Kajal Mistry, Symone Henriques and Kaleigh Telfer lifted the inaugural Girls Competition trophy at the All-Africa Junior Golf Championship, while compatriots Luca Filippi, Jayden Schaper, Garrick Higgo and Christo Lamprecht celebrated a 19th consecutive victory for South Africa in the Boys Competition at Africa’s premier junior golf contest in Zimbabwe on Friday.
As action wrapped up at Royal Harare Golf Club, there were even more reasons to celebrate.
‘Luca and Kajal both won the individual honours and our players held the leading positions in both the girls and boys competitions,’ said Women’s Golf South Africa president Karen Olivant.
‘But most importantly, our teams made sure that we will be sending two South African junior teams to compete in this year’s Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan.’
Boys Competition
The SA Boys team slept on a 15-stroke lead over Zimbabwe. The quartet combined for a magnificent final round 17-under-par 199 to triumph by 37 strokes on 23 under 841.
Filippi from Western Province closed with a 68 to finish at 12 under 276, while Ekurhuleni’s Schaper fired a 66 to finish in second on 282. South Africa’s top ranked Higgo from Boland rocketed to third on 2287 with a grand-stand finish seven-under-par 65. Reigning Sanlam SA Amateur champion Christo Lamprecht from Southern Cape rounded out the top four, after he signed for a two under 70 to finish at even-par 288.
‘Well, that was one for the books,’ said delighted team manager Eden Thompson. ‘The guys really came out to play and I am really proud of all four of them for what they achieved.
‘It has been a tough week and despite always being confident that we have what it takes, Zimbabwe really brought the game to us in the first and second rounds. The SA boys’ consistency showed in the third round and our lead grew from three shots to 15, which I believe relaxed them somewhat for the final round, but also gave them that extra little push.
‘I told the boys that the job was not yet done; that they needed to go out and play to show why they are the top-ranked junior team in Africa, and the scores speak for themselves. It was really good to finish on a high, with all four players breaking par on the day.
‘I believe Garrick’s 65 is a tie with the current amateur course record, but both Garrick and Jayden will rue some missed putts out there, despite their exceptional scoring. It was also really special for Luca to pull through on the individual title. His final round was once again a very well put together effort, and talking to him on the back nine I could see he was in a very good space.
‘I must congratulate Royal Harare and the Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association, who were fantastic hosts. The course was absolutely exceptional and a real test for the boys and girls.’
Girls Competition
The SA Girls teams began the final round with an insurmountable lead and a five over 149 was good enough to triumph on four over 580 and edge out Zimbabwe by 61 shots.
Mistry from Gauteng completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Girls Competition in four rounds that included two course records – a 69 in round one and 67 in round two – and a final round 75.
‘I didn’t start well today and I was three over after nine holes,’ Mistry said. ‘I made some birdies at 11 and 16, but I finished with a pathetic double. At the end of the day, we all did our bit to make this victory happen, and we are going to Japan. That’s all that matters.’
The Gauteng junior celebrated victory on even-par 288 and finished four shots clear of Symone Henriques, who closed with a 74. ‘I was two under through 14, but I bogeyed 15 and I missed a short putt for birdie at 16,’ said Henriques.
‘Unfortunately I had a horrible finish with a double bogey at 17 and bogey at 18. Not how I wanted to end the week, but I’ve had an amazing experience. The course was brilliant, meeting the girls from the rest of the teams was really awesome and I am so stoked that we pulled off the win.’
Fellow Gauteng golfer Kaleigh Telfer made it a one-two-three finish for South Africa when she carded a 75 to finish at 304.
‘I was going along really nicely and got it to two under through 14 holes,’ said the reigning Sanlam SA Women’s Stroke Play champion. ‘Then I dropped a shot at the short hole, and it was downhill from there.
‘This was an amazing experience and I am so pleased to share this victory with Kajal and Symone. It’s going to be a fantastic experience to go back to Japan for a third time with these girls and we are so happy we could win this for South Africa.’
The SA Boys and Girls team celebrate double victory at the All-Africa Junior Golf Championship in Zimbabwe. From left to right: Luca Filippi (Western Province), Symone Henriques (Gauteng), Christo Lamprecht (Southern Cape), Kaleigh Telfer (Gauteng), Garrick Higgo (Boland), Kajal Mistry (Gauteng) and Jayden Schaper (Ekurhuleni). Picture courtesy of GolfRSA.
Boys Competition – Final Result
841 South Africa 211-219-212-199
878 Zimbabwe 212-221-224-221
917 Reunion Island 228-232-229-228
927 Morocco 229-241-233-224
930 Uganda 229-229-237-235
971 Zambia 238-253-241-239
989 Kenya 240-248-253-248
993 Tunisia 235-255-267-236
996 Namibia 258-256-248-234
997 Mauritius 252-251-250-244
1,000 Malawi 246-257-259-238
1,128 Botswana 268-296-310-284
Boys Individual Competition – Final Result
276 Luca Filippi RSA 70 71 67 68
282 Jayden Schaper RSA 70 73 73 66
287 Garrick Higgo RSA 71 78 73 65
288 Christo Lamprecht RSA 71 75 72 70
290 Justin Kersten ZIM 67 77 78 68
295 David Amm ZIM 73 73 71 78
299 Alexandre Lasalarte REU 74 77 73 75
300 Nyamukondiwa Tafadzwa ZIM 79 71 75 75
304 Amine El Khamaj MOR 76 78 78 72
306 Antoine Sale REU 76 74 78 78
Girls Competition – Final Result
580 South Africa 144-150-137-149
641 Zimbabwe 159-163-161-158
666 Kenya 170-177-163-156
703 Zambia 103-219-197-184
Girls Individual Competition – Final Result
288 Kajal Mistry RSA 69 77 67 75
292 Symone Henriques RSA 75 72 70 74
304 Kaleigh Telfer RSA 75 79 75 75
320 Kellie Gachanga KEN 78 89 77 76
325 Danielle Bekker ZIM 77 82 83 83
326 Emily Jones ZIM 82 81 87 76
333 Margaret Nyamukondiwa ZIM 87 86 78 82
346 Ashley Ouma KEN 92 89 86 80
384 Loice Akinyi KEN 93 99 96 99
406 Rachel Namusiya ZAM 103 114 199 90
409 Miness Siami ZAM 98 115 100 96
N/A Martha Matyola ZAM DQ 105 97 94
