TSHWANE (3 March 2015) – South Africa’s Teaghan Gauche defeated Proudfoot Trophy winner Greig Marchbank of Scotland 2&1 in the first round of the Match Play at the Sanlam South African Amateur Championship at Silver Lakes Golf Estate on Tuesday.

Both players were involved in a playoff on Monday.

Marchbank beat South Africa’s number one ranked Tristen Strydom to win the 36-hole stroke play qualifier, while Wingate Park’s Gauche had to birdie the first playoff hole to beat out five other players for the final 64^th spot in the Match Play.

Gauche sprinted out of the blocks and was three up through four holes with a majestic eagle two at the par-four fourth hole.

“I just hit an amazing tee shot with my driver, which ended up three foot from the hole,” Gauche said. Continue reading →

Pretoria Country Club golfer Keegan de Lange vaulted into a share of the lead at five-under-par at the completion of the rain-affected first round of the Sanlam South African Amateur Championship at Silver Lakes Golf Estate on Monday.

Lighting and thunder brought a premature close to play on Sunday, but after play resuming at 6.30am, the 18-year-old Gauteng North golfer finished off his round in fine fashion with two birdies and an eagle on the par five 18th.

De Lange began his round with three birdies on his opening nine, but bogeyed both par threes down the home straight. The drops were offset by his fast finish, though, and De Lange joined early pacesetters Greig Marchbank and Daniel Young from Scotland in pole position.

The 36-hole Stroke Play Qualifier for the Proudfoot Trophy will determine the top 64 players that advance to the Match Play championship. Continue reading →

TSHWANE (1 March 2015) – The strong Scottish contingent made their presence felt on day one of the Sanlam South African Amateur Championship before lighting and thunder brought a premature close to proceedings at Silver Lakes Golf Estate on Sunday.

Greig Marchbank and Daniel Young set the pace at five-under-par 67, while the Boland’s Johan Germishuys leads the local challenge in the 144-man field at four under 68.

Scotland features prominently in the top 10, with Calum Fyfe and Ewen Ferguson lurking a single stroke adrift on four under.

The 36-hole Stroke Play Qualifier for the Proudfoot Trophy will determine the top 64 players that advance to the Match Play championship.

Young said his course management was pivotal to securing a notable first-round score.

“We’re all playing really well,” said the 23-year-old Craigie Hill golfer who ranks 231^st in the world.

“We all get along well and it’s good to see most of the Scots at the top of the board. It was good strategy, I just played smart and hit a lot of good iron shots into the pins you could get at. Continue reading →

TSHWANE (28 February 2015) – A determined posse of Gauteng North golfers will throw down the gauntlet in the Sanlam South African Amateur Championship, which tees off at Silver Lakes Golf Estate on Sunday.

Former SA Stroke Play champion Jason Smith spearheads the local challenge alongside Hendrikus Stoop and recent Free State Open champion Keegan de Lange, respectively second, fifth and seventh on the current South African Golf Association Open Amateur rankings.

The trio will join 25 fellow Gauteng North players in a bid for South Africa’s most prestigious amateur title, including 11th ranked Teaghan Gauche and local favourite Marco Loubser, who lifted the Gauteng North U-23 title a week ago.

The international World Amateur Golf Rankingevent tees off with a 36-hole Stroke Play Qualifier and only the top 64 finishers will advance to the Match Play Championship.

Stoop finished one stroke shy of the qualifier target last year, while Smith and De Lange were handed their marching orders in the first round of the championship at Hermanus Golf Club. Continue reading →

Marco Loubser with Gerry Few

The annual GNGU u23 Open event was held at Akasia Country Club on Sunday 23 February.

Marco Loubser won the event in a playoff against Rosswell Sinclair after the pair ended on 5 under par 139. Loubser was fast out the gate registering a brilliant 66 for his first round. The heat however caught up with the Centurion Country Club member and he was only able to record a second round score of 73. Rosswell took another path to his score registering rounds of 70 and 69 to tie Marco’s score. The first round saw Sinclair end with a string of 5 birdies in the last 6 holes and he ended the second round in similar fashion by recording 4 birdies in the last 5 holes.

The top six positions recorded scores of level par or better on a testing Akasia Country Club layout. Among these players was Kifentse Nukeri who shot rounds of 75 and 68 to record the lowest score for the second round and end 4 strokes off the pace. Nukeri shot a stern warning to his competition in the u17, u19 and u23 Inter Provincial teams that he is here to compete for a spot. The 16 year old youngster is a product of the SAGDB’s efforts in the Gauteng North region. “It’s his way of thanking the selectors for the faith they put in him.” Rohan de Beer, manager for the SAGDB in Gauteng North said. “I’ve always maintained that he has great potential and brilliant work etiquette. He was a very late selection for the u19 IPT at the end of last year and this gave him the belief that he is good enough to compete with the best.”

Kifentse Nukeri

Top Ten Final result:

MALELANE, 19 February 2015 – The Scottish Golf Union squad claimed a runaway 15.5 – 8.5 victory in the sixth edition of the annual Leopard Trophy and levelled the Test Series at three apiece after a full-blown assault against South Africa in the final round at Leopard Creek on Thursday.

Having trailed 3 – 1 after the opening Foursomes, the eight-man team rallied to claim five points in the Singles against South Africa to tie the first round at 6-all.

Starting the final round on even terms, the visitors fashioned the winning combinations in the Foursomes to forge 2.5 – 1.5 ahead. Continue reading →

At the start of the 2013 season, Gauteng junior Ivanna Samu was just another junior with big dreams. In two short years, though, the 16-year-old Ruimsig golfer has risen to third in the Womens Golf SA (WGSA) Senior Rankings and holds the number one spot in the Junior standings.

Samu notched five victories in 2014, including the prestigious Sanlam SA Women’s Amateur Championship, and reeled in a further 10 top five finishes on the junior circuit.

However, her meteoritic rise was instigated by a runner-up finish at the Gauteng North Junior Girls’ Open Championship early in February. On Sunday, the leggy teenager came full circle when she claimed a play-off victory in the 2015 edition at Centurion Country Club. Continue reading →