2014 Curro South African Juniors International
.JPG)
Four JNJG juniors made the journey to South Africa with JNJG Player Development Manager Khan Pullen for the 2014 Curro South African Juniors International. The event is being held 130km north of Cape Town at the Langebaan Cuntry Estate. One hundred and eighty players, officials and guests attended the opening function which signified the start of three days of great golf in a field that includes top ranked world junior Brad dalke from the USA, as well as players from Australia, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Iceland, Mexico, Venezuela, Namibia, Netherlands, Canada, Zimbawe, Sweden, USA and South Africa.
Khan has been reporting back with the trip so far:
Well after 26 hours of travelling the JNJG team of Daniel Gale, Daniel Kolar, Jess Lasky and Stefanie Hall finally arrived at Langebaan on the Western Cape of South Africa to compete in the Curro SA Juniors International at Langebaan Country Estate.
After checking into the accommodation and having some lunch, the team walked the back nine of the course to get a feel for it. They also used this walk to recover from the long trip and to just try and stay awake and get acclimatised to the local time.
After a quick dinner at one of the local restaurants down at the beachside, it was back to the accommodation and pretty much straight to bed.
The next morning saw everyone wake up ready to prepare for the tournament on the official practice day. Unfortunately Stefanie Hall had picked up a bit of a head cold on the flight over and was feeling not feeling 100 percent. So a quick trip to the local chemist to pick up some medicine, that will hopefully get her feeling a little better.
The predominant feature of the Langebaan Course is the wind as it is right on the coast. The wind totally switched direction from a North Westerly when the team walked the course to a South Easterly during the practice round, so it was great for them to see how the holes played so differently with the changes in wind direction.
The other feature of the course the team need to make adjustments too are the greens, being more like "Queensland Greens". So they are different to chip to based on how the ball reacts whether you are landing into or down grain and the same goes for speed of the putts when on the green. Another feature of the course is that they have allowed the rough to grow around the edges of green getting up and down can be difficult if you miss in the wrong spot. Overall though the team has prepared quite well in getting used to the conditions.
The players attended the opening dinner last night which was very nice. The tournament has a very international field with players coming from various European countries, also some players from Asia and the USA along with many local kids from various regions of South Africa. So the players had a great time meeting some new friends and learning about different cultures and languages.
The players have later tee off times on Day 1 so a good breakfast and warm up and they will be ready to go!!
Follow the "live leaderboard" and all the news from the event by clicking here.
.JPG)
Day 1:
After the first round of the boys tournament Daniel Gale sits in a tie for 8th place. After a reasonable start, Daniel unfortunately got a flyer out of the rough with his second shot into the 7th green that lead to a double bogey and an outward nine of 3 over par. Daniel fired three birdies around the back nine with a lone bogey on the tough 15th hole, to finishing up shooting 73(+1).
Daniel Kolar didn't get off to the start he had hoped double bogeying the first hole followed by five more bogeys on the front 9 to turn in 43 (+7). Daniel fought on around the back nine making a birdie on the par 5 12th but unfortunately bogeys on14 and 17 and double bogey on 15, made it tough day for Daniel. To his credit he fought all the way finishing with a birdie on 18 to finish up shooting 83(+9) to be positioned in a tie for 55th.
On the girls side of this Jess Lasky also got off to nervous start to be 4 over after three holes. A birdie on the par 5 8th, saw her get one back to turn in +3. Unfortunately two poor drives that finished out of bounds lead to two double bogeys on the back nine. Jess finished up shooting 79(+7) to be in a tie for 10th place.
Stephanie Hall still feeling the effects of a cold, struggled today shooting 84(+12).
All players will be hoping to get off to better starts tomorrow in the second round and try and improve their positions.
Day 2:
Well it was a positive day today for the JNJG team with all players improving on their positions in the field and either matching or improving their day 1 scores.
With the way the draw was configured the leading players went out early, and took advantage of the calmer conditions.
