The European youngsters laid the platform when they won the Junior Solheim Cup and the Junior Ryder Cup.

Team Europe made it back-to-back wins at the Junior Solheim Cup and defended their crown for the first time in history after defeating Team USA 15-9 at La Zagaleta, Spain. The home side had stormed to a convincing five-point lead on day one thanks to some formidable foursomes golf in the morning. Returning on Tuesday for the singles, the European U18 side completed the job, winning six matches and drawing one to hoist the trophy once again.

Suzanne Pettersen’s Solheim Cup side continued the trend at Finca Cortesín in Spain. Starting the day tied at 8-8, after two days of foursomes and fourballs, it all came down to an enthralling final day of singles and the teams tied the session with six points each. Spanish star Carlota Ciganda holed the putt to win her match and secure the 14th point needed to retain the Cup, which meant Europe claimed a historic three in a row. Since the contest began in 1990, they had never won three competitions in a row.

Team Europe then ran away with the Junior Ryder Cup title, ending a streak of six straight losses to the Americans, winning 20.5-9.5 at Marco Simone. They took a commanding 12-6 lead after winning all six fourball matches on the Wednesday. The teams were tied at 6-6 after the first day. Team Europe then dominated the singles, winning seven of the 12 matches and tying three others to claim 8.5 points on the final day. The first two rounds were held at Golf Nazionale in Rome before moving to Marco Simone for the final round. This was the first year the singles matches were held on a third day and at the site of the Ryder Cup.

It was then up to Luke Donald’s team to complete the whitewash, and they delivered, defeating Team USA 16.5-11.5 to regain the Ryder Cup and ensure their unbeaten run on home soil would continue to 34 years. Tommy Fleetwood secured the vital point on a dramatic afternoon at Marco Simone where, despite Europe entering the singles with a commanding lead and never trailing, the US threatened to complete a remarkable comeback. The home side led 10.5-5.5 on the Sunday morning, meaning the US team needed the biggest Ryder Cup comeback in history to win. Early European success got the home side to 14-7 but Matt Fitzpatrick missed an 18-footer on the 18th for the trophy as the Americans cut the gap to 14-11. Fleetwood and Shane Lowry then guaranteed at least half a point each before Fleetwood won the 17th hole against Rickie Fowler to secure a 3&1 victory.

MARK RUNNACLES/TRISTAN JONES/LET/CHRIS TURVEY/ROLEX

NICK CHEN/ASIAN TOUR

South Africa’s Jaco Ahlers triumphed at the 37th edition of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in early October, finally clinching his first title on the Asian Tour, after patiently winning a war of attrition at Taiwan Golf and Country Club – which has proved to be one of the toughest golf courses this season, with brutal rough and tapering fairways.

Ahlers, who is a prolific winner on the Sunshine Tour, with 11 titles, including the Tour Championship in April, was thrilled to get off the mark in Asia with his two-shot victory. He closed with a three-under-par 69 to finish on four under – the highest winning score of the year.

“It was tough,” said the 40-year-old Ahlers, who became the first player from South Africa to win the event. “It was a grind but I’m very glad to be standing here with the trophy. This means a lot to me. I am feeling comfortable here now. I said to a friend of mine last week that I feel like I can win on this Tour. So, there we go. I just tried to keep it in play and make a few birdies, I missed a few too!”

SAGDB graduate Tumelo Molloyi became the latest member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class to join the Sunshine Tour winner’s circle after his four-under 68 earned him a one-shot victory at the Blue Label Development Tour’s one-day event at Waterkloof Golf Club.

Until his win, Molloyi’s season had been a tale of struggles and missed opportunities. He had missed the cut at each of the 10 tournaments he’d played up to this point but the tide turned for him in Pretoria.

“It took me a while to realise I have won,” he said. “I had a four-foot putt for birdie on the last and I thought if I got to five under, I’d have a chance. I hit a very good putt but it lipped out and I was four under. I was among the first guys off today, so it was a nervy hour of waiting. But I am very happy for this win and to do it with the score I shot today was also special for me.”

“This is huge for me,” added Molloyi as members of the Papwa Sewgolum Class embraced him while showering him with congratulations. “I know there is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of competitions, but this moment is really big for me and I want to thank the Sunshine Tour and Blue Label for making it happen.”

