AICHI-PREFECTURE, Japan (16 June 2017) – The South African Boys and Girls teams both sealed top 10 finishes in the 2017 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup as the United States rallied for successive victories in the both divisions at Chukyo Golf Club in Japan on Friday.
GolfRSA Elite Squad player Kajal Mistry finished eighth overall in the Girls Individual Competition, while GolfRSA National Squad players Jayden Schaper and Luca Filippi placed 14th and 19th respectively in the Boys Competition.
GIRLS COMPETITION
The United States defended their title in wire-to-wire style with a final round 140 at the Ishino Course to beat Japan by five shots on 12-under-par 564, while top ranked Mistry and Kaleigh Telfer combined for 146 to secure a sixth place finish for South Africa.
“Kajal and Kaleigh both ended the tournament on a high note, but unfortunately Symone had another tough day at the office,” said Womens Golf South Africa president Sally Greasley.
“Kajal birdied the fifth and added two more birdies at 11 and 14 to move to three under. She left herself a very difficult downhill chip after missing the green in swirling wind at the tough par three and dropped a shot. The 17th has been her nemesis all week and once again, she went bunker to bunker and hit her third shot to the back of the green. But she holed a monster putt to save par – her first of the tournament – before a lip-out bogey at 18 for a level par 71.
“Kaleigh sunk a huge birdie putt at the par five sixth, but lost the advantage at nine. She four-putted 11 for a double bogey and dropped at 17 after a great chip, but she rallied with a great drive down 18 and a superb second shot to three feet and sunk the birdie putt for a 74.
“Symone started with two pars, bogeyed the fourth and had a double at nine and mixed a lone birdie at 12 with six bogeys for 80. All three girls really embraced the experience of this tournament and realised how tough it is playing against some of the best junior amateurs in the world.
“The course has challenged them with hard fast greens, hot temperatures, swirling winds and tough pins. With all the television activity it was hard to concentrate, but I am very proud of the way they conducted themselves and coped in such a big international event.
“This event was Kaleigh’s last junior tournament and she acknowledged the tremendous opportunities she has received from WGSA over the years. Our two GolfRSA Elite Squad players now know how hard they have to work to improve if they want to compete against the likes of the USA and Japan. They know they left several shots out on the course, but they realise that this is all part of their golf learning curve and this is why we give them these opportunities to gain experience.”
BOYS COMPETITION
The United States overcame a six shot deficit to successfully defend their title on 21-under-par 832 with a superb final round 132, while GolfRSA National Squad players Filippi, Christo Lamprecht and Schaper posted 216 to seal eighth spot on 860.
“There was huge disappointment in the camp, as eighth was definitely not what we aimed for,” said team manager Eden Thomson. “There was a little more wind than previous days, but it was accuracy more than anything that let us down.
“Garrick was a little erratic over the first eight holes but a triple at 18 really took the wind out of his sails. Garrick went for the flag, stuck back left and just short of a false edge that runs off into the hazard. His approach trickled over the back but stayed dry. He had a really difficult shot and he took on the bump and run. It finished a couple of inches short of good before the slope carried it back towards the hazard ….the result, a triple bogey. More frustration followed and Garrick mixed a few birdies with bogeys for a 76.
“Christo mixed a number of quality golf shots with some mediocre efforts, but his putter didn’t play along and he received no reward for half dozen birdie chances inside 15 feet. He kept himself in the game all day and although frustration levels were high, posted a solid 72.
“After three days, Jayden’s putter went ice cold. He missed one fairway in seven holes and hit every green within 12 feet. The return was zero and, to add injury to insult, a 20-foot birdie attempt at 16 burnt the edge of the hole. His first lapse came with a triple bogey at 17, but he finally nailed a birdie putt at the sixth and closed out his campaign with a 75.
Luca scrambled through the first nine holes, making a number of clutch putts to turn one under after birdies at 13 and 18. He bogeyed the first, but closed out a superb 69 with birdies at six and seven.”
GIRLS TEAM STANDINGS
564 United States 144-143-137-140
569 Japan 149-139-138-143
583 Australia 145-144-151-143; Italy 145-147-143-148
585 Colombia 149-150-145-141
586 South Africa 149-147-144-146
612 France 149-157-148-158
615 Mexico 151-156-158-150
622 Philippines 163-148-148-163
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS (top 10)
281 Alyaa Abdulghany USA 76-71-66-68
285 Yuna Nishimura JAP 72-70-68-75
286 Emilia Migliaccio USA 71-72-71-72
290 Ayaka Furue JAP 77-73-70-70
291 Benedetta Moresco ITA 70-73-70-78
293 Grace Kim AUS 73-73-73-74; Riri Sadoyama JAP 80-69-71-73
295 Kajal Mistry RSA 71-79-73-72; Clara Manzalini ITA 75-74-73-73
296 Isabelle Taylor 76-71-80-69
BOYS TEAM STANDINGS
831 United States 207-212-209-203
835 Japan 211-210-203-211
838 Thailand 211-209-202-216
846 Denmark 213-211-209-213
848 Germany 219-206-212-211
853 New Zealand 217-205-203-228
856 France 212-213-216-215
860 South Africa 216-212-216-216
862 Mexico 221-208-221-212
864 Italy 221-210-217-216
876 Colombia 224-216-218-218
887 Korea 228-219-217-223
888 Peru 223-220-216-229
897 Zimbabwe 236-218-213-230
903 Guatemala 227-226-227-223
BOYS INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
274 Frank Capan USA 67-68-70-69 = 274 (-10)
276 Kosuke Hamamoto THA 69-70-68-69 = 276 (-8)
277 Gustav Frimodt DEN 68-71-70-68 = 277 (-7)
278 Shota Ueki JAP 70-69-69-70; Travis Vick USA 70-73-72-63; Yuji Sekito JAP 71-71-69-68
280 Arituj Winaicharoenchai THA 73-68-66-73 = 280 (-4)
282 Rasmus Hojgaard DEN 72-70-69-72 = 282 (-2)
283 Nick Bachem GER 74-69-70-70; Marc Hammer GER 73-67-74-69; Daniel Hillier NZ 73-64-66-80: Sadom Kaewkanjana THA 69-72-68-74; Brandon Mancheno 70-73-69-71
