Sunday 20th August – Despite the cold and gusting high winds, Milnerton Golf Club member Jack Buchanan, put in a performance that is worthy of high praise at the ATANTIC BEACH LINKS Junior Championship.

The Atlantic Beach Links offers spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and iconic Table Mountain, and winds its way through undulating dunes, with fairways and greens beautifully accentuated by natural local fynbos. The strong winds, on the day, saw the course bare its teeth. Jack Buchanan, currently the 3rd ranked under 19 junior nationally, put in a performance that defied the odds, an outstanding 2 under par 70 that included 4 birdies and 2 dropped shots. The fact that Jack won by a clear 7 shots showed his professionalism by managing the difficult playing conditions.

Jack has had a superb 2023 with numerous tournament successes and national representation – just this past July, Jack spread-eagled the field by winning the NOMADS National Order of Merit at St Francis Links Golf Club with scores of 72 69 and 70 – incidentally also winning this event by a clear 7 shots! Jack obviously thrives in windy conditions and links golf!

The runner-up position saw Bjorn Nord (Milnerton) and local member Francois Steyn, both record 77s – each recording a single birdie on the day. In close proximity on 79 was a group that included Quewin Botha (Atlantis), Joshua Matthysen (Atlantic Beach), Junkai Zhu (Bellville), Taahir Mallick (Rondebosch) and Jaydon Galant (KD Mowbray). . Just to mention that some of the holes played extremely difficult with the 385 metre par 4 7th seeing half the field recording a double bogey or worse!

13-year-old Zoey Rhoda (KD Mowbray) showed great grit and determination putting together a fine gross 81 to win the B division by 3 strokes – Codi Ruiters (Kuils River) was runner up an 84. Zoey was undeterred by some double bogeys, recording her 3 excellent birdies at a par 5, a par 4 and a par 3!

10-year-old Kuils River GC member Sergio Dowrie secured the C division with 31 stableford points.

The Under 13s produced some fine golf with the in-form Luke Jacobs (Royal Cape) carding a solid 80 gross – the highlight being a birdie on the last hole! Keaton Filander (Strand) was the runner up on 83.

Results (22)ATLANTIC BEACH Junior Championship 2023

A host of local junior events lie ahead – go to the WP Golf website under “Tournaments and Results” for more details.