SUNSHINE TOUR

South Africa’s leading women’s amateur Caitlyn Macnab climbed to a career-high 18th in the official World Amateur Golf Ranking in September after her second individual collegiate win and first victory with the Ole Miss Women’s Golf Team.

After a stellar career on the GolfRSA amateur circuit and her victory at the 2021 Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Jabra Ladies Classic, the former double SA Amateur champion took up a golf scholarship at Texas Christian University.

She excelled at No 1 for the Frogs and notched up her first collegiate title at the Schooner Fall Classic, where she posted a career-best six-under 64 in the final round.

At the start of the 2023-2024 season, the 21-year-old Ekurhuleni golfer transferred to the University of Mississippi and immediately impressed. She backed up a top-five finish in her first start at the Cougar Classic with victory at the Mason Rudolph Championship, finishing as the only player in the field to return three sub-70 rounds. Signing for rounds of 69, 67 and 68 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club’s North Course, Macnab celebrated a two-shot triumph on 12-under-par 204 and helped Ole Miss to a fifth-place finish overall.

In recognition of her success in Tennessee, Macnab was named SEC Women’s Golfer of the Week for the first time in her career, although she was named the All-Big 12, First-Tam Academic All-Big 12 and Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team during her time at TCU. She also received All-American Honorable Mentions from the Womens Golf Coaches Association in 2022 and 2023.

The Serengeti golfer will represent South Africa at the Espirito Santo Trophy in Abu Dhabi in October alongside fellow GolfRSA National Squad members Kajal Mistry and Megan Streicher. This marks her third appearance in the World Team Amateur Championships. She made her debut in Ireland in 2018, and again in France last year.

OLE MISS ATHLETICS

The European Challenge Tour has announced that the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A will be broadcast live for the second successive year.

The final event of the 2023 Road to Mallorca will again take place at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca, from 2-5 November as the top-45 players on the Road to Mallorca Rankings battle it out for one of the 20 life-changing DP World Tour cards on offer and a share of the €500 000 prize fund. All four days of the season finale will be televised live, giving fans the chance to watch the dramatic week unfold as golfing superstars of the future are unearthed.

Since its inception in 1989, the Challenge Tour has built a reputation as the perfect platform for players to achieve global success, producing Major champions including Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Trevor Immelman.

Jamie Hodges, Challenge Tour director, said: “I’m delighted that the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final will once again be broadcast live and fans around the world will be able to experience our season finale unfold. This is the pinnacle of our global schedule, and it allows us to build on the great success of last year.”

SuperSport has secured the broadcast rights for this event, so golf followers in South Africa will be able to watch this country’s stars, including Casey Jarvis, Brandon Stone, JJ Senekal, Jaco Prinsloo and Darren Fichardt in action.

GETTY IMAGES/CHALLENGE TOUR

The second launch edition of the popular Coastal Inland Challenge will be heading north to Highland Gate Golf & Trout Estate in Mpumalanga from 13-14 November.

The inaugural Ryder Cup-like event at St Francis Links two years ago went down to the wire, with the Coastal side coming up trumps by the seat of their pants.

Thinus Labuschagne, president of Limpopo Golf Union, will have a chance to turn the tables when the biennial event travels to the Ernie Els-designed 18-hole signature course, set at high altitude with spectacular views of the Steenkampsberg mountain range on almost every hole.

The two teams are comprised of four Seniors and four Mid-Amateurs, selected off the 2023 GolfRSA Senior and Mid-Amateur rankings as at 9 October.

Labuschagne’s charges will hail from Central Gauteng, Gauteng North, Ekurhuleni, North West, Limpopo, Free State and Mpumalanga. Eastern Province Golf president Joseph Matiwana will skipper the Coastal Team, with his eight players coming from Western Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Boland, Southern Cape, Eastern Province, Border and Northern Cape.

The format will be betterball and singles on day one, and foursomes and singles on the final day. This year there will be a total of 24 points up for grabs over two days, and the first team to 12.5 points will be crowned the 2023 champions.

GOLFRSA

Christo Lamprecht set two new benchmarks for South African amateur golf when he rose to No 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in September and moved to the summit of the PGA Tour University Rankings this October.

