SA Juniors continue to impress
20 August 2019 – Three of South Africa’s top junior talents put on a great show this past weekend. Jordan Duminy celebrated a maiden Open Amateur win, Jayden Schaper lived up to his number one billing in Northern Ireland and Kian Rose won on the American junior circuit.
Sixteen-year-old Duminy has been trending towards a provincial breakthrough since he reached the final of the prestigious SA Amateur Championship in March.
Following a third place finish in the Boland Stroke Play and second in the Western Province Amateur Match Play, Duminy converted his hot run of form in the Southern Cape Open on Sunday.
The Mossel Bay junior dominated the leaderboard at Knysna Golf Club with rounds of 67, 70 and 65, but he has fellow GolfRSA National Squad member Christo Lamprecht in close pursuit as he started the final round with a slender one shot lead.
The gap had widened to two shots when the pair reached the par four 18th.
Duminy was on the green in two, but Lamprecht overshot the green. However, the George golfer holed his bunker shot for an eagle and forced a play-off on 18-under 270 with a final round 67.
The Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy stable-mates headed back to the 18th tee.
They split the difference in pars on their first trip, when Lamprecht made a great up-and-down to save par after leaking his tee shot into the trees.
“On the second play-off hole, I hit my second to 10 feet. Christo was just short of the green and he chipped it inside my putt, to about seven feet,” Duminy said. “He rushed his first putt, though, and missed the five-foot return. I lagged my first putt inside a foot and putted out for the win.”
Just three days earlier, Duminy qualified for the Faldo Series Final in the United Arab Emirates in November with a four-stroke victory in the SA Championship at Fancourt on the popular international junior series.
“The two wins couldn’t have come at a better time,” said the Southern Cape junior, who is travelling to the United States on Sunday with fellow South Africans Schaper, Martin Vorster, Sam Simpson and Casey Jarvis.
The GolfRSA National Squad quintet will be competing in the Junior Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass at the end of August.
“I really want to make the International Team for the Junior Presidents Cup in December with the other guys, so leaving for the USA with some good form is great,” said Duminy.
The leading 12 players – based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking as on 5 September – will qualify for the International team. Vorster is currently ranked second, Schaper third, Simpson fifth, Lamprecht sixth and Jarvis 10th.
“Basically, the Junior Players is my last chance. I hope I climb a little in the rankings on Wednesday with my wins in the Faldo Series and the Southern Cape Open, but I can’t take anything for granted, because the rankings change week-on-week.
“Effectively I am still in the bubble, so it’s going to be a huge week for me. I am definitely under pressure, but I’m super excited. I feel like I’m taking a solid game to the USA. Hopefully I can make a good start and build from there.”
Schaper made the most of an invitation to tee it up in the Challenge Tour’s inaugural ISPS Handa World Invitational, presented by Modest! Golf Management, and held his own in the 192-strong field that lined up at the Galfgorm Spa and Golf Resort.
The reigning SA Amateur Stroke Play champion outclassed two of South Africa’s former number one ranked amateurs – Kyle McClatchie and Garrick Higgo – with rounds of 71, 66, 73 and 70 to tie for 26th.
He finished just 11 shots adrift of the overall champion, two-time Challenge Tour winner Jack Senior from England and his even-par 280 total won Schaper the Leading Amateur honours.
Meanwhile Nomads National Order of Merit Inland winner Rose took his recent hot run of form to the United States, where he won the Qualifier for the American Junior Golf Association Pinehurst Junior.
The former Bridge Fund Managers Junior Series winner from Royal Johannesburg and Kensington edged out some top ranked American juniors with a three-under-par 69 to win by two shots at the Country Club of Whispering Pines in North Carolina.
He is currently competing in the AJGA Pinehurst Junior on the Dogwood Course at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst.
The AJGA Pinehurst Junior LIVE SCORING
https://www.ajga.org/tournaments/2019/ajga-pinehurst-junior/leaderboard
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA.