SA trio set for All Africa Junior title bid

GolfRSA Elite Squad members Kajal Mistry and Symone Henriques will partner reigning Sanlam SA Women’s Stroke Play champion Kaleigh Telfer in South Africa’s debut at the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge in Zimbabwe next week.

The South African trio will battle it out against eight other African nations in the Girls Competition in a bid to win the qualifying spot for the prestigious annual Toyota Junior Golf World Cup supported by JAL later this year.

“We have always competed in the biennial All-Africa Challenge Trophy (AACT) and Regional All-Africa Challenge Trophy (RAACT), which are senior events, but this marks the first time that there will be a Girls Competition at the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge,” said Womens Golf South Africa president Karen Olivant.

“We celebrated our fifth consecutive victory in the RAACT in Namibia in 2015 and won our 12th title in the 13th AACT in Tunisia last year. When they introduced a Girls Competition at the Junior Golf World Cup in 2015, we were invited to send a team. We also received an invitation for 2016.

“From this year, however, the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge has become the official qualifying event for Africa. We are very excited to see how this team fares and if they can win the spot for Japan.

“Kajal made her international debut in the eighth Albatross International Junior Golf Championship in India last year and Symone competed in the Ciputra Enjoy Jakarta World Junior Golf Championship in Indonesia. The All Africa Junior Golf Challenge also provides us with a fantastic opportunity to give Kajal and Symone more exposure to international competition and a chance to test themselves against the best players from the continent.

“Kaleigh will be taking up a golf scholarship at Auburn University later this year, but she will still be available to represent South Africa. She competed in the Youth Olympics in Nanjing in 2014 and she was a member of the victorious team at the AACT in Tunisia last year. Kaleigh also competed in the Junior Golf World Cups in 2015 and 2016. We believe Kajal and Symone will benefit greatly from her guidance and experience.”

The South African Golf Association (SAGA) named the country’s leading four juniors – Christo Lamprecht, Luca Filippi, Garrick Higgo and Jayden Schaper – to hunt down South Africa’s 19th consecutive victory in the Boys Competition at the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge.

“It is always tough to compete abroad, especially in team events, but the girls and boys teams really supported and inspired each other at the Junior Golf World Cup in Japan in the last two years,” said Olivant.

“This year both teams want to make it to the Junior Golf World Cup in Japan and I believe that having the girls and boys competitions simultaneously will be beneficial for both teams to further motivate and strengthen their resolve to finish at the top.”

The Girls and Boys Competitions at the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge will be played concurrently at Royal Harare Golf Club from 28-31 March.

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