LOCALS FAIL TO IMPRESS AT THE KZN AMATEUR
IT wasn’t the best of tournaments for the top local players at the KwaZuluNatal Amateur held at Durban Country Club last week.
In the end, Yurav Premlall (Glendower Golf Club) beat Nikhil Rama (Bryanston CC) 4/3 in the 36-hole final.
The bad news was that no one from KZN made it through to Saturday’s quarter-finals, never mind the finals, with six knocked out on Friday afternoon.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of result desired with the South African Interprovincial around the corner.
Having said that, it’s still quite unusual for six players – those who reached the last 16 – to all lose their matches.
Unusually also, it was the first time I can recall that no KZN players were drawn against each other in the matchplay.
You could have counted Rigardt Albertse, younger brother of Louis (since he turned pro).
He has previously been a member at Dundee CC (and former Michaelhouse pupil) but is now playing out of Potchefstroom GC.
Albertse actually had a pretty good tournament, making it as far as the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner, Premlall.
The good news was that some of KZN’s younger players showed potential, qualifying for the top
32 of the matchplay, providing optimism for the future.
It was a happier situation in the seniors, where two of the province’s legends went head to head in a blockbuster final, namely Morgan Phillips and Basil Naidoo.
They are currently ranked fifth and sixth in SA, or were before this event.
Phillips won the match 2/1. It was a tight match that was evenly contested.
They were all square playing the 12th, where Phillips went ahead with a birdie.
He added another one on the 14th to go two up, then all but sealed it with a superb birdie at the 15th.
Naidoo kept it alive by winning the 16th, but a half on the next hole was enough for Phillips to secure the victory.
“It was a tough match, with eight of the holes being won with birdies,” said Phillips.
There’s plenty coming up for seniors, with the KZN Senior Spring Open at Zimbali on 1 and 2 September. The Madala Challenge takes place at Durban CC on 15 October while the big one, the SA Senior Amateur, also takes place at Durban CC, from 16-18 October.
In terms of the qualifying strokeplay in the main event, Jono Broomhead (Durban CC) and Greg McKay (Mount Edgecombe CC) tied for fifth on -2, three off the pace set by Kyle de Beer (Port Elizabeth GC), Francois van der Walt (Irene CC) and Samuel Mckenzie (Royal Johannesburg and Kensington) RESULTS
Strokeplay qualifying:
T5 Greg McKay (Mount Edgecombe CC) +2, T5 Jono Broomhead (Durban CC) +2; T10 Thabiso Magwaza (Umhlali CC) +1; T13 Siyanda Mwandla (Mount Edgecombe CC) +4; T17 Kyle Kistensamy (Prince’s Grant) +6, T17 Derek Scullard (Mount Edgecombe CC) +6; T22 Thomas Lovett (Prince’s Grant) +8, T22 Ruben van der Berg (Kloof CC) +8, T22 Ryan Welsh (Kloof CC) +8; T27 Jason Broomhead (Durban CC) +9; T30 George van Vuuren (Royal Durban) +10.
Matchplay:
In the first round, Scullard beat Christiaan Burke 2/1, Van der Berg lost to Christiaan Maas 6/4, Lovett beat Shaun Jones 3/2, Jason Broomhead lost to Nikhil Rama 3/2, Mwandla beat Aran Sinclair 2/1, McKay lost to Andrew Williamson 4/3, Welsh beat Louis Liebenberg 2-up, Jono Broomhead lost to Rigardt Albertse 1-down, Van Vuuren lost to Samuel Mckenzie 5/4, Magwaza beat Matthew Mortimer 3/1, Kistensamy beat Jules Helary 19th.
In the last 16, Scullard lost to De Beer 3/2, Lovett lost to Maas 2/1, Mwandla lost to Rama 4/3, Welsh lost to Albertse 2-down, Magwaza lost to Premlall 2-down, Kistensamy lost to Francois van der Walt 2-down.