Michaela third in India

Michaela Fletcher, with a final round of 74, finished in 3rd position and the SA team were delighted that at least one of the South African’s was able to bring home a trophy from the 3rd Albatross Inernational Junior Championship played in New Delhi this week.

This event again clashed with a major girls event being held in Delhi, so the top Indian girls were missing. However, the competition was certainly still there, even if the winning score of 223 (+7) did not beat Lara Weinstein’s score last year of 219. The winner of the girls A Division was Moyu Sasaki who is a Japanese girl currently studying at the Hank Haney Junior Golf Academy in the United States. Michaela Fletcher played the final round with such determination, and we really thought she would catch the leading group. Unfortunately, her excellent final round of 74 (37, 37) was not enough and finished in third position. This was Kim Daniels second overseas trip, and she will have gained valuable experience.

Results of the South Africans were:-

Michaela Fletcher : 78 (40, 38); 78 (39, 39); 74 (37, 37) – 230

Kim Daniels : 83 (42, 41); 79 (41, 38); 79 (40, 39) – 241

Johann Germishuys : 79 (40, 39); 75 (39, 36); 82 (40, 42) – 236

Hayden Garcia: 85 (43, 42); 81 (42, 39); 77 (39, 38) – 243

Johann, who played solid golf in the second round, did not have a good day at the office on the final day. Nothing was working for him and he was disappointed to finish in 12th position. This was Hayden’s first trip abroad and he was playing in the B Division. What is somewhat different is that the categories are according to age, not handicap and each category plays off a different set of tees. So the length of the course for the A Division boys was 7114 yards, for the B Division boys 6674 yards, and the A Division girls 6241 yards. As can be seen by the results above, Hayden improved every day, and his final round of 77 put him in 13th position in the B Division.

Throughout the week, the players experienced perfect warm golfing weather and the Classic Golf Resort course was in excellent condition. Both the boys and girls enjoyed the opportunity of participating in an international event, out of their usual home comfort zone.

After the final prize-giving, they were treated to a typical celebratory fireworks display before packing up and heading for the airport. For Cynthia Rayner, who accompanied the players, the biggest shock on her first trip to India was how the traffic “works”. “Hooters are used constantly – in fact, most of the trucks have the sign “HORN PLEASE” written on the back, and you simply hoot vehicles out of the way or hoot to indicate that you are about to overtake. As one Indian lady who now lives in Dubai told her “If you obey normal rules of the road here, they ask you if you are trying to kill them!” We had a lot of fun, were treated royally and have all gained from the experience.”

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