TSHWANE, 15 February 2016 – Woo-Ju Son described her final round in the Gauteng North Junior Championship as “very ordinary”, but even when the petite Gauteng junior punches below average, Son is tough to beat.

Just a month after a breakthrough victory in the Nomads WGWP Junior Championship at Durbanville Country Club, the Eagle Canyon golfer was delighted with a podium finish at Waterkloof Golf Club.

“This one was a lot tougher to win, and I guess that’s why this victory feels so much sweeter,” said 14-year-old Son.

Son boxed an eagle putt at the par five second and wiped out a trio of bogeys with seven birdies at to set the first round target with a blistering six-under-par 66.

She dropped four shots in the second round, but a birdie-birdie finish brought her home in even-par 72 and guaranteed a one stroke victory on six under 138 over fellow Gauteng player Kajal Mistry.

“I hit a lot of greens in regulation in the first round and putted really well to open up a two shot lead on Kajal,” said Son.

“My drives and my long game is usually very accurate, but I missed a lot of greens in the final round and I put a lot of pressure on my short game,” said Son.

“Kajal was playing really well in the final round and she kept the pressure up. My chipping really saved me and luckily the putter stayed hot.

“It was actually good to have such a tough round with my driver and irons, because it really forced me to lift my overall game. You need a good all-round game to compete seriously and I had to work hard with the wedges. That not a bad thing if you want to continue to improve.”

She climbed to the number one spot in the Womens Golf South Africa Junior Rankings and rose to fifth in the Senior Rankings in 2015, courtesy of runner-up finishes in the Boland and Ekurhuleni Championships, five third place and six top five finishes.

Although Son lost the number one spot in the Junior Rankings to former number one Kaleigh Telfer, she is nevertheless pleased with her progress this season.

“My goals for 2016 was to win on both the Junior and Senior circuits,” said Son, who rose to fourth in the Senior Rankings following a fourth place finish in the Eastern Province Stroke Play Championship last week.

“The most important thing is to try and finish in the top five in every tournament I play, because consistency is very important.

“I own two junior titles now and I feel like I am inching towards a Senior Circuit win. Who knows, maybe I will tick that box at the North West Championship at the end of the month.”

Pretoria Country Club’s Danielle du Toit and Catherine Lau from Woodhill Country Club tied for third on even-par 144, while 13-year-old Caitlyn Macnab from Ekurhuleni fired the low final round – a two-under-par 70 – to join Lindi Coetzee from Sandy Lane Golf Club in fifth on four over 148.

PHOTO – Gauteng North Junior Championship winner Woo-Ju Son; credit GNGU.