Lali Stander –
VEREENIGING (29 May 2013) – Gauteng North celebrated an unprecedented double victory at the 72 Hole Teams Championship after lifting both the Swiss Teams Trophy and Challenge Trophy at Maccauvlei Golf Club on Wednesday.
The defending champions did not only retain their A-Division title, but their B-team finished second while their C-team held off a spirited challenge from Limpopo to capture the B-Division title.
This marks the first time that one province has won both the coveted Swiss Teams Trophy and the Challenge Trophy since the B-Division was introduced in 2008.
Kim Williams, Nobuhle Dlamini and Magda Kruger were as imperious as last year, successfully combining again to lift the Swiss Teams Trophy and seal Gauteng North’s fourth A-Division victory in a row in this prestigious annual national team competition.
As expected, Gauteng North A took early control of the championship with an opening 145. The trio piled on the pressure with a second round 146 and 142 in the third and extended their advantage to take a 16 shot lead going into the final round.
While Kruger signed for a non-counting 79, Williams eagled the par-five 15th on her way to a closing one-under-par 72 and Dlamini birdied the 18th for a 74.
The defending champions closed with an even-par 146 and claimed the title on a winning score of five-under-par 579, 17 shots ahead of team mates Gauteng North B.
Carrie Park (72) and Gina Switala (75) produced a final round 147 for Gauteng North B, with Chrystal Cooper carding a non-counting 79.
The battle for the Challenge Trophy went down the wire, with Gauteng North C and Limpopo both throwing everything into the fight for glory.
The two teams began the final round in a tie for the lead on 477, but a 74 from Sylvia Masango and an 81 from Eugenie Clack gave the Gauteng North C side a final round 155. They edged out Limpopo for the B-Division title by a solitary shot.
Megan Bissett and Lynn-Marie Nagel shot matching 78s for Limpopo’s final round 156, while Lenanda van der Watt carded a non-counting 88,
Meanwhile Dlamini extended her dream run when she edged out defending champion Kim Williams to win the Governor’s Trophy for the best individual performance in the championship.
The Swazi golfer, already an eight-time winner this season, carded rounds of 69-74-72-74 to finish on three-under-par 289, one shot ahead of Williams, the only other player to finish below par with rounds of 76-72-70-72.
Another record set in this year’s championship was the amount of junior entries. Last year’s event drew 31 juniors, but the 2013 event saw 43 juniors (under 18s) tee it up in the 72-player field.
The B-Division drew 32 entries and 11 juniors teed it up in the A-division, including Ji Sun Kang and Cara Gorlei from the Western Province, Bianca Theron from Boland and Gauteng North’s Kruger, who finished fifth, sixth, tied eighth and 10th respectively in the final individual standings.
TEAMS RESULT
Swiss Trophy (Division A)
579 – Gauteng North A 145-146-142-
596 – Gauteng North B 150-154-145-147
607 – Western Province A 153-155-149-150
610 – Gauteng A 156-146-157-151
620 – Boland A 153-154-156-157
623 – Mpumalanga 155-152-159-157
625 – Gauteng B 158-158-158-151
625 – Western Province B 158-154-156-157
629 – Ekurhuleni A 160-155-153-161
649 – KwaZulu-Natal A 159-157-166-167
655 – North West A 165-161-165-164
658 – Southern Cape 168-162-164-164
Challenge Trophy (Division B)
632 – Gauteng North C 153-156-168-155
633 – Limpopo 166-156-155-156
639 – Gauteng C 167-155-159-158
646 – Free State & Northern Cape 165-163-163-155
666 – WGSA Invitational Team 175-168-161-162
666 – North West B 170-165-167-164
666 – Eastern Province 164-170-164-168
666 – Border 164-164-176-162
671 – Ekurhuleni B 164-167-170-170
681 – Boland B 172-168-165-176
691 – KwaZulu-Natal B 180-173-166-172
724 – Western Province C 174-177-187-186
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – TOP 10
289 Nobuhle Dlamini SWZ 69-74-72-74
290 Kim Williams 76-72-70-72
296 Carrie Park 77-73-74-72
299 Lara Weinstein 77-69-79-74
303 Ji Sun Kang 75-78-72-78
304 Cara Gorlei 78-77-77-72
304 Nicole Garcia 76-76-75-77
305 Gina Switala 78-81-71-75; Bianca Theron 78-72-78-77
307 Magda Kruger 77-74-77-79
