GOLFRSA/MOMENTUM GSPORT AWARDS/SUNSHINE TOUR

Reigning GolfRSA No 1 golfer Kyra van Kan topped her brilliant year by winning the 2023 Momentum gsport Emerging Athlete of the Year award. Van Kan was a finalist in the category, which recognises athletes excelling at national and provincial level, alongside the vice-captain ofthe SA U19 SA Women’s cricket team, Madison Landsman, and two-time SA national track athlete champion, Prudence Sekgodiso.

The award was deserved recognition for the amateur superstar who, despite academic pressure, delivered a masterclass performance to win the prestigious SA Women’s Amateur Championship, finished as the Leading Amateur at the Investec SA Women’s Open and held the top spot in the GolfRSA Open and Junior standings with a succession of top-three finishes on both circuits. A beacon of leadership, the GolfRSA Women’s National Squad elite player also led the SA Junior Proteas to victory at the All-Africa Junior Team Championship and finished eighth at the Junior Golf World Cup in Japan.

Van Kan, who has had a passion for golf since she was nine years old, was thrilled with the award, thanking family, friends, GolfRSA and her father, John, who inspired her to take up the sport, in her acceptance speech.

For the full list of Momentum gsport winners:

https://gsport.co.za/andile-dlamini-steals-the-show-at-2023-momentum-gsport-awards/

The DP World Tour, Nedbank and Sun International have announced an extended agreement for the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

This year’s edition of ‘Africa’s Major’ will be the penultimate event on the 2023 Race to Dubai before the tournament returns to its traditional December date in 2024 – forming part of the 2025 Race to Dubai – where it will remain for the following two years.

The event will, from 2024, be officially held in honour of the nine-time Major champion, Gary Player, in recognition of his contribution to the global game, similar to the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Memorial Tournament held in honour of Jack Nicklaus.

The 2023 tournament will be held from 9-12 November at Gary Player Country Club and will boast a strong field including defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas alongside a host of stars of the DP World Tour.

Player, who has over 150 professional wins to his name during a glittering 70-year career, said: “It is with such a deep sense of gratitude that we can look forward to the future of a tournament we started with nothing more than a dream, and which now is a dream shared and enjoyed by so many… ‘Africa’s Major’ is all about the spirit of South Africa to overcome and inspire, and I am truly humbled to be a part of something that for one week every year at Sun City brings us all together in celebration of this spirit.”

From the high-octane motocross bike flips to flop shots on the Sunshine Tour, watch the heartwarming journey of former King of Motocross Michael Kok, one of the most colourful characters on Tour.

TYRONE WINFIELD/SUNSHINE TOUR

Lejan Lewthwaite won the 2023 Hauts De France Pas De Calais Golf Open, a co-sanctioned event with the Alps Tour, after a dramatic playoff.

After rounds of 71, 69 and 68, Lewthwaite ended the tournament with a total of 11 under par and found herself in a playoff alongside overnight leader, Slovenia’s Katja Pogacar.

The 32-year-old South African, who had to withdraw from last week’s tournament after two holes due to sickness, headed back down 18 and made a birdie on the first playoff hole, as did Pogacar to send them back to the tee.

It took a third playoff hole to crown Lewthwaite the champion as she chipped her third shot near the green to give herself the birdie opportunity.

Speaking a couple of hours after securing victory, Lewthwaite said: “I feel extremely taken aback, to be honest. Going into the week I wasn’t expecting it.

“It’s been a tough last two years and it’s nice to come out of that and find some positivity. This win means a great deal.”

Lewthwaite, who turned professional in 2016, has been playing between the LET and LETAS this season but this win has been a long time coming for the South African who has never won on either Tour.

Her previous top finish this season has been 25th at two events, the Ahlsell Final at Elisefarm and the Trust Golf Link Series at Ramside Hall.

The United States of America won the 49th Walker Cup after defeating Great Britain and Ireland 14½-11½ at St Andrews.

