Mwale puts Curro Aurora in Ernie Els mix
Roodepoort junior Carl Mwale might make the pro-shop an offer after helping defending champions Curro Aurora to fourth in the fifth Ernie Els Primary Schools Championship at the Fish River Sun Country Club on Thursday.
The 13-year-old CMR golfer forgot to pack his putter and had to start the first round of the premier annual junior team event with a second-hand two-bar Onyx from the shops’ rental section.
Mwale carded a three-under-par 69 at the tough Gary Player-designed layout and posted the only sub-par round on the day.
He definitely gave his team a fighting chance on Friday after Curro Aurora finished 13 strokes behind pacesetters Durbanville Primary School.
“Carl shot 69, Kieron van Wyk 76 and Kim Turgut 100 to give us a score of 245,” said team manager Hardus van der Merwe.
“We are just a stroke behind St Johns Preparatory and Selborne Primary School in second place and they are tough competitors. Durbanville Primary have a tidy lead, but we know that with this format, the lead can change in two or three holes. Any team can win it on the final day.”
Mwale leads the Individual Competition by five strokes, but the teenager’s focus is on the team event. “My job was to help the team,” Mwale said. “You need one or two guys to go low to give the team a chance. We only had one practice round and it was the first time I played this course.
“I think everyone will do better on Friday, because we are starting to understand it. I missed six fairways and it cost me, but the putter really helped. You have to keep it in play to score. If we can all try to keep it play on Friday, it will definitely boost our chances.”
Curro Aurora and the rest of the challengers will have to dig deep to stop the determined quartet from Durbanville Golf Club after Ayden Senger (74), Louis Loubser (75) and Max Orgovanvi (83) put their team in pole position at 232.
Coach and team manager Lana Orgovanyi said her charges delivered on their game plan and they have every intention of going home as the champions.
“It is such an honour for us to play in this championship for the first time,” Orgovanyi said.
“Lifting a trophy with Ernie’s name on is everyone’s dream and every team here is motivated to win. There are a lot of really strong teams here and the standard is very high, so we kept our expectations realistic. Now that we have our noses in front, we are determined to pull it through.
“We told the players to stick to their routines and we constantly remind them that they should never give up because every shot counts in this format. They are playing for each other.
“You can never predict what will happen on the day, but I am really proud of their attitude and, if they can stick to the game plan on Friday, I believe we can win.”
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Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.