Schaper takes control at Woodhill

3 April 2018 – After 36 holes at Woodhill Country Club, golf fans won’t be blamed for having a sense of de-ja-vu when checking out the leaderboard of the Nomads SA Boys U-19 Stroke Play Championship.

Twelve months ago, Jayden Schaper from Ebotse and Pinnacle Point’s Christo Lamprecht duelled it out for victory at Langebaan Country Club. Lamprecht led the opening round last year, but Schaper closed the gap and eventually defeated the Southern Cape golfer in a play-off for victory.

Fast forward to 2018 and it feels like someone has hit the replay button.

On Monday, Lamprecht led the field with an opening seven-under-par 65. When the second round wrapped up on Tuesday, Schaper was back in control. The Ekurhuleni golfer followed a first round 69 with a four-under 68 to move into pole position on seven-under.

Lamprecht signed for 73 and is just one off the pace, but the Louis Oosthuizen Junior Academy player has company after Ekurhuleni pair Warrick Purchase and Saul Moss made good headway and joined the challenge.

Recent Bridge Fund Managers Junior Series winner Purchase from Benoni Country Club registered 68, while Moss from Glendower Golf Club shot seven-under 65 to make it a three-way tie.

Schaper became the first junior to win all four Nomads SA Boys titles with his double on the West Coast last year and the country’s top ranked junior is undoubtedly the favourite, but with 36 holes scheduled on Wednesday and at least 15 more players with a realistic chance of catching the frontrunner, it’s far from over.

Cole Stevens from Central Gauteng and North West junior Christiaan Burke carded respective rounds of 70 and 71 to tie for fifth at five under.

Zimbabwe’s David Amm leads a five-strong group at four-under that includes two more champions on the Bridge Fund Manager Junior Series – Tyran Snyders from Western Province and Central Gauteng’s Shaun Jones – as well as Alezio Graziani from Gauteng North and Barend Botha from Southern Cape.

A round of 68 moved former Nomads SA Boys U-17 champion Martin Vorster from Southern Cape into joint 12th on three-under with Werner Deyzel from Gauteng North, while Ekurhuleni’s Yurav Premlall is a further shot adrift with Gauteng North pair Dino Capazario and Alexander Pienaar.

Reigning Sanlam SA Amateur champion Deon Germishuys from Western Province and the golfer he beat in the 36-hole final at Durban Country Club, Chris Woollam from KwaZulu-Natal, reunited at one-under and close out the top 20 at one-under alongside Bradley de Beer from Southern Cape and Ekurhuleni’s Liam van Deventer.

ROUND 2 SCORES (top 30)
137 Jayden Schaper 69 68
138 Saul Moss 73 65; Warwick Purchase 70 68; Christo Lamprecht Jnr 65 73
139 Cole Stevens 69 70; Christiaan Burke 68 71
140 Tyran Snyders 72 68; Barend Botha 70 70; Shaun Jones 70 70; Alessio Graziani 70 70; David Amm ZIM 67 73
141 Martin Vorster 73 68; Werner Deyzel 71 70
142 Yurav Premlall 73 69; Dino Capazario 71 71; Alexander Pienaar 69 73
143 Bradley de Beer 74 69; Deon Germishuys 73 70; Chris Woollam 72 71; Liam van Deventer 71 72
144 Francois van der Walt 75 69; Keegan Mclachlan 74 70; Nikhil Rama 72 72; Jordan Duminy 71 73; Ryan van Velzen 71 73; Reece Coleman 71 73
145 Samuel Simpson 76 69; Max Hansen 74 71; Tristan Galant 73 72; Dean Sanders 73 72; Kieron van Wyk 71 74

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