SWAKOPMUND, Namibia (11 April 2019) – South Africa’s leading amateurs Wilco Nienaber, Luca Filippi, Jayden Schaper and Therion Nel completed a successful title defence in the 25th Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament in Namibia on Thursday.
Team South Africa won the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament for a 23rd time with a dominant performance at Rossmund Desert Golf Course in Namibia; credit GolfRSA.
Left to right: Luca Filippi (Western Province), Therion Nel (Free State), Wilco Nienaber (Free State), Jayden Schaper (Ekurhuleni) and South African Golf Association President Naadir Agherdien.
The GolfRSA National Squad quartet signed off with a clean sweep in the Match Play final round at Rossmund Desert Golf Club to celebrate a 23rd victory for South Africa’s in the prestigious event.
The South African team dominated the 54-hole Stroke Play seeding stage to set up a final round date with the host nation.
Jubilant GolfRSA National Squad members Luca Filippi, Therion Nel, Wilco Nienaber and Jayden Schaper – after securing South Africa’s 23rd victory in the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament at Rossmund Desert Golf Course in Namibia; credit GolfRSA.
Left to right: Wilco Nienaber (Free State), Therion Nel (Free State), Jayden Schaper (Ekurhuleni) and Luca Filippi (Western Province).
Ekurhuleni junior Schaper took the Individual honours on 10-under-par 210 with rounds of 71, 66 and 69, while Filippi finished second, Nienaber third and Nel placed fifth individually to top the seeding table with a team total of 629.
Meanwhile Namibian quartet Grant Mather, Likius Nande, Kevin Wentzel and Stanley Gawanab combined for 674 to edge out Mauritius by four strokes for second place.
Filippi and Nel were sent in to bat first in the foursomes against Wentzel and Mather.
“We played really well, although we got off to a slow start with successive bogeys,” said Filippi from Western Province. “We started to dovetail really nicely and we were two-under through the turn. By the 13th hole we were 5-up and we wrapped up a 6 & 5 win.”
Schaper faced Nande in the first singles match.
“I got off to a slow start,” said Schaper, who won his game 1-up. “I bogeyed the second, but I bounced back with a birdie at the third to square. Birdies at four and five kept the game square, but I let another one slip at the sixth hole.
“I birdied the eighth to stay 1-down, but started well on the back nine with a birdie to square again. We both birdied 12 and 13. I went 1-up with a birdie at the par five 15th and finished with pars for the win. It was a great match against Likius. It was tight from start to finish and I’m really pleased that I got the job done to help the team to a clean sweep.”
Proudly South African. Team South Africa won the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament for a 23rd time with a dominant performance at Rossmund Desert Golf Course in Namibia; credit GolfRSA.
South Africa’s number one ranked Nienaber played Gawanab in the final game.
“I faced a few challenges, but overall I played really well,” said the Bloemfontein golfer after beating the Namibian 3 & 2.
“I was 1-up through four holes, and then I removed an out of bounds stake and lost the hole. I made some great putts to turn 2-up and eagled 10 after a great drive to go 3-up.
“At the 13th hole my caddie realised he lost my sand-wedge, so I had to take the bag over the last couple of holes where he went on a treasure hunt in the desert. On top of it, my range finder stopped working, so I had to go old school over the last couple of holes. It was a great match, irrespective, and we had a lot of fun out there.”
South African Golf Association President Naadir Agherdien said fighting spirit sealed their victory.
“This competition continues to improve and winning was not as easy as we would have wanted,” he said. “The opposition took us deep in the singles with Wilco winning on the 16th and Jayden on the 18th. It speaks volumes for Namibia's fighting spirit.
“We are especially proud of Jayden having won individual honours in the stroke play seeding and credit to all four players for doing the country proud, both on and off the course, and for maintaining South Africa’s proud record. The team spirit among the boys this week has been very special and I believe they are well primed now for the GolfRSA National Squad Tour to Europe in May.
“Congratulations to Namibia on a fantastic contest and to Zambia, who won both singles games to beat Mauritius 2 & 1 for third overall.”
Final Result
Written and released on behalf of GolfRSA.
CAPE TOWN, 8 April 2019 – South Africa’s top amateur male golfers will once again test their mettle on a demanding tour to the United Kingdom and Ireland as the GolfRSA National Squad seeks to emulate its successful 2018 trip.
