POLOKWANE, 10 April 2015 – JP Cooper and Rosswell Sinclair will line up for Gauteng North in the South African Under-23 Inter-Provincial Championship on Monday, but not before the pair put their friendship aside to battle each other in the final round of the Nomads SA Boys U-19 Match Play Championship.
The two 17-year-olds will go head-to-head in the 36-hole final at Polokwane Golf Club on Saturday.
Cooper from Wingate Park Golf Club defeated fellow Gauteng North golfer Keegan de Lange 5 & 4 in the first round and claimed a 1-up victory against Attie van Wyk from the Free State in round two.
The 17-year thumped Slade Pickering from the North West 3 & 2 in the quarter-finals.
He took early control of his semi-final match against Kyle Barker from Central Gauteng with an eagle at the par-five second.
Cooper reeled in birdies at the fifth, seventh and ninth hammer home his lead and followed with seven successive pars to seal a 3 & 2 victory.
Centurion’s Sinclair caused the first upset in the prestigious junior championship when he knocked out the country’s current number one ranked amateur Tristen Strydom 5 & 4 in the first round.
He downed Sentanio Minnie from Ekurhuleni 3 & 2 in the second round and toppled Sanlam SA Amateur finalist Jovan Rebula 2 & 1 in the quarter-finals to set up a semi-final clash against Luca Filippi from the Western Province.
The match remained all-square until Filippi went 1-up with a birdie at the par-four sixth, but the Milnerton golfer immediately lost the advantage with a bogey at the seventh.
Filippi took the lead again after a birdie-bogey-birdie combination at eight, nine and 10 from Sinclair, but the Gauteng North junior hit back to level the match with a birdie the par-five 12th where the Province golfer dropped a shot.
Sinclair went 2-up with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 and eagled the par-five 17th to win the match 2 & 1.
The players will tee off at 07h00 and live scoring will be available at www.saga.co.za
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Juan-Pierre Cooper beat Kyle Barker 3 & 2
Rosswell Sinclair beat Luca Filippi 2 & 1
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Juan-Pierre Cooper beat Slade Pickering 3 & 2
Kyle Barker beat Matt Saulez 2 & 1
Rosswell Sinclair beat Jovan Rebula 2 & 1
Luca Filippi beat Estiaan Conradie 2 & 1
PHOTOS – JP Cooper and Rosswell Sinclair; credit SAGA