Weber and Coetzer named for 2024 Junior Open

28 June 2024 – GolfRSA National Squad members Ben Weber and Lisa Coetzer have been selected to represent South Africa in the 2024 R&A Junior Open from 15-17 July.

The prestigious biennial event always draws a strong field, and this year is no exception. Weber and Coetzer will tee up in the 120-strong field with the top-ranked under-16 boy and girl golfers from 69 nations affiliated to The R&A.

In keeping with the tradition of staging the championship at a course near to the host venue for The Open, the 2024 Junior Open will be held at Kilmarnock Barassie Links ahead of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon in Scotland.

“In the last three editions of the Junior Open, more than 60 nations have participated, which not only gives the future talent of the game the chance to compete at the highest international level, but also an opportunity to meet their counterparts from many different golfing nations,” said GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn.

“Ben and Lisa have both distinguished themselves in the past 18 months, and to give two of our top-ranked juniors the opportunity to tee it up in a field of such a high standard is very exciting.”

Weber – the 2023 Nomads SA Boys U-15 champion – became the youngest golfer at the age of 14 to lift the prestigious Proudfoot Trophy as the winner of the 36-hole Stroke Play Qualifier for the South African Amateur Championship. The Border junior reached the semi-final, where he was eliminated by Jordan Burnand.

Coetzer, who has maintained a steady rise in the GolfRSA Open and Junior Rankings since 2023, announced herself as a future world-beater when she bested the country’s the top-ranked juniors in a wire-to-wire performance to lift the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship title at Sun City.

In addition to winning their respective club championships, Weber also won the East London Open and Coetzer the Free State Ladies Open.

“Both juniors are so deserving of this opportunity to represent South Africa,” Hepburn said.

“They have both come into their own this year, not only featuring strong on the national and provincial circuits, but also standing up to pressure on the international stage. Ben was instrumental in South Africa’s runner-up finish in the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament in June, while Lisa placed fifth in her age category and 14th overall in the 2024 Mandiri Ciputra Golfpreneur Junior World Championship in Indonesia.”

In 2018, Martin Vorster from the Southern Cape became the first South African champion in the highly-acclaimed Junior Open when he triumphed at St Andrews.

“What Martin did was exceptional, but our expectation when we send our golfers abroad at the age is not results driven,” said Hepburn.

“We view this as a great learning opportunity for them to further their careers. Anything beyond that is a bonus. We are excited to Ben and Lisa the chance to grow as individuals and to gain invaluable experience on the international stage and we are confident that they will both embrace this opportunity.”

The juniors will be accompanied by Womens Golf South Africa President Susan Andrew.

“I look forward to watching how Ben and Lisa navigate Kilmarnock Brasserie Links, which has hosted Final Qualifying for The Open many times,” said Andrew. “The challenging links layout has also staged other high-profile events, such as The Women’s Amateur Championship, The R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship and the Scottish Amateur Championship. I believe it will be a wonderful experience for Ben and Lisa, and we are thrilled to give this duo the chance to test themselves at a world-class venue against top international competition.”