Floyd and Steenkamp crowned the ultimate club champions

9 November 2021 – South Africa’s No 2-ranked Kiera Floyd stormed to a sensational victory in the GolfRSA Champion of Champions tournament at Kyalami Country Club, while 2017 champion Bertie Steenkamp held his nerve to claim a second title in the Men’s A Division.

Floyd, who reeled in three provincial victories since August, followed up her opening round of 74 with a stunning second round of 69 that saw her blow away the competition to win the Women’s A-Division by 10 strokes over first round leader Bronwyn Leigh Doeg from Pretoria Country Club.

No 1-ranked Isabella van Rooyen, who plays out of Clovelly, finished in third, a further three shots back.

After lifting the trophy, the 17-year-old Ebotse club champion admitted that a change in attitude saw her come out with a fresh approach in the final round.

“Yesterday’s weather wasn’t great, and I grew a bit impatient, which really showed up in my putting. I hit 16 greens in regulation, but I got frustrated when I couldn’t sink anything,” she said. “Today I managed to stay patient and stay in the moment. I wasn’t thinking about winning, I just concentrated on each shot and I’m very happy to have come out on top.

“This is a huge win for me, because there is always such a strong field at the Champion of Champions Final. I’ve worked really hard on my game this year and I am absolutely delighted to get another big title under the belt.”

In the B Division, Mooinooi’s Madie Badenhorst claimed a narrow win over Standerton’s Patrizia Barnard, while Killarney’s Jessica Bennett claimed the honours in the C Division, winning by six points over Isabella Heber from King David Mowbray.

The Men’s A Division came down to a two-horse race between Upington’s Bertie Steenkamp, the 2017 champion, and Cole Cruickshank from Royal Cape.

Steenkamp opened with a 73 and Cruickshank – back competing on the country’s amateur circuit this year after graduating Columbus State University – was three shots adrift at the start of the final round.

The Capetonian narrowed the gap to one shot and had a chance to force a play-off when Steenkamp missed a 10-footer for birdie on the final hole. His birdie effort slid past the hole, though, and ultimately it was Steenkamp who held his nerve for a one-shot win at +5.

“It was tough out there today. I was pulling the ball left all day, so that put pressure on my short game, and I needed to chip and putt well today,” Steenkamp commented after registering a final round 76.

“I am extremely proud to have my name on that trophy again. When you think about having to win your Club Champs, then the regional final and then to beat a seriously strong field of players in the final, it is a real honour to be standing here as the Club Champion of Champions. I really hope I get to shoot for the hat-trick next year.”

In the B Division, Schoeman Park’s Tokkie van der Westhuizen came from eight strokes back to beat overnight leader Glen Wynne from Polokwane, while Steenberg’s Jürgen Erhart claimed the C Division on 69 points, winning by one stroke over Koro Kreek’s Ernest du Plessis.

GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn was pleased to be able to run a full series of events after having to cancel the 2020 tournament due to COVID-19.

“The 2021 GolfRSA Club Champion of Champions event has been a great success,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of people will focus on the winners of the A Division, but I want to congratulate the winners across all six divisions.

“The majority of golf across the world is not played by the elite players, but by golfers across a wide spectrum of handicaps and we want to celebrate the Club Champions across every division.

“My thanks must go to Paul Adams for the running the tournament so successfully and to the team at Kyalami for putting on a tremendous event.”

2021 CHAMPION of CHAMPIONS RESULTS
Gross – Men A-Division (top 10)
149 Bertie Steenkamp 73 76
150 Cole Cruickshank 76 74
152 Andries van Dyk 78 74
153 Dillon Germshuys 78 75
155 Calvin Maia 76 79
156 Filip Sakota 78 78; Hannes Strooh 78 78
158 Gary Daniel 77 81
160 Ben Jonas 77 83
165 Byron Williams 77 88

Gross – Ladies A-Division (top 10)
143 Kiera Floyd 74 69
153 Bronwyn Leigh Doeg 71 82
156 Isabella van Rooyen 75 81
157 Cara Ford 83 74
162 Liezl Smit 86 76
164 Demi Flanagan 85 79; Vanessa Smith 83 81
171 Ellandri van Heerden 85 86
175 Simone Ferreira 91 84
176 Desiree Earle 87 89

Gross – Men B-Division (top 10)
169 Tokkie van der Westhuizen. 89 80
172 Glen Wynne 81 91
176 Sergio Japhets 89 87
178 Carel Kritzinger 86 92
180 Mario Dias 94 86
186 Pieter Snr Fourie 94 92
188 Leroy Raynard 95 93
190 Mncedisi Lingani 100 90; Simon Kgwadi 89 101
191 Danie De Waal 94 97

 

Gross – Ladies B-Division (top 10)
178 Mandie Badenhorst 88 90
179 Patrizia Lombard 87 92
182 Luzan Esterhuizen 90 92
184 Erica Lefson 88 96
185 Helena Janse 94 91; Lynn Slogrove 93 92
186 Leslie Nienaber 91 95
197 Tracy Coetzer 97 100
203 Stephanie Pond 104 99
207 Ronel Basson 104 103

 

Stableford – Men C-Division (top 10)
69 Jürgen Erhart 33 36
68 Ernest Jansen du Plessis 31 37
65 Paul Haselau 28 37; Ferdinand Heuer 38 27
64 Stefan Els 35 29
63 Leslie Thomas Gordon 36 27
61 Leon Els 33 28
59 William du Plessis 29 30
55 Chris Shergold 24 31; Stanton Alberts 27 28

 

 

Stableford – Ladies C-Division (top 10)
67 Jessica Bennett 34 33
61 Isabella Lesley Heber 31 30
59 Joan Acutt 33 26
58 Marlize du Plessis 25 33
55 Sandy Terry 26 29; Lindy van der Vyver 29 26
52 Joslyn Geldenhuys 33 19
49 Andrea Kritzinger 26 23
48 Ebeth Meiring 26 22
47 Carol Dixon 20 27