Jess Lasky shot a 73(+1) to move up into 5th place on 152(+8) four behind the leader, local South African player, Kaleigh Telfer. Jess recorded three bogeys and two birdies in a very solid round.
Daniel Gale matched his one over par first round with the same score today. In similar circumstances to yesterday Daniel got off to a slow start where a few out of position tee shots lead to bogeys on the front nine. Daniel bounced back with a three birdies on the back nine, before an out of bounds tee shot on 17 lead to a double bogey. Daniel currently sits on 146 and in a tie for 6th.
Daniel Kolar improved on yesterday's performance to record 73(+1). Daniel's tee to green game was much improved on yesterday and with a bit of luck on the green could have seen an under par score. To his credit Daniel remained very patient and stuck to his game plan, and didn't let the missed opportunities frustrate him. Daniel currently sits on 154(+10), T31.
.JPG)
Daniel Kolar hitting his tee shot on the 13th
Stefanie Hall also improved on yesterday's score to record a five over 77. Stefanie's tee to green game was very solid on her opening nine, but two three putts and not being able to scramble from green side situations lead to some soft bogeys. An eagle on the 4th hole (Stefanie's 12th) was a highlight and Stef was able to recover some ground to be positioned tied16th.
.JPG)
Stefanie Hall hitting her tee shot at the 15th
Other activities on the day included a nearest to the pin and putting competition at the conclusion of your round. The players were also treated to an acrobatic aircraft flyby this afternoon. Tonight the players enjoyed a trivia quiz and players only pizza and pasta night. Many new relationships have been formed and many new languages learned, in particular Africaans, Danish, Swedish and German!!
With the last round tomorrow all players are hoping to continue to improve their scores and hopefully a highly placed finish.
In an interesting side note the current boys leader is South African Jovan Rebula. Jovan happens to be Ernie Els’ nephew. I would say that he has spent a fair amount of time with Ernie or at least watching him, as his pre-shot routine, swing technique and rhythm, all look very similar too Ernie's!! He also happens to be on scholarship with the Ernie Els/Fancourt Foundation. I happened to watch him play the first nine holes today as he played with Daniel Gale and he played like Ernie Els. Long straight driving, pin point accuracy with his irons and holed a few putts. He had eight birdies in today's round of 66 to be five under overall and tied for the lead. He is also the number one ranked junior in South Africa. A name to watch in the future!!
Day 3:
We woke this morning to a heavy sea fog, that caused the tee times to be delayed by two and a half hours.
Once it lifted it was a beautiful sunny day, but still with the consistent stiff breeze that has been a feature on all days.
Daniel Gale needed to get off to good start if he was going to be a chance to move further up the leader board. He got off to a good start to be -1 under through four, but two dropped shots and another birdie on 8 saw Daniel turn in even par. A bogey on 10 and doubles on 15 and 17 due to out of bounds tee shots. A lone birdie on the last saw Daniel shoot 76 to finish on +6 and in 10th position.
Jess Lasky also need a fast start if she was going give herself a chance at the title going into the back nine. Unfortunately a bogey on the first didn't help but she got that shot back with a birdie on the par 5 4th but gave it back the following hole. Two double bogeys on 7 and 10 proved costly. Jess ended up shooting 76 to finish at +12, which was good enough for 6th place.
Daniel Kolar round consisted of three birdies, three bogeys, two doubles and a triple bogey to shot 79 to finish at +17 and in a tie for 45th.
Stefanie Hall also had a few poor holes that really blew out her score, eventually shooting 81 to finish on +26 in a tie for 18th.
Overall the tournament has been a great experience for the players both on and off the course. All played some very good golf over the three rounds, but to many "others" on each of their scorecards really cost them finishing much lower down the leaderboard.
Both the boys and girls tournament were won by local South African kids.
A day of sight seeing and shopping tomorrow around Cape Town and then we head back home.