The Americans rekindled memories of their last away win at Royal Liverpool in 2019 with another stunning second day singles display to reverse a three-point overnight deficit and secure victory at the Old Course.

Mike McCoy’s team trailed 7½-4½ going into day two, but handled the windy conditions over the links superbly to triumph against Stuart Wilson’s GB&I side. It was the fourth consecutive win for the USA in the biennial international match and they lead the overall series 39-9-1.

McCoy paid credit to the team after their emphatic comeback, saying: “It's a pretty good feeling to have won the Walker Cup. We had a great day, and it was these fantastic players, they're the ones who did it. This is a great feeling. I tried to put a lot of effort into this for two years and tried to do anything I could that would help make the team successful.”

OISIN KENIRY/R&A/R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES

Johndre Ludick, Keagan Crosbie, Vuyisani Makama and Jordan Wessels made the most of the opportunity to play desert golf for the first time and flew the South African flag with pride in the 2023 Egyptian Amateur in early September.

Ludick and Crosbie both improved on less than perfect starts at the El Gouna Golf Club to soar to a tie for third, finishing three shots behind the winner Marc Steinhauser from Switzerland.

Ludick opened with rounds of 77 and 71 but a five-under-par 67 for the low round on the final day moved the Eastern Province golfer to one-under-par 215. Gauteng North’s Crosbie, who rallied with a seven-under 65 after an opening round of 80, joined Ludick with a final-round 70.

Makama, from Central Gauteng, finished 10th overall on one over with rounds of 75, 73 and 69, while recent Nomads North & South Championship winner Wessels from North West finished a further shot back with rounds of 75, 72 and 72.

“We are really impressed with how the group embraced this opportunity to elevate their games and gain experience,” said GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn. “Competing in the desert for the first time was well outside their comfort zone and we applaud them for rising to the occasion. They handled the heat, humidity, the challenging layout and the strong field that competed at El Gouna exceptionally well and we are proud of their performances.

“Congratulations to the Egyptian Golf Federation on hosting a fantastic event and thank you to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, whose funding enabled us to facilitate this trip to give our rising talents the opportunity to gain invaluable experience.”

GOLFRSA

Georgia Tech standout Christo Lamprecht became South Africa's highest-ranked amateur when he soared to No 2 in the Official World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) in September.

The GolfRSA National Squad member surpassed the previous mark set by Cameron Johnston and Nicol van Wyk, who both reached third in the rankings since the WAGR launched in January 1997.

Lamprecht, who ranks second in the pre-season PGA Tour University ranking of the nation’s top eligible seniors, was also named to the 2024 Fred Haskins Award in September. The award is given annually to the top male US collegiate golfer.

The 2023 Amateur champion was a Haskins Award finalist last year and was named first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America and Golfweek magazine after an outstanding season where he won the Inverness Intercollegiate and racked up runner-up finishes at the Watersound Invitational, the Linger Longer Invitational and The Goodwin.

Selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team for the second straight year, Lamprecht led the Yellow Jackets to victory at the 19th ACC Championship, the title at the NCAA Salem Regional and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship. He was the team’s highest finisher in six of 12 strokeplay events.

Lamprecht, who was also was named a pre-season, first-team All-American by Golf Channel and Golfweek magazine, aims to join four Georgia Tech golfers who have won the Fred Haskins Award: David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Matt Kuchar (1998) and Bryce Molder (2001).

GEORGIA TECH

Orkney Golf Club’s Andre van Dyk carded a blemish-free seven-under-65 to claim a wire-to-wire victory at the fourth Altron Big Easy Tour tournament at Huddle Park Golf Club in late August. That score took his tournament total to 18 under par to give the 22-year-old his maiden professional win, while also earning his first Altron Big Easy Tour title.

