East Londoner wins SA world junior golf championship
01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author
Warning:
This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers.
Both the Boy’s and Girl’s Divisions of the KeNako SA World Juniors produced nail-biting finishes. In the best weather of the week, with overcast conditions and a mild breeze, there was some spectacular scoring on the tough Kingswood Golf Course.
Buitendag wins in Play-Off:
In the Boy’s Division, Jade Buitendag from East London, South Africa, had a 2 shot lead going up the par 5 16th hole and at that stage he was 5 under par for his round. The 16th hole was a pivotal moment in the round as Buitendag dropped a shot and Robert Burlison of England birdied the hole, leaving the 2 boys level at 6 under with 2 holes to play. Burlison hit his second shot through the green on the 17th but then played an exquisite chip from the downhill lie to tap in distance for par. Buitendag 2 putted for par at the same hole and on the last hole both boys played excellent shots into a very tough back pin placement. After Burlison had missed his birdie try, Buitendag’s 15 footer to win shaved the hole and the boys went into a play-off.
Burlison played safe off the tee at the first play-off hole, the 10th hole which is a par 5. It seemed like a good decision when Buitendag drove his ball into one of the deep fairway bunkers. Burlison then cut his second shot into the water short and right of the green, which allowed Buitendag to splash out of the bunker and then play a safe 3rd shot onto the green. After Burlison had taken a penalty drop he again missed the green to the right but managed to chip and sink a fairly long putt for a one over par 6, meaning that Buitendag had to 2 putt to win, which he was able to do.
There were other outstanding rounds played in the afternoon. Robert Bougas from Strand Golf Club in the Western Province scored a 6 under par 66 to move up to a tie for 10th place, whilst Philip Kruse also from South Africa scored a 67 to finish in a tie for 3rd, a position he shared with Ben Follet-Smith from Zimbabwe and HP van der Merwe from South Africa, who both closed with 1 under par rounds of 71. Van der Merwe had a 15 footer to tie the lead at hole 17 but just missed and then after missing the green at the 18th he was aggressive in trying to hole his shot to get into the play-off and missed the comeback putt to drop back into a tie for 3rd.
Weinstein Hangs on to Win By One!
Lara Weinstein entered the last round with a commanding 5 shot lead but after Cara Gorlei birdied hole 16 the two girls were tied for the lead at level par. Gorlei then drove into one of the very penal fairway bunkers on the 17th hole and dropped a shot, allowing Weinstein, who made par, to move back into a 1 shot lead. Both girls then parred the 18th hole to leave Weinstein the winner by just one shot, a scenario that had looked unlikely at the start of the day.
The best round of the day was played by Bianca Theron of South Africa who shot a 1 under par 71 to move up into a tie for 3rd with Ji Sun Kang from South Korea who closed with a 74. These girls were 6 shots behind the winner. The 2012 WJGS number one player Czilla Lajtai Rózsa finished with a 77 to drop into a tie for 5th place with Kaleigh Telfer of South Africa.
The KeNako SA World Juniors has been an amazing success, with players, coaches and management all hugely complimentary about the quality of the tournament. Many have likened it to one of the big tournaments on the professional tours. The official Prize Giving Dinner is to be held at the Hotel Golf Village tonight and players start flying back to their home countries and provinces from tomorrow.