The GolfRSA National Squad member became the first South African since the inception of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in January 1997 to reach the No 1 spot on the world list after a one-shot victory on Sunday at the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois.

This marked his second individual title on the US collegiate circuit.

The lanky Lamprecht – already on the crest of a wave after he became just the third South African to win the Amateur Championship in England in July – led the field with rounds of 65 and 66 and triumphed on nine under after the final round was cancelled because of poor weather.

The Southern Cape native surpassed the previous two best ranked South Africans, Cameron Johnston and Nicol van Wyk, who both reached third in the rankings.

Just two weeks later, he took the top spot in the PGA Tour University rankings before the 2023-24 academic year after a runner-up finish at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at Shady Oaks Country Club.

The Georgia Tech standout is also the first South African to reach No 1 in the rankings for collegiate seniors.

The winner of this two-year cycle of the PGA Tour University rankings at the end of May 2024 will earn PGA Tour membership, while the players ranked one to five will earn full exemption for the Korn Ferry Tour and players ranked sixth to 10th earn conditional cards.

It continues a year of history-making moments for Lamprecht, who took the Amateur Championship title when he secured a 3&2 victory over Rohan Kleu from Switzerland in the 36-hole final at Hillside Golf Club.

The Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy graduate followed that with a performance which saw him become the first South African amateur to win the Silver Medal at the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Lamprecht was also named to the 2024 Fred Haskins Award list this September. This prestigious award recognises the most outstanding male NCAA Division 1 college golfer, and should he be successful, Lamprecht will join four former Georgia Tech golfers who have won the Fred Haskins Award, including David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Matt Kuchar (1998) and Bryce Molder (2001).

The South African amateur was a Haskins Award finalist last year after an outstanding 2022-2023 college season with Georgia Tech. He won the Inverness Intercollegiate, racked up runner-up finishes at the Watersound Invitational, the Linger Longer Invitational and The Goodwin, and was 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 and NCAA Salem Regional and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship. He was also named first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America and Golfweek magazine.

He will be making his second appearance in the Eisenhower Trophy at Abu Dhabi in October alongside fellow squad members Christiaan Maas and Altin van der Merwe, having represented South Africa in the World Amateur Team Championship in France last year.

GEORGIA TECH

Lexi Thompson has received a sponsor exemption to play the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas in October. The 28-year-old is an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour and was a member of this year’s US Solheim Cup team. Her brothers, Nicholas and Curtis, have also both held PGA Tour cards.

“It’s just a very cool opportunity for me to of course play alongside the men. That’s one thing. But to leave more of a message to the little girls and boys that no dream is too big. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything,” said Thompson. “I’m honored just to have this opportunity.”

This is the first offer the LPGA star has received to play at a PGA Tour event. She will be the seventh woman to compete on the Tour and the first female to compete since Brittany Lincicome at the 2018 Barbasol Championship.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lexi to the 2023 tournament,” said Shriners Children’s Open executive director Patrick Lindsey in a statement. “Shriners Children’s mission is to help all children live their best life regardless of what medical challenges lie in front of them. We are eager to have Lexi on the course and continue to break through barriers, just as our more than 1.5-million patients do every day.”

TRISTAN JONES/LET

Robin Williams shot an impressive four-under-par 68 as he strode to an emphatic six-stroke victory and his maiden Sunshine Tour title, on the final day of the Fortress Invitational at Glendower Golf Club.

Williams went into the last round with a four-shot lead, having been co-leader after the second round, and he seized even firmer control of the tournament when he collected four birdies in five holes from the 5th. The 22-year-old then made par through his final 11 holes as he never showed any signs of faltering on the biggest day of his career so far.

Tremendously long and accurate off the tee, and with a putter that was red-hot, Williams ensured he kept an iron grip on proceedings, winning in style in just his 16th Sunshine Tour start.

“I’m over the moon and I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a couple of days,” he said after he finished on 19-under-par 269 on the Glendower course that always provides a stiff challenge.

“At the start of the season, you always set your sights on winning, but we know in golf that things don’t always work out the way you want them to. But I knew if I keep working hard, I would give myself a good chance.”

Williams has used this triumph to vault into eighth place on the Order of Merit and he now doesn’t need to worry about pre-qualifying events and can focus on being fully prepared for the upcoming lucrative co-sanctioned tournaments.

TYRONE WINFIELD/SUNSHINE TOUR

Matt Fitzpatrick enjoyed double delight at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as a closing 66 at St Andrews clinched the individual title and helped him take team honours alongside his mom, Susan. The Englishman finished at 19 under par to claim his ninth DP World Tour title and become just the second player to do the double after Pádraig Harrington.

An opening 67 at Carnoustie proved a good platform upon which to build and Fitzpatrick followed it with a 64 at Kingsbarns to lead by one. He had to sit on that lead for two days as the weekend was washed out but it proved no problem as he cantered to a convincing win on the Old Course. "It's amazing," he said. "Winning is difficult. I had a chance a few weeks ago in Switzerland and that one hurt a lot. It doesn't get better than this. Winning at St Andrews, it's just a very special place.”

At one stage it looked as though the prestigious event wouldn’t be completed as Mother Nature wreaked havoc on the weekend. With weather warnings issued in Scotland, the rain refused to stop falling, leaving all three courses waterlogged and unplayable on Saturday and Sunday. But the groundstaff were the heroes of the day and with the tournament shortened to 54 holes, play could take place at the Old Course on the Monday.

GETTY IMAGES/ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS

Former powerhouse Central Gauteng is back in ascendancy, having swept to victory at the South African Inter-Provincial and South African Women’s Inter-Provincial Tournaments. The men’s team collected all 10 points on offer in an unchallenged victory at East London Golf Club in September, while the women’s team reeled in 11 points to finish at the summit at Umhlali Country Club in early October.

The Lions have dominated the men’s national team’s tournament since 2000 with 11 victories, but it was their first time back in the winner’s circle since their successive wins at Bryanston Country Club in 2017 and Oubaai Golf Club in 2018. Having routed North West and Free State 7-5 over the first two days, Central Gauteng were pushed on day three by Eastern Province, but they scraped through for a 6.5-5.5 win. An 8-4 win against Ekurhuleni on day four kept them at the top of the log.

On the final day, Filip Sakota, Jaden Deltel, Gustav de Lange, Sean Paxton, Kayle Wykes, Grant Labuschagne, Rees Emanuel and Simon handed two-time defending champions Western Province an 8-4 drubbing to seal victory.

Southern Cape (below) – relegated at San Lameer in 2021 – fought their way back into the A Section with an undefeated performance in Buffalo City.

It took even longer for the women to end the title drought, but returning to the scene of their 2016 success proved to be the catalyst to get the Lions back in the winner’s circle. Charlotte Millard, Casey Twidale, Gia Raad and Cara Ford threw down the gauntlet with three straight 6-0 sweeps against Boland, Ekurhuleni and Southern Cape, and held local favourites KwaZulu-Natal to a 3-3 draw over the first two days at the coast.

The Lions (below) continued their dominance with a 3.5-2.5 win against Western Province on day three and sealed victory with a resounding 4.5-1.5 win against defending champions Gauteng North on the final day.

Lauren van der Merwe, Crystal Janse van Rensburg, Maegan Webster and Megan Marais were equally impressive for North West (bottom) in the B Section. The quartet stacked up wins against Mpumalanga, Western Province B, Eastern Province, Limpopo and Free State to clinch the promotion battle with a winning record of 10 points.

GOLFRSA

Jack Buchanan from Western Province showed his off his coastal prowess to come out on top at the Dimension Data U-19 Open, while Eastern Province junior Shaun Viljoen impressed with a first national win at the Dimension Data U-15 Open.

In August, Buchanan led from start to finish at the Nomads National Order of Merit tournament at St Francis Links, and he once again proved the player to beat in the Southern Cape. The Milnerton golfer backed up an opening four-under 68 at Kingswood Golf Estate with a bogey-free 65 at George Golf Club in the second round.

Starting the final round four shots clear of his closest challenger, Nelis de Bruin, Buchanan back-pedalled with two early bogeys, but he rallied with a brace of gains on the 14th and 15th holes and parred his way to a five-shot victory.

