GolfRSA names teams for All-Africa Junior

4 February 2018 – GolfRSA named seven of South Africa’s leading juniors to the two teams that will defend the country’s Girls and Boys titles in the 2018 All-Africa Junior Golf Championship from 6 – 9 March in Morocco.

The 72-hole championship, which annually draws the cream of junior golf across the African continent, will be contested at the Royal Dar Es Salam Golf Course in Rabat.

“The South African Boys teams have a very proud record in this world-class tournament with 19 consecutive victories since 1994,” said GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn.

“Historically, the winners of the All-Africa Junior Golf Championship qualified for the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan. With the inclusion of a Girls Competition in this team event, the African Golf Confederation (AGC) introduced a Girls Competition in last year’s All-Africa Junior Golf Championship and the two competitions were played simultaneously for the first time last year.

“Our first SA Girls team was Kajal Mistry, Kaleigh Telfer and Symone Henriques, who guaranteed a double celebration for South Africa with a convincing victory in Zimbabwe. Kajal also shot two course records in four rounds at Royal Harare Golf Club to lift the Girls Individual title.

“We are extremely pleased to give our leading juniors the opportunity to compete against the best juniors in Africa and we wish both teams success in this year’s championship.”

Womens Golf South Africa President Sally Greasley confirmed that Mistry – the country’s top ranked senior and number two ranked junior – will return for duty alongside fellow Gauteng golfer Henriques, while Caitlyn Macnab from Ekurhuleni will make her first appearance for South Africa.

“We have chosen the most in-form trio to fly the flag for South Africa in Morocco,” said Greasley.

“Kajal maintained her number two ranking while Symone moved to third in the junior rankings last year. Caitlyn rose to fourth after an outstanding season that included victories in the Ekurhuleni Women’s Open and the Champion of Champions at Glendower.

“Kajal and Symone both learned a lot from the Toyota Junior World Cup last year and Kajal also gained some fantastic experience recently in the Annika Invitational USA, where she finished top six in a very strong international field. We are confident that they are up to the task.”

The South African Golf Association (SAGA) named 2017 Reply Italian U-16 champion Martin Vorster from Southern Cape, Werner Deyzel from Gauteng North and Western Province duo Ayden Senger and reigning Southern Cape Open champion Deon Germishuys to hunt down South Africa’s 20th successive title.

“The All-Africa Junior Golf Championship represents a very exciting opportunity for us to give juniors on the rise a chance to test themselves against the top talents from Africa,” said SAGA President Geoff Taylor.

“Martin will be making his national debut in the SA Junior team at the upcoming African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Glendower next month, while Deon, Werner and Ayden are all new caps. All four players performed consistently well in 2017 and thorough deserve this opportunity and we are eager to see how they represent themselves in an event of this stature.”

Greasley will accompany the SA Girls teams and GolfRSA Manager Golf Operations Eden Thompson will travel with the SA Boys team.

The All-Africa Junior Golf Championship is integral to the AGC’s efforts to promote the sport at grassroots level and SAGA Vice-President Naadir Agherdien, in his capacity as the Vice-President South, will also travel to Morocco, as well as GolfRSA National Squad sport psychologist Theo Bezuidenhout will also make the trip to Morocco.