JOHANNESBURG, 25 November 2014 – Gauteng North’s Danielle du Toit will make her debut alongside Shawnelle de Lange, Crystal Beukes and Brittney-Fay Berger at the sixth Albatross International Junior Golf Championship in India this December.
Du Toit and De Lange from Gauteng will line up in the 15-17 age division, while Beukes from Boland and Berger from KwaZulu-Natal will compete in the 13-14 age group at the prestigious international event.
The team depart for India on 29 November and the tournament will be contested from 2-5th December at the Ridge Valley and Canyon courses at the ITC Classic Golf Resort.
Du Toit rose to prominence with a third place finish in the 2013 Sanlam SA Women’s Stroke Play and was selected for the Gauteng North B team for the Pick n Pay SA Women’s Inter-Provincialin Port Elizabeth last year.
She graduated to the Gauteng North A team for this year’s SA Women’s IPT in October, where she went on to win the qualifying round at Royal Cape Golf Club.
Following a third place finish at the Boland Junior Championship and a top 10 at the Nomads WPGU Junior in early January, Du Toit hit her stride and reeled in top four finishes at the Gauteng 54-Hole, Ekurhuleni Women’s Junior, the Nomads Gauteng Stroke Play and Gauteng Junior Championships.
She also tied for eighth in the Nomads SA Rose Bowl Girls Championship.
The selection came as a complete surprise to Du Toit, who ranks sixth in the WGSA Junior standings and caps a superb season for the 15-year-old Waterkloof amateur.
“I think surprise is the understatement of the year,” said the Gauteng North golfer.
“I didn’t even know about the tournament or that I was being considered. There are so many really talented South African juniors and the honour to be selected is a huge privilege!
“Unfortunately I am sitting my grade nine exams at the moment, so the time frame to prepare is fairly short, but I am following a slightly adjusted off-season training programme. I feel confident about my game, though, and I am sure I will be ready when the time comes to perform.”
De Lange was the only local amateur to make the cut in the 2014 Cell C SA Women’s Open and shared the Jackie Mercer Trophy for the leading amateur with Mathilda Cappeliez from France.
The 2011 Sanlam Cancer Challenge winner also made her debut for South Africa at the Africa Youth Games in Botswana earlier this year.
Thirteen-year-old Beukes from Stellenbosch climbed to the 18th in the WGSA Junior Ranking after a tie for eighth at the Ackerman Championship in September, while Mount Edgecombe’s Berger finished 11th in the same event. Beukes also emerged undefeated at the SA Women’s IPT.
WGSA president Karen Olivant will accompany the team and is certain the international experience will further aid the development of their games.
“All four players made a valuable contribution during the 72-Hole Teams Championship and SA Women’s IPT for their respective provinces, but I believe any opportunity to compete internationally is invaluable and we are excited to give these four juniors this chance to grow,” Olivant said.
“The tournament carries world ranking points and draws the top juniors from around the world. We are definitely going to compete, but we also encourage our players to learn a little about the local culture and to forge friendships at all our international events.”
Compiled by Lali Stander
Danielle du Toit; credit Dale Boyce