Daisies go all the way at Nomads SA Under-13 Champs

 

MODIMOLLE, 5 October 2018 – Gauteng North showed huge heart in the face of adversity to celebrate an uncontested runaway victory in the Nomads SA Under-13 Championship at Koro Creek Bushveld Golf Estate on Thursday.

One man down for a second successive day, the five remaining players posted a final round 391 to win by 25 shots from Western Province on a 54-hole team total of 1188.

The Junior Daisies not only lifted the team trophy, but also enjoyed a one-two finish in the Individual Competition. Dujuan Snyman took gold and Fabrizio de Abreu banked silver.

Over the three days of the tight competition, Snyman, De Abreu, Vian Jansen van Vuuren, Raymond van Niekerk, Zinan Maimane and William Reyneke demonstrated the resolve of a team determined to finish on top.

“After we opened with 393 to finish in second, five shots behind North West, we lost William, who went down with bronchitis,” explained team manager Morne Engelbrecht.

“That left us without the luxury of a sixth player for the rest of the tournament, but the team pulled together and dug deep for a second round 404 that took us to the top of the team leaderboard.”

Gauteng North started the final round with a nine shot cushion over Western Province.

“After extremely hot weather on day two, it was really nice to start the final round in cold conditions with a light breeze blowing,” said Engelbrecht. “Watching the players warm up, I saw focus and concentration and I knew we would have a good day.

“Our youngest member, Zinan, carded an 85. Raymond shot 82 and Vian 80 to keep us ahead of Western Province. Fabrizio, who wasn’t quite on form over the first two days, bounced back with a one-over 73 and Dujuan took us to the finish line with a superb one-under 71.

“Every youngster played to the best of their ability on the final day. Watching from a distance, I couldn’t be more proud of the way this team fought for every single shot out there and the way they played for each other to guarantee the win.

“I am incredibly proud of every player who stood up to be counted after William got sick. They didn’t back off from the challenge, but pulled together and showed incredible team spirit and heart. We are really proud to be the new Nomads SA Under-13 champions.

“Thank you to Nomads South Africa for your generosity in hosting an event of this stature to give our young, rising stars a platform to showcase their talent, and to GolfRSA’s David and Bruce Younge, who ran another fantastic event for our juniors.”

Snyman carded rounds of 71, 78 and 71 to claim the Individual Competition on four-over 220.

The 11-year-old finished five shots clear of fellow Woodhill junior De Abreu, who registered rounds of 75, 77 and 73. First round leader Janko van der Merwe from North West closed with a 78 to finish in third on his own on 228. Marno Lange from Ekurhuleni took fourth on 230, with fellow Serengeti junior Tyron Groenveld a further two shots adrift in fifth.

Team Result
1188 Gauteng North 393 404 391
1213 Western Province 395 411 407
1233 North West 388 429 416
1241 Ekurhuleni 405 416 420
1275 Central Gauteng 417 430 428
1282 KZN 410 436 436
1297 Border 432 429 436
1303 Boland 427 448 428
1442 Northern Cape 482 486 474
1477 Mpumalanga 491 486 500

Individual Result – Top 20
220 Dujuan Snyman 71 78 71
225 Fabrizio de Abreu 75 77 73
228 Janko van der Merwe 69 81 78
230 Marno Lange 73 79 78
232 Tyron Groenveld 74 76 82
236 Conrad Loubser 74 82 80
238 Grant Labuschagne 81 82 75; Caden Chuang 74 84 80
241 Pearce Nash Lewin 81 79 81; Wihandre Kruger 75 82 84
242 Vian Jansen van Vuuren 80 82 80
243 Sebastian Render 78 85 80
244 Dian Johan Kruger 79 88 77; Reinhardt Uys 77 86 81
245 Jaden Munsamy 77 82 86
246 Jaydon Galant 87 78 81; Jason Brooks 80 82 84
247 Nicolas van der Vyver 81 86 80
248 Jordyn Peyper 81 80 87
249 Ryan Melville 74 90 85

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA.