Southbroom golfer provides silver lining at interzone tournament
They didn't win but still enjoyed the trip.
Jan Nqoko has had the golfing week of his life, with it culminating in his selection for the KZN Country Districts team.
The Southbroom golfer, who works at the club as a caddy was a member of the Southern KZN team that played at the Interzone tournament at Prince’s Grant last weekend.
The Southern KZN team finished in second place behind Ilembe Golf Federation, which was a bitter pill to swallow, so Jan’s selection gave them something to celebrte.
Cameron Olivant was also selected for the team, this his second year.
Jan won three out of his four singles matches. On the last day he was promoted up the order to see how he would fare against Northern KZN’s number one player.
He took Lusanda Zondi all the way to the 18th, which was no small achievement. Jan was three under par for his round when he lost.
It was enough for the selectors to decide he was good enough to gain selection for the SA Country Districts Week, which will be held in Limpopo in September.
Jan’s story is an inspiration in that he has only been playing this level of golf in recent times, having initially been brought into Southbroom’s league side.
His teammates were delighted for him. “We are very happy for Jan. He had a wonderful tournament. He has a positive attitude on the golf course and enjoys going for his shots,” said Southbroom veteran Gavin Sole.
The chance to play in a national tournament is really something special and no doubt he will be looking forward to it.
Meanwhile, junior Cameron Olivant also had a good tournament, winning the strokeplay champs on the Friday and securing three wins and a half in the singles. He was named as the MVP of the tournament.
Skzn won the morning round of the strokeplay and then shared first place with Ilembe Golf Federation in the afternoon.
To say it howled a gale would be putting it mildly.
Scores were horrendous and it was a case of survival. Cameron won the strokeplay on a score of 76 and 79. Gavin was third on 77 and 80.
This was on a day where quite a few players had scores in the upper 90s and 100s. One player made an 18 on the par five 15th hole. He was almost outdone by another player, in his three-ball, who made 16.
Thankfully, the wind calmed down for the matchplay over the next two days.
The result against Ilembe would decide the title, which Skzn lost 4,5-3,5 in a hard-fought battle.
In the other games they beat Zululand, East Griqualand and Northern KZN with relative ease.
Members of the Southern KZN team were Jean-Marc Bouic (Southbroom – captain), Cameron Olivant (Port Shepstone), Gavin Sole (Southbroom), Jan McDermott (Umdoni Park), Marno Langeveldt (Selborne Park), Jan Nqoko (Southbroom), Tiaan Bekker (Selborne Park) and Cyprian Xolo (Southbroom).
The KZN Country Districts team comprises: Andre Smit (Ilembe – captain), Cameron Olivant (Southern KZN), Walter Leibrandt (Zululand), Basha Pauls (East Griqualand), Lusanda Zondi (Northern KZN), Brad Bumberry (Ilembe), Terence Hope (Ilembe) and Jan Nqoko (Southern KZN).
* League soon
In other Skzn news, the next round of the league will be played at Umdoni Park on August 23. Round four will be at Margate CC on September 6 and the final round at Selborne Park on September 20.
The Southern KZN Open will be played at Selborne Park on November 29, so watch the press for details on this.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