“It was really tough to lose my Sunshine Tour card earlier in the year and this win just means so much to me,” said Van Dyk. “And then, coming to the Big Easy Tour, I missed all the cuts in the first three tournaments. Before the start of this event, I told myself I wouldn’t be playing to make the cut, I wanted to try to win.”

The Potchefstroom resident got off to a great start on the final day; going four under after six holes. To solidify his place atop the leaderboard, Van Dyk made further gains on the 9th. From there on, he knew he had to play with caution to avoid big numbers ruining his scorecard and threatening his march towards victory.

Four straight pars after the turn followed before Van Dyk birdied both the par-fives on the homeward stretch – the 14th and 16th – to seal a sparkling round of 65 and claim his first win on this developmental circuit of the Sunshine Tour.

SUNSHINE TOUR

GolfRSA No 1 Altin van der Merwe and University of North Carolina standout Megan Streicher will debut for South Africa in a power-packed National Squad lineup for the 2023 World Amateur Team Championships in Abu Dhabi in October.

New cap Van der Merwe, who has racked up five provincial titles in a standout season on home soil, captained South Africa to victory at the Africa Region 5 Tournament in Malawi before he took his hot run of form on the National Squad Tour to the United Kingdom, where he finished second at the Scottish Men’s Open Championship, 10th at the Brabazon Trophy and joint 12th at the St Andrews Links Trophy. The Western Province golfer also reached the third round in The Amateur.

Van der Merwe will be joining reigning Amateur champion Christo Lamprecht and 2023 English Men’s Stroke Play winner Christiaan Maas in pursuit of South Africa’s first victory when the 33rd men’s championship for the Eisenhower Trophy tees off at the National Course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from 18-21 October. Lamprecht and Maas made their WATC debut in France last year, where the team finished in the top 20.

A week later, former SA Women’s Stroke Play champion Streicher makes her Espirito Santo Trophy debut at the 30th women’s championship at the same venue alongside Caitlyn Macnab and Kajal Mistry.

Streicher had a breakout first season at the University of North Carolina where she led the Tar Heels with 14 rounds under par. Her stroke average of 73.33 was the seventh lowest by a Tar Heel in a season, and the lowest by a first-year student.

Macnab, now attending Ole Miss, and Arkansas University’s Mistry secured top-15 finishes for South Africa with Kaleigh Telfer in Ireland in 2019 and Bobbi Brown in France in 2022. The South African trio will be keen to emulate South Africa’s Espirito Santo Trophy success in 2006, when Ashleigh Buhai, Stacy-Lee Bregman and Kelli Shean were victorious in Stellenbosch.

Altin van der Merwe and Megan Streicher

GolfRSA

Look out for 18-year-old Lucia Mhlabane and Wish Sithole from the South African Golf Development Board when the 2023 GolfRSA Champion of Champions, delivered by The Courier Guy, tees off at Magalies Park from 16-17 October.

Mhlabane won the A Division for Ladies, while 17-year-old Sithole won the B Division for Men at the Mpumalanga Champion of Champions playoffs at Middelburg Golf Club. Both juniors qualified by way of victories at the club championships at Malelane Golf Club.

This year marks the sixth edition of the popular tournament, where golfers first need to win their home club championship before duelling it out in regional finals to earn a spot in the prestigious 36-hole National Final.

The Courier Guy to set to deliver another exciting Final when 96 multiple divisional winners from all over the country will fight it out to be crowned South Africa’s ultimate club champions for 2023.

“We threw our support behind the GolfRSA Champion of Champions tournament because the event is open to all golfers in the country, and it is only through consistently strong performances at all levels that golfers reach the final destination,” explained The Courier Guy’s head of marketing, Simon Hill.

“With 185 nationwide kiosks, 22 depots and 2 500 drivers, The Courier Guy has a huge national footprint, so it just feels right for us support golfers from all over the country. We also love the game of golf and everything it stands for – it’s how we like to run our business.”

GolfRSA

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