IT might be time to give Gavin Sole a new nickname, as Big Fish may no longer be telling the whole truth.
After the announcement of the KwaZulu-Natal team at Kloof Country Club last week Sunday, which Sole will again captain, one wag quipped that he should now be called ‘Coelacanth’.
Sole will (hopefully) see the funny side of that.
At 45 years old, he is more than two decades older than the next player. Maybe even a bit more.
He is also a veteran of 15 interprovincial tournaments – two in the ’90s, five for Limpopo from 2001 to 2005, and an unbroken run for KZN since 2007.
Next best are Malcolm Mitchell, Matt Saulez and Siyanda Mwandla, who have all played exactly one each.
The trio will be making their second trip to an IPT.
There will be four rookies this year, namely Aneurin Gounden, Greg McKay, Luke Mayo and Clayton Mansfield.
Saulez, Gounden, McKay and Mayo are all still at school, the others only a couple of years out.
Reserve Jason Broomhead is also still in school.
The announcement of the came after the rain-shortened KZN Closed, which was won by Mitchell over 54 holes.
His three round score of +3 was good enough to win by two from Combrinck Smit (Vryheid) and Dale Burraston (Mount Edgecombe).
The weather certainly made life challenging for the players.
Mitchell was playing steadily on the Saturday until a double bogey on the 3rd in the afternoon.
“I told my dad (Peter) who was caddying for me that it wasn’t a crisis, that there was still lots of golf left,” he said.
He said that while it was cold and wet on day one, that the wind really decided to pitch up on the Sunday.
For example, on the tough par four 10th, Mitchell hit a 3-wood off the tee and followed it up with another 3-wood to the green. And was still 30m short.
This from one of the longest hitters on the KZN circuit.
He felt the turning point had come the afternoon before, where he hit a hybrid shot on the 17th to ‘give’ – a tap in eagle.
“That gave me the confidence going into the final round,” he said.
Mitchell was also pleased with the team chosen. “It’s almost the same team that dominated the U23 IPT last year. They are very dedicated and worthy players,” he said.
Sole, meanwhile, was looking forward to taking his young charges into battle at the IPT at Glendower from September 21 to 25.
Despite becoming famous for the phrase ‘this is definitely my last year’ the competitive fire still burns and Sole still enjoys taking on the best amateurs in the country.
Team: Gavin Sole (Southbroom), Aneurin Gounden, Luke Mayo, Greg McKay and Siyanda Mwandla (all Mount Edgecombe), Clayton Mansfield and Matt Saulez (both Durban CC), and Malcolm Mitchell (Howick).
Reserve: Jason Broomhead (Durban CC). Manager: Ivan Curlewis.
* The annual KZN Mid-Amateur Champs will be played at Durban Country Club this Sunday, followed by the announcement of the KZN team to play in the IPT in East London in October.
