Son breaks through in Western Province

Central Gauteng junior Woo Ju Son rose to the number one spot in the Womens Golf South Africa Junior Rankings in 2015 without visiting the winner’s circle even once. A string of top three and top five finishes boosted her rise and the achievement was a measure of her incredible consistency.

However, the lack of trophies on the mantle left the 14-year-old Eagle Canyon golfer determined to reach for greater heights in 2016.

She struggled in the strong wind at the season-opening Boland Junior Championship at Langebaan Country Club and a tie for seventh saw her slip back to second in the rankings.

And the slip, it seems, was just what the doctor ordered.

A week later, Son outclassed the field at Durbanville Country Club Determined in a wire-to-wire exhibition to win the Nomads WGWP Junior Championship and retake the number one spot.

Son opened with a four-over-par 76 in very windy conditions to take control of the championship and took advantage of the benign conditions in round two to stay in pole position with a two under 70.

Although she struggled with her putter in the final round, her tenacity won the day as she posted a 78 to march to a two stroke victory on 10-over-par 226.

“I am so pleased to get that first victory out of the way,” Son said.

“I had a lot of close calls last year and over time, I started getting really frustrated that I couldn’t pull it through. It was a season-long lesson in patience and it was the patience that actually helped me the most in the final round.

“I had two three-putts in the final round and had to fight my frustration with the putter. Winning the Nomads WGWP Junior Championship when I was really struggling has given me a lot of confidence. Hopefully I can draw on these positive vibes at the Eastern Province Championship next month.”

Fellow Central Gauteng junior Kaiyuree Moodley carded rounds of 77, 73 and 78 to edge out Boland Junior Championship winner Eleonora Galletti by one stroke for the runner-up spot.

Zilke Bal from Bellville Golf Club carded rounds of 84, 75 and 75 to lift the Prentice Cup as the leading Western Province Player in the Championship Division.

The B-Division lead changed hands several times in the final round, but La-eeqah Adams from Royal Cape finally managed to edge out local favourite Jordan Rothman to win the Sally Little Trophy.

Just a week after Western Province’s Ashleigh Seboa won the C-Division in the Boland Junior Championship, her sister Cameron dominated the C-Division at Durbanville Golf Club.

Cameron not only won the C-Division, but also claimed the best Gross prizes over both rounds and the best nett in Round 1. Nikita Bossr also of King David Mowbray won the Best Nett Round 1.

“We celebrated yet another very successful championship and we would like offer our sincere appreciation to Nomads WP for their invaluable and continued sponsorship of this Championship and women’s amateur junior golf in the Province,” said Womens Golf Western Province president Sarah Braude.

“We are also greatly indebted to the Western Cape Department of Culture and Sport, who came on board as a funding partner for the Championship.”

A-DIVISION RESULT (top 10)
226 Woo-Ju Son 76 72 78
228 Kaiyuree Moodley 77 73 78
229 Eleonora Galletti 80 73 76
230 Justine Botten 80 74 76
231 Crystal Beukes 79 74 78
233 Minette Olivier 91 70 72
234 Zilke Bal 84 75 75
238 Brittney-Fay Berger 77 79 82
239 Chiara Contomathios 88 77 81
240 Aaliyah Abrahams 82 77 81

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