Ekurhuleni widens gap at SA U-13 Champs
Thanks to the courageous efforts of Zamokuhle Nxasana, Christopher Bagnall, Nash de Klerk, Kiera Floyd and Hunter Walker, Ekurhuleni is in the driver’s seat and just 18 holes away from a hat-trick of wins in the Nomads SA Under-13 Championship.
The young team powered to a 43 stroke lead in Wednesday’s second round at Killarney Country Club and it would take a minor miracle to prevent the two-time champions from a hat-trick of victories on Thursday.
Nxasana set the tone for the team for a second successive day with an even-par 72. Bagnall carded 73, De Klerk returned 75 and Floyd 76, while Walker posted 83 for a second round total of 379.
Poised at the top on 768, Ekurhuleni is virtually guaranteed a third successive visit to the winner’s circle. Only something incredibly special from Central Gauteng or Gauteng North could change the outcome, but their scores on Wednesday will not cause the Ekurhuleni team too much concern.
Central Gauteng posted 405 to finish at 811, while Gauteng North – who shaved 10 shots off their opening score with a second round 403 – still lag a further six shots behind in third at 816.
Surprisingly, Ekurhuleni’s charges were not among the two players who managed to break par on day two.
That honour belonged to Amilkar Bhana from Central Gauteng, who fired a three-under-par 71 and Gabrielle Venter from Free State, who signed for a two under 71.
Bhana began his round on the back nine and turned over, but he boxed birdie putts at four, five, seven and nine for his 69 and pole position at even-par 144 in the Individual Competition.
He leads by three from Nxasana and is five shots clear of team mate Hannes Strooh, whose 75 saw the first round leader slip to third.
Venter, who opened with an 84, rocketed to ninth at the 36-hole mark after mixing two birdies and an eagle with three bogeys.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
768 Ekurhuleni 389 379
811 Central Gauteng 406 405
816 Gauteng North 413 403
819 Western Province 421 398
824 North West 421 403
839 Free State 437 402
859 Southern Cape 444 415
872 Border 440 432
894 Boland Golf 469 425
906 Northern Cape 465 441
965 Mpumalanga 499 466
997 Limpopo Golf 513 484
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – TOP 20
144 Amilkar Bhana 75 69
147 Zamokuhle Nxasana 75 72
149 Hannes Strooh 74 75
151 Christopher Bagnall 78 73
153 Franco Gericke 78 75; Nash de Klerk 78 75; Ivan Verster 77 76; Kiera Floyd 77 76
155 Gabrielle Venter 84 71
157 Caden Chuang 78 79
158 Rorisang (Jnr) Nkosi 87 71; Matthew Keagan Dennis 79 79
160 Lyle Roche Pedro 84 76; Cameron Gray 82 78
163 George Delport 86 77; Jaydon Liddell 83 80; Ockert Brits 80 83
164 Conrad Loubser 84 80; Hunter Walker 81 83
165 Henry Juan Human 87 78; Corne Pieters 86 79; Hughes Agib 86 79; Divan Mostert 84 81
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.