GOLFRSA SQUAD WATCH

With just a semester left in her collegiate career, Kaiyuree Moodley is pondering life after university. Having been based in North Carolina for the better part of four years, the temptation to stay in the United States and play her way through the feeder tours to the LPGA Tour is strong. However, Moodley is leaning in a different direction

“I’ll be coming home to turn pro,” she says. “The cost of Q-School in the States is really expensive and I feel like there will be less pressure if I start my professional career in familiar surroundings. I’ll play on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and in the Standard Bank Series, on familiar courses and against players I know.

“There’s something of a safety net in this and I know that one day I’ll be good enough to come back to the US and compete on the LPGA Tour.”

If the plan sounds sensible, it’s because Moodley is blessed with a wise head on her young shoulders. She chalks this down to her time in the green and gold blazer.

“I think maturity has always been a strength of mine,” she says. “I’ve been representing South Africa and GolfRSA from a young age and I think all the travel and juggling of schoolwork makes you grow up a lot faster.”

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Get to know Kaiyuree a little better.

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Get to know Kaiyuree a little better.

FAVOURITES

South African course: Bryanston Country Club

International course: Chukyo Golf Club, Japan

Playing partner: Kaylah Williams

Meal: Mom’s chicken curry and rice

Event to watch on TV: Solheim Cup, Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup

Holiday destination: Mauritius

Role model: Annika Sörenstam

Best thing about the US: Southern-style barbeques

What I miss from home: Biltong

Dream fourball: Tiger Woods, Annika Sörenstam and Steph Curry

I’ve been representing South Africa and GolfRSA from a young age and I think all the travel and juggling of schoolwork makes you grow up a lot faster

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Moodley’s travels have taken her all across the world, including a prized trip to Argentina in 2018 as part of the South African squad that competed at the Summer Youth Olympics. She finished a creditable tie-22nd.

For the past four years, the 23-year-old from Johannesburg has made a home for herself at Charlotte, North Carolina, emerging as a natural leader within the school’s golf team. Despite many individual wins and accolades, she refers mainly to the team environment when talking about her career.

“My teammates are my closest friends,” she explains. “I live with some of them and we travel most weekends as a team to play at tournaments. We all eat, breathe and sleep golf but it’s also given me the opportunity to learn about other cultures from them.

“Golf is an individual sport, but I also know I am playing for my teammates – they make me want to practise harder and play better so that I can make the team better.”

Moodley will graduate with a degree in International Business, majoring in economics and finance. Sensibly, this is something she knows she can fall back on should her pro career not work out.

“It’s my backup plan,” she says. “You never know if your career is going to be cut short by injury or if you can’t play for whatever reason.”

WORDS OF WISDOM

Devi Sankaree Govender shares how they helped guide their daughter, Kaiyuree Moodley, as she tackled the world of golf.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Devi Sankaree Govender shares how they helped guide their daughter, Kaiyuree Moodley, as she tackled the world of golf.

“For me it was a no-brainer – I told her that the only question I’m ever going to ask you after a tournament or a round is, ‘Did you have fun?’ Yes, it’s going to get stressful but if you can keep telling me it was still fun, in my heart you can carry on playing.”

Govender goes on to say: “My parents encouraged so-called odd things. I come from a family of doctors and lawyers and I wanted to be a journalist. They encouraged it. So I think with that background, when it was clear Kaiyuree was good at golf, I thought that’s fabulous. I’m going to encourage this but as long as she has fun.

“I’m not sporty at all, so if she came home crying after a tournament, the only support I could give was, ‘It’s fine. Maybe it was a bad round for you but that’s actually OK. Tomorrow’s another day.’ I slowly started to teach her not to let a hole that goes wonky affect her. Tomorrow’s a new day, the next hole is a new hole, the next swing is the first swing.

“I wanted a child who is whole at the end of it, not broken because of this tough game.”

The family also put systems in place to ensure the academic side of things wasn’t neglected, “The understanding was that you earned the right to play golf via your academics. Because when golf is over and you’ve got no degree, no nothing, now what?”

Govender adds: “I’ve been on television for 30 years and what was always important to me is that I’m not a celebrity, I need to be able to get on with everybody from all walks of life so that they trust me with their stories. And the kids saw the same thing, there was no space to be a prima donna. I’m only as good as my last story, Kaiyuree is only as good as her last tournament or her last practice session, so you’ve got to just keep working on it.

“I also tried to instil a work ethic in them, you’ve got to just plug on. Plant the seeds, the trees grow in time.”

Golf is an individual sport, but I also know I am playing for my teammates – they make me want to practise harder and play better

Given how much her game has improved since she moved to the US, there’s every chance she won’t have a job behind a desk. She has worked hard to pick up some important distance and even her short game – a real strength of her play – has improved in her four years at Charlotte.

This has all resulted in a huge leap forward in her results, with Moodley racking up no fewer than nine top-10 finishes in 2023, including two wins.

“My consistency has definitely improved,” she says. “I’ve been getting myself into contention to win more often and that has helped boost my self-confidence. Getting the two wins last semester has instilled a belief that I have what it takes.

“The competition is so strong here,” she continues. “It’s something I probably wasn’t ready for when I first came over, but it’s forced me to work even harder and improve my game. The lifestyle of the student athlete is very different to what I was used to in South Africa, but I can definitely say I’m a better golfer and I have a lot more confidence in my ability.”

FROM THE MEMORY BANK...

A young Kaiyuree on her experience at the US Kids European Championships.

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My consistency has definitely improved... Getting the two wins last semester has instilled a belief that I have what it takes

As if to prove her point, Moodley successfully defended her Gauteng North Open title the last time she was back in South Africa while on her summer holidays. She also remains an important member of the GolfRSA National Squad, part a group of eight college-based players within the Elite Squad.

As one of the older members of the squad, she has plenty of experience to offer the younger players – particularly those looking to follow her route to a US college.

“I’ve been part of the Squad since TID [formerly the Talent Identification squad, now known as the Qalisa Squad],” she says. “The tournaments and squad camps have been such an important part of my development as a player. The camps have been a great opportunity to learn from top coaches like Val [Holland] and Anna [Becker-Frankel], as well as from the other players.”

A transition into the paid ranks will see friends and teammates become golfing adversaries, competing for the same share of the pie. Armed with newfound self-belief in her abilities, Moodley is ready take it solo.