Modderfontein gunning for Oosthuizen hat-trick
Dylan Naidoo, Marco Steyn, Eric Wowor and Guy Waterhouse are primed to hunt down a third successive Louis Oosthuizen SA Junior Club Championship title for Modderfontein Golf Club in Langebaan.
Naidoo, Steyn, Wowor and Karabo Mokoena edged out Mount Edgecombe to win the inaugural event at Clarens Golf Club in 2013 and followed with a brilliant wire-to-wire performance to close out a six stroke victory at Mossel Bay Golf Club last year.
“Dylan, Marco and Eric return for duty for a third year in a row, but Karabo is sitting his matric exams and was unfortunately unavailable this year,” said team manager Lance Michler.
“We are excited to give Guy this opportunity. Although Guy is at Hilton College, he was a member of our junior programme for a long time, he knows the other lads very well. He will be a very able replacement for Karabo.”
Michler said the team take great pride in their back-to-back victories and are champing at the bit to get their double title defence underway.
“They are very determined to win again, because of the prestige of this event,” Michler said. “There was great excitement when Louis threw his support into junior golf four years ago and for most of these youngsters, he is their biggest role model.
“The championship has grown exponentially and there is a real honour in winning a trophy with our 2010 Open Champion’s name on.”
The 54-hole championship tees off at Langebaan Golf & Sports Club on Monday, 28 September.
“The Louis Oosthuizen SA Junior Club Championship has become one of the most sought after titles on the junior circuit in a very short space of time,” said South African Golf Association golf integration manager Eden Thompson.
“Our juniors are highly competitive and the event has a really high standard of competition. The players take incredible pride in representing their clubs in this championship. The competitive spirit is amazing and the battles get really intense.”
As two-time champions, Modderfontein are the clear pre-tournament favourites, but the quartet will have to outperform the other teams, equally hungry to impress.
The rest of this year’s challengers include Reading, Durbanville, Lake Club Benoni, Blue Valley, Lydenburg, Rondebosch, Dainfern, Theewaterskloof, Durban Country Club, Umhlali, CMR and Middelburg, as well as Christo Lamprecht, Martin Vorster, Jordan Duminy and Marcus Smal from Oosthuizen’s Louis 57 Golf Academy also gunning for glory.
“We are extremely pleased that the Louis Oosthuizen SA Junior Club Championship continues to be so well supported,” said Louis 57 brand manager Bertu Nel.
“All great champions began their careers at junior level and that is why Louis chose to support this event. Louis believes competition at junior is crucial to the development of South Africa’s juniors and the championship provides a great incentive for our rising stars to showcase their talent.
“We will be watching with great interest to see if Modderfontein can claim a hat-trick or if one of the other teams will step up this year.”
The four-man teams will compete over three rounds with 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday, with the best three scores to count towards their total in in each round.
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.