Lara is the favourite to pick up the Rose Bowl this week at Pearl Valley
After her nine stroke landslide victory at the KwaZulu Natal Stroke Play Championships played last weekend, 17-year old Lara Weinstein must be a firm favourite to pick up the coveted Nomads SA Girls’ Rose Bowl at Pearl Valley Golf Estate next week. The 2011 winner, Kim Daniels is pictured here with the trophy.
Lara is enjoying an excellent season in her final school year after indifferent golf in 2011. In January, she won the Western Province Junior Championship and was runner-up in the Boland Junior Championship. February saw her victorious in the Border Championship and she became the first girl finalist in the Glacier Junior Series since its launch in 2010. And in March she won the SA KeNako Juniors, an international junior tournament played at Kingswood Golf Estate.
Other players expected to do well are Boland’s Bianca Theron from Kuils River Golf Club, Cara Gorlei from Milnerton, Izel Pieters from Sabi River Bungalows and Michaela Fletcher from Maritzburg.
The number of South Korean juniors playing golf in South Africa is growing and many are appearing on the winner’s rostrum. Names to watch out for at Pearl Valley are Carrie Park, Ji Sun Kang, Se Young Chun and eleven-year old Woo-Ju Son, now playing off a five handicap.
Women’s Golf South Africa was very fortunate that the spectacular Pearl Valley Golf Estate offered to host the Rose Bowl and despite most of the players having to bear the costs themselves, there is a great entry of 95 girls, 43 of whom have single figure handicaps.
Many parents will be accompanying their daughters to Pearl Valley and looking forward seeing the Jack Nicklaus course that they have heard so much about.
The Nomads need a special mention as they are great supporters of junior golf in South Africa. Having sponsored the Nomads SA Girls’ Championship for many years, this year they have come on board the SA Girls’ Rose Bowl and it is thanks to their sponsorship that WGSA is able to bring many disadvantaged players to this event, covering all their expenses.
The tournament includes 54 holes stroke play in two divisions for players with 18 handicaps or below and a stableford competition, also in two divisions, for players with handicaps of 19 to 32. There will also be a 16 and under, 14 and under and 12 and under championship for the girls playing stroke play.
This junior girls championship was first played in 1984 and run by the Junior Golf Foundation until 2010 when Women’s Golf South Africa took it over. Since then the number of participants has grown dramatically.
The championship tees off on Monday 2 April at 7am and the prize giving will be at approximately 2 pm on Tuesday, enabling girls to fly back home that afternoon.