Top three for Fletcher in Germany
KwaZulu-Natal’s Michaela Fletcher claimed a share of third at the RB German Junior in Germany while compatriot Lara Weinstein shot to sixth in the final round at the Heddesheim Golf Club in Gut Neuzenhof on Thursday.
The 17-year-old golfer carded earlier rounds of 72 and 69 to move into the top three and closed with a 74 to finish on one-under-par 215, alongside Sunna Vidisdottir from Iceland in the World Junior Golf Series event.
Overnight leader Csilla Rozsa from Hungary carded a final round 70 for a one shot victory on nine-under-par 207, one shot clear of Sweden’s Lynn Carlsson, who signed for a 72.
Meanwhile Weinstein from Gauteng overcame a disappointing opening 80 with a second round 71 and continued her upward climb with a final round 68 to finish four shots behind Fletcher on three over 219.
Fellow juniors Cara Gorlei and Ji Sun Kang from the Western Province also joined the South African ascendancy.
Gorlei claimed a share of 10th on six over 222 with a 71 while Korean-born Kang also produced a 71 to vault to joint 14th on eight-over-par 224.
Fletcher, who won the Nomads SA Girls Championship and the Sanlam Cancer Challenge Womens Division last year, delivered another solid performance on the last day.
The Maritzburg golfer dropped shots at the first and fifth holes, but chipped away at the deficit with a birdie at the par-four 13th. She was disappointed with the closing bogey, but upbeat about the whole experience.
“You never want to bogey the last hole, but unfortunately, that’s the way it happened,” said Fletcher.
“It was a great experience to tee it up in this event and I am delighted with how I coped this week against such a strong international line-up.”
SA number three Weinstein also dropped three shots, but carved her way into red numbers with seven birdies, including a string of four starting at the eighth hole.
The Royal Johannesburg and Kensington golfer, who won the KeNako South African World Junior on the World Junior Golf Series earlier this year, also relished the experience.
“I am really glad I was able to forget about that first round and that I managed to turn it around,” she said. “What a fantastic experience for the juniors and myself to test ourselves against such a strong field. We are all very proud of Michaela and I think we all gained a lot from this experience.”
Germany’s Christopher Dammert carded a final round 67 to win the Boys Division by one shot from countryman Philipp Bogel with a winning total of 17-under-par 199.
Ekurhuleni’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout saved his best for last, following rounds of 74 and 75 with a final round 70 to vault to joint 23rd on three-over-par 223, while Cameron Moralee from the Southern Cape added a 77 to his earlier rounds of 82 and 78 to tie for 52nd on 21 over 237