Kang hits the front at Nomads SA Girls
Korea’s Ji Sun Kang took a commanding lead in the A-Division in round one of the prestigious Nomads SA Girls Championship, while 11-year-old Caitlyn McNab grabbed a share of the B-Division lead at Orkney Golf Club on Sunday.
The 17-year-old, who plays out of Atlantic Beach Golf Club, opened up a yawning four shot gap on her closest challenger, Carrie Park, with an opening three-under-par 69.
The Western Province player recently underlined her emerging form with a fifth place finish in the Individual Standings at the 72 Hole Teams Championship at Maccauvlei.
The day started quite chilly with frost, but the weather turned warm and so did Kang’s golf. On a course that looks “innocuous” and fools players into high expectations of low scoring, Kang was the only player to break par.
Kang birdied the fifth but immediately gave back the advantage with a bogey at the par-four sixth hole. She dipped back into red numbers, though, with birdies at the ninth, 11th and 18th.
Last year’s runner-up Park is three shots clear of the quartet who share third place on 76, including Jamie Lee Daniels from Eastern Cape, Gauteng’s Ivanna Samu, Cara Gorlei from Western Province and top ranked junior golfer Bianca Theron from Boland.
Lee, who was the youngest player in 2008, is playing in her sixth Nomads SA Girls at the ripe old age of 14!
Just a week ago, Park produced two counting rounds that helped Southdowns College to a second place finish in the Retief Goosen SA High School Championship and she showed the same grit and determination at Orkney to reverse the damage of five bogeys with birdies at the fourth, eighth, ninth and 17th for her 73.
Defending champion Michaela Fletcher from KwaZulu-Natal will start the second round eight shots off the pace and in a tie for seventh with Boland’s Bianca Lohbauer and Shawnelle de Lange from Gauteng after an opening 77.
Meanwhile McNab, who turned 11 this February, is one of the youngest entrants in this year’s championship. The Ekurhuleni golfer signed for an opening 11-over-par 83 to take pole position in the B-Division alongside Justine Botten from the Eastern Cape.
The pair leads by one from Gauteng’s Kaiyuree Moodley.