Loubser surprises at Nomads SA Boys Match Play
Ekurhuleni’s Tristen Strydom made a big move towards the double at the Nomads SA Boys U-19 Championship, but the Stroke Play champion could be in for a tough quarter-final tussle in the Match Play Championship at Umhlali Country Club on Friday.
Strydom is facing 14-year-old Boland youngster, Herman Loubser.
After he downed Noel Anderson 2 & 1 in the first round, Loubser scored a massive scalp when he knocked out the country’s number two ranked junior, Kyle McClatchie, 3 & 2.
The Boland player’s family returned to South Africa in January after more than a decade in the United Kingdom. In his first start on South African soil, the reigning Isle of Man Under-18 Boys Champion won the Nomads SA Boys U-15 Championship by six strokes.
A top six finish in the Stroke Play, combined with a huge second round victory, could see Loubser give the newly minted Stroke Play champion a run for his money.
Meanwhile Strydom rode a wave of confidence to knock out David McIntyre 4 & 3 in the first round and defeat Dylan Mostert at the 18th in the second.
The country’s top three ranked juniors also reached the quarter-final unscathed.
SA number one Jovan Rebula knocked out David Meyers from Dainfern 2 & 1 and downed Luca Filippi from Milnerton 3 & 2.
The Southern Cape golfer will go up against Ekurhuleni’s Paul Boshoff, who dispatched Rupert Kaminski 5 & 3 after defeating Gregory McKay at the 19th.
SA number two Altin van der Merwe set up a quarter-final meeting with number three, Hennie du Plessis.
Van der Merwe from Western Province defeated Nicholaus Frade 2 & 1 in the first round and Cyril Botha 3 & 1 in round two, while Limpopo’s Du Plessis got past Marco Steyn 2 & 1 and knocked out Matt Saulez 5 & 4.
Gauteng North pair, Keegan de Lange and Juan-Pierre Cooper, will face off in the final match.
De Lange defeated Keelan van Wyk 2 & 1 and Luke Trocado 2-Up, while Cooper took care of Albert Venter 4 & 2 and knocked out Rosswell Sinclair 4 & 3 to reach the final eight.