NMU lays down marker USSA Golf Champs

10 July 2018 – Altin van der Merwe, Kyle de Beer and Jacques Smit propelled Nelson Mandela University A into the prime spot in the match play log for the 2018 University Sport South Africa (USSA) Golf Championship at Port Shepstone Country Club.

NMU A and the University of Stellenbosch A posted matching totals of 224 to share the first round lead. The two teams carried a one shot lead into the final round of the 36-hole seeding qualifier over defending champions University of Pretoria on Tuesday.

The Bay trio combined for a final round total to beat Maties A by 10 shots on 436.

Van der Merwe led the NMU A-team with an opening four-under-par 68. He carded 70 in the final round to claim the medallist honour in the Individual Competition. The former Western Province number one beat Johannes Vlok from Maties A by five shots and finished six clear of GolfRSA National Squad player Clayton Mansfield from Varsity College A.

Van der Merwe’s team-mates De Beer and Smit did the rest to ensure NMU A finished at the top of the table.

De Beer, who represented South Africa in the FISU World University Golf Championship in the Philippines, shot 71. Smith also posted 71, improving 10 shots on his first round effort. Colin Baldie, the fourth member of the team, returned non-counting rounds of 86 and 77.

With the format switching to match play, at least one team from NMU and the University of Pretoria will advance to the second round.

In an unfortunate stroke of bad luck, NMU B finished eighth overall in the qualifier, which means the 2016 champions will tackle Tristan Naude, Rushane Peters, Keaghan Roberts and Connor Meyer in the first round.

Tuks is in the same boat after their A and B teams respectively finished fourth on 453 and fifth on 459, which means the defending champions and the B-team go head-to-head in the first round decider.

Varsity College A meet University of Cape Town A, who took sixth overall on 461, and Maties A go up against North West A, who sealed seventh on 462 in the qualifier.

Team Results
436 Nelson Mandela University A 224 212
446 Stellenbosch University A 224 222
449 Varsity College A 227 222
453 University of Pretoria A 225 228
459 University of Pretoria B 231 228
461 University of Cape Town A 233 228
462 North West University A 237 225
467 Nelson Mandela University B 236 231
470 University of Johannesburg A 235 235
476 Rhodes University A 240 236
478 Central University of Technology Free State A 241 237
478 North West University B 240 238
487 Stellenbosch University B 239 248
494 University of Johannesburg B 245 249
501 Varsity College B 256 245
520 University of Cape Town B 263 257
531 Rhodes University B 269 262
555 Tshwane University of Technology 265 290
589 University of Limpopo 292 297
602 Sol Plaatjie University A 305 297
630 Sol Plaatjie University B 313 317

Individual Result (top 20)
138 Altin van der Merwe (NMU A) 68 70
143 Johannes Vlok (US A) 71 72
144 Clayton Mansfield (VCOL A) 74 70
146 Kyle de Beer (NMU A) 75 71
148 Shaun Le Roux (UCT A) 74 74; Luke Stanger (UP B) 75 73
149 Philip Swanepoel (US A) 78 71
150 Alexander Ray Krebs (VCOL A) 76 74
151 Francois Marx (CUT A) 72 79; James Kenndey (UP A) 75 76
152 Emilio Pera (UP A) 74 78; Jacques Smith (NMU A) 81 71; Wian de Wet (UJ A) 72 80; Rushane Peters (NMU B) 77 75; Jacques Brits (UP B) 77 75; Calvin Ferreira (UP A) 78 74
153 Tristan Naude (NMU B) 77 76; Stephen Allen (NWU A) 77 76
154 David Koekemoer (UJ B) 74 80; Ulric Boezaart (US A) 75 79; Charl Everts (UCT A) 78 76; Guan Dreyer (NWU A) 81 73

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the USSA Championship and GolfRSA.