SA teams battle but hang on to All-Africa Junior lead

Tough pin positions and gusting wind led to considerably higher scoring and the two South African squads had to dig deep to stay ahead of the opposition in round two of the All-Africa Junior Golf Championship at Royal Harare Golf Club on Wednesday.

Gauteng junior Symone Henriques helped the SA Girls Team keep control, while Luca Filippi from Western Province set the pace for the SA Boys team for a second day running.

Boys Competition
Filippi followed an opening 70 with a 71, Jayden Schaper from Ekurhuleni added a 73 and Christo Lamprecht from Southern Cape contributed a 76 for a second round total of 220, while reigning SA number one Garrick Higgo carded a non-counting 78.

The SA team has the lead at one-under-par 431, but the quartet will want to stretch a two shot advantage over Zimbabwe if they hope to land South Africa’s 19th consecutive victory and with title, the coveted winner’s spot in the field for Toyota Junior Golf World Cup.

Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa fired a 71, David Amm produced successive rounds of 73, while top ranked Justin Kersten and Thompson Masiya carded a pair of 77s for a second round 221 to keep the host nation within striking distance.

Girls Competition
Henriques was two over at the turn and slipped to four over with a double bogey at the par-5 12th, but the 16-year-old Glenvista junior racked up four sublime birdies over the closing holes for an even-par 72.

Fellow GolfRSA Elite Squad player Kajal Mistry added a 77, while Kaleigh Telfer posted a non-counting 79.

“The course undoubtedly played tougher today and the wind made it almost impossible to attack any flags,” said Womens Golf South Africa president Karen Olivant.

“The bulk of the field in the Boys and Girls Competitions had a really tough day at the office as most of the pins with tucked in tough positions. Course management was at an absolute premium. Symone did incredibly well to bounce back from the double at 12 to keep our lead intact.”
The South African team has a 36-hole total of five over 293 and lead Zimbabwe by 29 shots.

Danielle Bekker and Emily Jones posted respective rounds of 82 and 81 for a second round 163, while Margaret Nyamukondiwa carded a non-counting 86.

“Although we have a substantial lead over the host nation, we can’t afford to slack off over the last two rounds if we want to win this championship and secure the spot to the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan,” Olivant said. “Anyone can hit a hot run over the next two days, so the players need to stay focused on the end goal.”

Boys Team Leaderboard – Round 2
431 South Africa 211 220
433 Zimbabwe 212 221
458 Uganda 229 229
460 Reunion Island 222 232
470 Morocco 229 241
488 Kenya 240 248
490 Tunisia 235 255
491 Zambia 238 253
503 Malawi 246 257; Mauritius 246 251
541 Namibia 258 256
564 Botswana 268 296

Boys Individual Leaderboard – Round 2
141 Luca Filippi RSA 70 71
143 Jayden Schaper RSA 70 73
144 Justin Kersten ZIM 67 77
146 David Amm ZIM 73 73
147 David Kamulinda UGA 69 78; Christo Lamprecht RSA 71 76
149 Thompson Masiya ZIM 72 77; Garrick Higgo RSA 71 78
150 Antoine Sale REU 76 74
150 Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa ZIM 79 71

Girls Team Leaderboard – Round 2
293 South Africa 144 149
322 Zimbabwe 159 163
348 Kenya 170 178
415 Zambia 196 219

Girls Individual Leaderboard – Round 2
290 Kajal Mistry RSA 69 77
291 Simone Henriques RSA 75 72
298 Kaleigh Telfer RSA 75 79
303 Danielle Bekker ZIM 77 82
307 Emily Jones ZIM 82 81
311 Kellie Gachanga KEN 78 89
317 Margaret Nyamukondiwa ZIM 87 86
325 Ashley Ouma KEN 92 89
336 Loice Akinyi KEN 93 99
347 Martha Matyola ZAM 98 105
357 Miness Siami ZAM 98 115
361 Rachel Namusiya ZAM 103 114

PHOTO – SA Boys Team; credit GolfRSA
From left to right: Jayden Schaper (Ekurhuleni), Garrick Higgo (Boland), Luca Filippi (Western Province) and Christo Lamprecht (Southern Cape).

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA, a SAGA and WGSA Not-For-Profit company.

Posted in