Buchanan, who also won the Dimension Data U-15 Open in 2019, was delighted with the win. “I haven’t played much tournament golf since August due to exams and prelims, so to post a bogey-free round on the second day was great,” he said. “I played nicely at Kingswood, too, just made a few silly bogeys. The final day was tough in the wind, but I am happy that pulled it through with a level-par round.

“Obviously being from Cape Town and growing up on coastal golf, you learn to play in the wind and to adapt your game to the conditions. George is a tight layout that demands accuracy off the tees, so it feels good coming out of this with the win.”

Viljoen aid the foundation for his wire-to-wire win with an opening round of two-under-par 70 at George Golf Club.

In the second round at Kingswood Golf Estate, the 13-year-old offset three bogeys with a trio of birdies and opened up a two-shot lead. A final-round 73 at George Golf Club not only secured the win on one-under 215, but the St Francis golfer was the only player in the field to finish with a sub-par total.

“My ball striking over the three rounds was really good, but my short game was the key to the win,” he said. “Now it’s all about building experience. I’m going to compete at the Cape Town Junior Open and then play some of the tournaments in Johannesburg. I hope that playing in the Highveld, which is different to the coast, and competing against the top golfers in the country, will help me improve my game.”

GOLFRSA

Southern Cape went wire-to-wire at Magersfontein Golf Club to win the Nomads SA U-13 Championship, while Jordan Groenewald delivered a captain’s innings to lift the individual title.

Over three days in the Northern Cape, Groenewald, Wynand Roeloffze, Jean-Prieur du Plessis, Jonty Milne, FC Els and Luca Viljoen combined for rounds of 391, 410 and 394 to claim a four-shot victory over Gauteng North.

Groenewald anchored the side with rounds of 69, 77 and 71, and his one-over-par 217 total earned the Kingswood junior his first national victory. He finished four shots clear of Gauteng North’s Jacques Olivier and five ahead of Aiden Combrinck from Ekurhuleni.

“It was a great performance from the entire team,” said team manager Roelof Roelofffze. “They are such a talented group of juniors, and I am very proud of how they held up under pressure to lead from start to finish.

“We always stress the importance of enjoying a tournament like this, but I believe that when kids this age take things too seriously, they tend to lose focus. We kept them busy after rounds with fishing and braais, and when it was time for them to tee it up, we told them to go out there and do their best, but to have fun and to enjoy it.

“We are also very proud of Jordan’s achievement. Winning this championship was huge for the entire team, but especially for Jordan after he came so close at the Ernie Els SA Primary Schools Championship a few months ago. It’s a great bunch of boys, and they represented Southern Cape with such pride, on and off the course.”

GOLFRSA

North West junior Janko van der Merwe closed out his second victory in two months when he swept to a one-shot victory at the 2023 Cape Town Junior Open. And just like he did at the Nomads North & South Championship triumph at Pecanwood Golf & Country Club in August, he hit the front in round one, and never let up.

Playing the King David Mowbray Golf Club course blind, he made a superb start with an opening four-under-par 68 that featured six birdies. However, the Magalies Park golfer struggled to keep the putter hot in the afternoon and signed for a frustrating 77 that left him sharing pole position on one-over 145 with Bryanston’s Peter Watt, who returned a one-under 71.

Van der Merwe gave shot back to the field at the par-four second in the final round but then the 17-year-old racked up five birdies on the trot from the 5th hole. He dropped on the 11th but negated the bogey with a sixth birdie on the par-five 14th and, despite an errant tee shot at the ultimate hole and double-bogey finish, Van der Merwe had put enough daylight between himself and the chasing pack to win by one on one-under 215.

“It’s a tough track, especially when you haven’t played it before and when the wind is up, like it was on the first day. I really enjoyed it, though, because I like playing courses that test my course management,” said Van der Merwe.

“I had a frustrating time with the putter in the second round, but thankfully, it came to the party over the last 18 holes. I have been working on some things in my game, and it’s nice to see the work pay off. I really enjoyed this one; it was tough but fun.”

Fellow GolfRSA National Squad members Devon Valentine and Fabrizio de Abreu closed with respective rounds of 69 and 70 to finish one shot adrift in joint second place.

GOLFRSA