Telfer achieves rare double

Bryanston Country Club has confirmed that rising junior golfer Kaleigh Telfer is the first player to claim a rare double in the history of the club.

“Kaleigh won our prestigious Ladies Club Championship in May and claimed the Junior Club Championship in June to become the first player to win both titles in the same calendar year,” said Mike Carlsson, a junior golf committee member at Bryanston.

“At 15, Kaleigh is also one of the youngest Ladies Club Championship winners since 1958.”

Telfer, who plays off a one handicap, took up golf at the age of six and began her competitive career on the SA Kids Golf circuit. She began competing on the local provincial and national tournament circuit last year and has quickly made her mark.

In addition to a fifth place finish at the Gauteng North Junior Girls Open, she recorded top 10 finishes at the North West Womens Golf Championship and Free State & Northern Cape Womens Championship and a runner-up finish at the Limpopo Championship. Telfer also topped the junior leaderboard in each of these events.

Telfer has been competing internationally since she turned nine and among her highlights are third place finishes in the 2011 and 2012 US Kids Golf European Championship. Earlier this year, Telfer competed in the HSBC Junior China Open and was selected to represent South Africa at the Enjoy Jakarta World Junior Golf Championships in June with three other top ranking juniors.

She currently ranks second on the Gauteng Junior Rankings, seventh in the National Junior and 14th in the National Senior Rankings and 300th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Womens Golf South Africa (WGSA) named Telfer the Most Improved Junior Ladies Golfer 2012/2013. She received Gauteng colours for representing her union at the SA Inter-Provincial in 2012 and 2013 and Federation colours for Jakarta.

“I enjoy golf because it is an individual sport and it is super competitive, especially match play,” said the grade nine learner from St Peters College.

“What I like most about golf is playing tournaments and getting out on the course instead of standing on the range for hours. I’m really thankful to Bryanston Country Club for their junior golf development programme and their ongoing support of my career.”

Yet, golf is not the only sport this talented teenager excels at.

An avid cricket fan, Telfer played Girls Cricket for four years and captained the U-13 side in 2011. She currently plays for the water-polo, soccer and hockey first teams at St Peters College.

“Kaleigh has been an avid sportswoman since she learnt to walk, but we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Telfer’s mom Cathy said.

Telfer has some short term goals but long term, hopes to secure a golf scholarship to an American university to further her studies while obtaining invaluable international experience in one of the toughest golfing countries.

“I would like to reach the number one spot on the National Junior Rankings, and hold a top five position in the national Senior Rankings by the time I turn 18. Then I hope to further my career with college golf in the United States.

“I am always amazed at how many great golfers this country continues to produce. I think the R & A’s World Amateur Golf Ranking is the ultimate measure of one’s performance on the international stage and southern Africa currently has three players in the top 10.

“Hopefully my fellow ladies and I will bring further success to our country in the years to come, especially now that golf has become an Olympic sport.”

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