Broomhead sweeps to victory at ‘Battle of Umdoni’

It was a brutal day for golf last Sunday and the players who entered the Southern KwaZulu-Natal Open, played at Umdoni Park, were certainly put to a test of skill, fitness and sheer bloody-minded tenacity.

And for most, that was just to get to the clubhouse in one piece after two rounds, never mind play a career-best round.

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In the end it was Jason Broomhead (Durban Country Club) who triumphed on Umdoni’s scenic but very hilly layout.

Broomhead is not a big guy, but he has the heart of a lion… and a calm demeanour on the course.

He hardly seemed to raise a sweat on a hot day where the wind was already blowing hard at 6.30am.

He shot 75 and 72 to edge out his younger brother Jonathan (who goes into grade 12 at Westville Boys’ High next year) and Jason Gilliver (Selborne Park), who won last month’s Maritzburg Open.

Along the way he displayed some clean hitting combined with excellent recovery work from some awkward lies.

Broomhead had a chance to finish it on the last hole with a 10 foot birdie putt but it stayed out.

Gilliver then had a chance to push it into extra time with a putt about an inch shorter, but it too stayed out.

Broomhead has now won three titles in the province, with this one to go along with the KZN Invitation and David Suddards Trophy in previous years.

The younger Broomhead won the club champs at Durban Country Club this year and also seems destined to do some special things in his golf.

What was nice to see on the day was the support the three received from family and friends who came out to watch.

What wasn’t so great were the number of no-shows… players who were in the draw but just didn’t bother pitching to play. No phone call, nothing.

With such a strong wind, there were always going to be some interesting numbers posted.

Tom Lovett (Prince’s Grant), who eventually finished fourth, had a quadruple bogey seven on the short 3rd in the afternoon.

“Ballooned an 8-iron, ballooned another 8-iron. The hole is only about 120 metres, shouldn’t be that difficult,” he laughed afterwards.

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To his credit he fought back to shoot 73.

Not everyone had his staying power and there were eight ‘no returns’ on the day.

One player limped off with a knee injury, another with a sprained wrist, yet another with a bee sting to the thumb.

Another competitor played the wrong ball and disqualified himself, while a few others either ran out of balls or had a sense of humour failure.

In some ways it was ‘US Open tough’ with ‘British Open wind’.

In the end, those that actually finished can be proud of their efforts.

Ganas Naicker (Amorello) kept a cool head to win the B division for the third time in four years, with Eugene Mbambo not far behind.

On a lighter note, ‘Longest (and possibly fastest) Drive’ of the day went to Cato Ridge’s Tim Chisale, Mike Hlongwa and Sabelo Mkhize who made it to the course in the nick of time, having gone via Margate Country Club, where they mistakenly thought the tournament was.

Top 10:

147 Jason Broomhead 75 72

148 Jason Gilliver 75 73

148 Jonathan Broomhead 75 73

150 Tom Lovett 77 73

151 Lindani Mthiyane 77 74

152 Cedric Kunene 76 76

153 Patrick Mavundla 74 79

155 Grant Olivier 77 78

156 Graham Fabricius 78 78

157 Brad Grant 79 78

157 Cyprian Xolo 79 78

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