Last year’s squad bettered all expectations when they returned with three big international wins, a handful of top 10s and plenty of invaluable experience of playing golf in foreign conditions against the world’s best amateur golfers.
2019 SA Amateur Championship finalist Jordan Duminy from Southern Cape has been selected for the 2019 GolfRSA National Squad Tour to Great Britain & Ireland.
2019 Nomads SA Boys U-19 Stroke Play champion Sam Simpson from Western Province has been selected for the 2019 GolfRSA National Squad Tour to Great Britain & Ireland
Reigning Central Gauteng Open champion Yurav Premlall from Ekurhuleni will be joining the 2019 GolfRSA National Squad Tour to Great Britain & Ireland.
2019 ProShop Northern Amateur Open Match Play champion Christiaan Burke from Free State has been selected for the 2019 GolfRSA National Squad Tour to Great Britain & Ireland.
In total, 11 of the country’s most promising amateur golfers will participate in the 2019 tour, thanks to a generous donation made by businessman Johann Rupert.
The tour kicks off in May with South Africa’s top four-ranked players at the time of selection paying a visit to Dublin, Ireland, to get an early taste of Portmarnock Links and The Island Golf Club – the two courses that will host the 2019 Amateur Championship.
Wilco Nienaber, Jayden Schaper, Luca Filippi and Therion Nel will get in some valuable practice at the host venues as South Africa looks to defend the Amateur Championship title won by Jovan Rebula at Royal Aberdeen last year.
The quartet then moves across the Irish Sea to Leeds and the Alwoodly Golf Club for the English Men’s Stroke Play Championship, also known as the Brabazon Trophy.
South Africa has enjoyed recent success in this event, with Kyle McClatchie winning in 2017 and Nienaber narrowly losing out in a playoff for the title last year. Other former champions from South African include Charl Schwartzel, Craig Rivett, Richard Kaplan and Neville Sundelson.
Another group of seven GolfRSA National Squad members will begin their tour in Ireland at the East of Ireland Championship – an event won by South Africa’s Christo Lamprecht last year.
The Southern Cape golfer became the youngest winner and first foreign champion in the 76-year history of this prestigious event with his wire-to-wire victory at the Baltray Links.
Lamprecht is unable to defend his title due to schooling commitments, but a strong squad consisting of experienced tourists and squad rookies in Junior Open Championship winner Martin Vorster, Matt Saulez, Sam Simpson, former English Under-14 Amateur champion Casey Jarvis, Yurav Premlall, Christiaan Burke and Jordan Duminy will be eager to add their names to the trophy.
The East of Ireland Championship will be played at County Louth Golf Club, with players also enjoying a practice round at Portmarnock – further preparation for The Amateur Championship – before the event tees off.
The two travelling groups meet up in Scotland for the St Andrews Links Championship, from 7-9 June, with KeNako Academy head coach and former European Tour player Roger Wessels joining GolfRSA the squad.
Simpson, Jarvis and Vorster depart the tour following the St Andrews Links Trophy to join Lamprecht in Japan, where the GolfRSA Junior team will represent South Africa in the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup.
The remainder of the squad returns to Ireland for The Amateur Championship, where the group enjoys a full week of preparation before the big event.
In an exciting finale to the tour, players who qualify by virtue of their world amateur ranking will make their way to Diamond Country Club in Austria to compete in the European Amateur Championship.
“Following a very successful tour last year, players are looking to match these achievement,” explained GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn. “We have an exciting mix of established and up-and coming talent in this touring squad and we are very fortunate to be able to give them the opportunity to play international events, in unfamiliar conditions and against the best amateurs in the world.
“We are massively grateful to Mr Rupert for the initial donation that helped set up the National Squad and for the additional funding received this year that will allow us to continue to provide this platform for the next few years.
“Thanks to the excellent work done at club and union level, South Africa has a rich history of competitive junior golfers and it is from this deep pool of talent that we draw players who make up the squad. Providing these playing opportunities is the important next level of development for these players.
“The experience of playing overseas events not only broadens their horizons but gives them a realistic sense of how they measure up against top international competition and which areas of their games they need to improve.”
Note: The tour itinerary is a provisional one and is subject to change.
PHOTOS - credit Ernest Blignault.
Written and released on behalf of GolfRSA.