EDENGLEN, 14 November 2018 – Ekurhuleni’s Caitlyn Macnab fired a second-round of 68 to successfully defend her Ladies A-Division title, while Mpumalanga’s Ru-Jean Lessingh matched her score to take the Men’s A Division title in the GolfRSA Champion of Champions event at Glendower Golf Club on Tuesday.

The tournament pitted the country’s top club champions from three different divisions against each other – first in a Regional and then a 36-hole National Final – to determine who the ultimate club Champion of Champions.

Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate club champion Macnab, one the country’s brightest prospects, won the National Final by seven shots last year. The 16-year-old GolfRSA Elite Squad member found herself trailing by four strokes heading into this year’s final round after a disappointing opening round of 81.

“I can’t even remember the last time I shot 81,” she laughed. “It was just one of those rounds and I had to put it behind me. So I set myself a target of five-under today and I’m really pleased that I almost achieved it.”

Macnab’s 68 vaulted her to victory and she won by an impressive five shots over Centurion Country Club champion Gina da Silva.

“Today was a bit better……13 strokes better,” jested Macnab. “Yesterday I hit three in the water on the ninth and another two in the water on the 12th – and then I topped it off by three-putting the 17th and 18th.

“I suppose there was more to play for today and I kept more focused. I really wanted to prove to myself that yesterday’s round was nothing more than a fluke.”

Walker Park’s Lessingh, who works for Morecorp and is based at Centurion Golf Village, was a bit surprised by how well he played.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to play recently because I’ve been so busy, so it was really enjoyable to get the win,” he said. “Today was a lot of fun because everything just happened for me. I know it sounds funny, but it was easy golf today. I really only made the one mistake on nine, which cost me a shot.

“It was very different to yesterday, which was a bit of a grind because the course was set up so long and tight. My 71 yesterday was probably as good as the 68 today.

“This is by far the biggest win of my career and I really wanted to get name on the trophy. And I’m only the second player to win it, so it’s a really good feeling.”

Lessingh was chased hard by Ruimsig’s Keelan van Wyk, whose flawless second-round 67 was the best score of the tournament. Ultimately, it was not enough and he finished two off the pace.

Wingate Park’s Domingos da Conceicao, a 6.1 handicapper, claimed the B-Division titles after rounds of 80 and 83 saw him home three strokes ahead of Kranspoort’s Krisjan Basson.

A fine round of 82 from Bronwyn Leigh Doeg saw the Pretoria Country Club golfer secure the Ladies B-Division title ahead of Port Shepstone’s Simone Ferreira.

The C-Division format was Stableford.

Barend Saayman ran away with victory. The Shark River member shot two superb scores of 40 and 39 points to win by an incredible 18 points over Juan le Roux from Leopard Park, while Bethlehem’s Carene le Roux secured a three-point win over Emfuleni’s Carin Greyvenstein in the Ladies Division.

Final results

Men’s A-Division (top 5)

• 139 Ru-Jean Lessingh 71 68
• 141 Keelan van Wyk 74  67
• 144 Derek Scullard 75 69
• 150 Bertie Steenkamp 73 77; Ethan Smith 73 77

Ladies A-Division (top 5)

• 149 Caitlyn Macnab 81 68
• 154 Gina da Silva 82 72
• 156 Eleanora Galletti 77 79
• 160 Vicki Traut 80 80
• 162 Pheletso Mota 78 84

Men’s B-Division (top 5)

• 163 Domingos da Conseicao 80 83
• 166 Crisjan Basson 88 78
• 169 Jonathan Heymans 86 83
• 171 Johannes Fuch Fick 91 80
• 172 Johan Brand 86 86; Frank Neto 89 83

Ladies B-Division (top 5)

• 169 Bronwyn Leigh Doeg 87 82
• 175 Simone Ferreira 86 89
• 179 Shelley Daymond 90 89
• 184 Linda Smit 90 94
• 188 Kim Uytenbogaardt 99 89

Men’s C-Division (top 5)

• 79 Barend Saayman 40 39
• 61 Juan le Roux 27 34
• 58 Jack Ellis 25 33
• 57 Andrew Rush 27 30
• 56 Andrew Anderson 26 28

Ladies C-Division (top 5)

• 64 Carene le Roux 34 30
• 61 Carin Greyvenstein 34 27
• 59 Nicolette Dunbar 29 29
• 55 Ansa Geldenhuys 24 31; M Tame 29 26

Ends

PHOTO – The A-, B- and C-Division prize winners of the 2018 Champion of Champions National Final at Glendower Golf Club; credit Ernest Blignault.

Left to right:

Barend Saayman (C-Division / Shark River Golf Club), Domingos da Conseicao (B-Division / Wingate Park Country Club), Ru-Jean Lessingh (A-Division / Walker Park Golf Club), GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn, Caitlyn Macnab (A-Division / Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate), Bronwyn Leigh Doeg (B-Division / Pretoria Country Club) and Carene le Roux (C-Division / Bethlehem Golf Club)