SA Girls off to India

Two South African junior girls were selected to represent SA at the third 54 hole Albatross Junior Golf Championship in India and leave tomorrow Saturday 19 November. The players are Maritzburg Golf Club’s Michaela Fletcher and Uitenhage Golf Club’s Kim Daniels. They are accompanied by Hayden Garcia and Johann Germishuys, two junior boys from Western Province and the group are being managed by WGSA President Cynthia Rayner.

Earlier this year, Kim Daniels won the SA Girls’ Rose Bowl played at Clovelly Country Club and Michaela picked up the Gauteng Junior Championship Trophy at Krugersdorp Golf Club. They both represented their respective provinces, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal at the WGSA 72-Hole Teams Championship at Langebaan and at the Pick n Pay SA Inter-Provincial Championships in George.

The Abatross Championship is being played from 23 to 25 November at the highly acclaimed Classic Golf Resorts (Jack Nicklaus Signature Course) , Gurgaon, which is approximately 40 km (one hour’s drive) from the Indira Ghandi International Airport, New Delhi. The format is 54 holes stroke play with no cut, and also includes a team event.

The invitation to the South African players includes all accommodation at the resort and all local transport. The field is limited to 140 players with a maximum of eight from any one country.

Comments from the players who went in 2011 were that the course was really great. The fairways are narrow and the rough is wide enough before getting into tree or bush trouble. The greens fall away at the edges but are slow – running at about eight – so the players can go for their putts. There are also quite a few bunkers and water on about four holes.

South African won both the team events last year – Lara Weinstein was the overall winner with Izel Pieters runner–up. Dylan Raubenheimer won the boy’s A Division and Thriston Lawrence lost on the second play-off hole in the boys’ B Division.