England deny GolfRSA Juniors for African Amateur glory

Slow and steady won the race for Team England, who overcame a 10-shot overnight deficit to deny the GolfRSA Juniors a second successive win in the Africa Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek on Wednesday.

The defending champions opened up a commanding lead with rounds of 217 and 206 to start the final round of the 54-hole Team Competition on nine-under with England, Sweden and Team South Africa a distant second.

While the rest of the field wilted in the Bushveld heat, though, the Roses kept a steady foot on the gas pedal.

Landsdown’s Joe Long fired three birdies on the bounce from the fourth and made three more on the trot from 10. The skipper overturned a bogey at 14 with a birdie finish for a five-under 67 to give the team a well-timed boost.

David Langley from Castle Royle closed the gap on the frontrunners to four shots with a four-under 68 and Rowland Castle’s Billy McKenzie’s run of straight pars from the seventh for a 74 took England to a final round total of 209.

Victorious England edged out the GolfRSA Juniors by one shot on six-under 642 to win the Team Competition in the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek, left to right: David Langley, Joe Long, Billy McKenzie and Tom Plum, credit Ernest Blignault.

Meanwhile the GolfRSA Juniors struggled on the homeward stretch.

Missed opportunities and a rush of bogeys over the closing holes proved too costly for the GolfRSA Juniors. Samuel Simpson and Martin Vorster posted a pair of 73s and a 74 from Jayden Schaper meant the defending champions came up one shot short of England’s six-under 642 target.

“All credit to the GolfRSA Juniors for setting a really high target over the first two days. We knew we had a huge gap to close on the GolfRSA Juniors, but with three scores to count, anything could happen. Leopard Creek had taken a fair amount of scalps over the first two days, so we went into the final round with patience and a positive approach,” said Long.

“We are absolutely delighted with the win. It was a much tougher week than any of us anticipated. This is not one of the top courses in the world for nothing. It’s very demanding off the tee and the conditions added to the challenge.

“Bogeys, double bogeys and even triple bogeys come quickly at Leopard Creek, especially if you get too aggressive. Tom (Plumb) put us in the running with his 67 in the second round and today, every guy had a job to do. We stayed patient, tried to keep the bogeys to a minimum, played for the best score we could put together for the team and got the job done.”

Scotland’s Euan Walker eagled the tough par five closing hole for a five-under 67 to surge into a four-shot lead and his effort boosted Team Scotland to third on 648. Jim Johnston contributed a 70 and Kieran Cantley 76 to their 213 final round total.

Final Result

642 Team England 225 Tom Plumb 73 David Langley 75 Billy McKenzie 77; 208 Tom Plumb 67 Billy McKenzie 67 David Langley 74; 209 Joseph Long 67 David Langley 68 Billy McKenzie 74

643 Team South Africa Juniors 217 Jayden Schaper 69 Martin Vorster 71 Samuel Simpson 77; 206 Samuel Simpson 68 Christo Lamprecht Jnr 69 Jayden Schaper 69; 220 Samuel Simpson 73 Martin Vorster 73 Jayden Schaper 74

648 Team Scotland 224 Euan Walker 72 Jim Johnston 76 Kieran Cantley 76; 211 Euan Walker 67 Jim Johnston 70 Kieran Cantley 74; 213 Euan Walker 67 Jim Johnston 70 Kieran Cantley 76

650 Team South Africa 229 Wilco Nienaber 74 Therion Nel 77 Deon Germishuys 78; 204 Wilco Nienaber 66 Luca Filippi 69 Therion Nel 69; 217 Therion Nel 71 Luca Filippi 72 Wilco Nienaber 74

655 Team Sweden 219 Ludwig Aberg 70 Gustav Andersson 73 Adam Wallin 76; 214 Ludwig Aberg 68 Rasmus Hjelm 73 Gustav Andersson 73; 222 Gustav Andersson 73 Ludwig Aberg 74 Rasmus Hjelm 75

657 Team India 225 Kartik Sharma 74 Varun Parikh 75 Anant Singh Ahlawat 76; 212 Kartik Sharma 67 Anant Singh Ahlawat 72 Varun Parikh 73; 220 Kartik Sharma 73 Anant Singh Ahlawat 73 Varun Parikh 74

659 Team Germany 219 Lukas Bastian Buller 72 Alexander Herrmann 73 Marc Alexander Hammer 74; 221 Alexander Herrmann 73 Jannik De Bruyn 74 Marc Alexander Hammer 74; 219 Alexander Herrmann 70 Lukas Bastian Buller 74 Jannik De Bruyn 75

686 Team France 231 Theo Boulet 75 Nicolas Muller 77 Aymeric Laussot 79; 228 Charles Larcelet 72 Nicolas Muller 78 Theo Boulet 78; 227 Charles Larcelet 74 Aymeric Laussot 76 Theo Boulet 77

705 Team Mauritius 248 Pierre Pellegrin 79 Julien Planel 82 Rakesh Channoo 87; 231 Pierre Pellegrin 74 Florent Toulet 74 Rakesh Channoo 83; 226 Pierre Pellegrin 72 Florent Toulet 75 Julien Planel 79

718 Team Reunion 242 Antoine Sale 79 Titouan Berny 80 Johan Mouniama 83; 235 Johan Mouniama 75 Antoine Sale 77 Titouan Berny 83; 241 Johan Mouniama 77 Titouan Berny 78 Antoine Sale 86

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