent.

Beautiful weekend sunshine and an immaculately prepared course greeted golfers for the 2021 CMR Club Championships, 13 and 14 March. The shadows of the Van As brothers would not stretch over the course this year, meaning there would be a new name on this year’s trophy. While Marc still runs the club’s Pro Shop, he opted out of playing this year, and defending champion Merrick has chosen to further his career elsewhere.

Cue the moment when the carefully cultivated crop of youngsters would grab their chance to shine. A total of 75 players completed the two-day event and of the nine junior competitors spread across the A and B divisions, three would dominate the scorecard. “Six years ago, CMR Golf Club introduced an aggressive junior development programme. Over the past four years we have seen the juniors progress and two teams excel in the Central Gauteng Golf Union league,” said club chairperson, Winston Smith.

Raahil Bhika, at just 14 years old, won the B division to replicate his 2020 winter performance. Similarly, 16-year-old Kael Strydom would also match his 2020 showing, finishing second in the A division by an agonising single shot. Kael would make ground on the eventual winner in his Sunday round, but 17-year-old Kayle Wykes’ consistency over the two days would earn him his first CMR Club Championship title.

Rose Smith would be crowned the ladies champion, and there was a special mention for Goolam Richards, who was again the oldest player on the course at 93 years of age. Winston closed out the medal ceremony, saying, “A special thank you goes out to club manager Natasha Pretorius, for organising another great tournament. To the Penquip team for the great course condition and to the bar, halfway and Pro Shop staff and all the caddies, we appreciate all the hard work you’ve put into making this another successful championships.”