Triumph in Boland

Dylan Jacobs (left) and Keelan Africa lift their trophies after the Boland Junior Championships

SAGDB juniors in the Boland region played some exceptional golf during the recent school vacation. They dominated a number of tournaments in the province, proving the success of the local SAGDB programme.

At the Stellenbosch Junior Open on 5 July the region's top player Keelan Africa shot a round of one under par 71 to take the title. Keelan had only returned from a tournament in Durban at 10:00pm the night before, yet he produced a scintillating round to finish top of the leaderboard.

Close on his heels was another SAGDB youngster, Trevor Thomas. Trevor shot an even-par 72 to finish in joint second. The B-division was won by another youngster from the SAGDB ranks, Alistair Beukes, who carded a round of 83.

A few days later, 15 SAGDB juniors were entered into the Boland Junior Championships at Kuilsrivier Golf Club. Dylan Jacobs, who had not played in four weeks due to exams and an ankle injury shocked the field by shooting rounds of 72 and 70 to win the Strokeplay Championsihp by two shots. Fellow SAGDB players Nesville Croy and Keelan Africa finished third and fourth respectively.

In the B-Division, five players finished in a tie for first, forcing the championship into a playoff. Three of the five were SAGDB juniors, Alistair Beukes, Dylan Fredericks and Clint Jansen. However, in the end it was De Wet Castelyn who won the playoff to take the title.

The top 16 players in the strokeplay event then qualified for the prestigious matchplay championship. As the field was whittled down, three SAGDB players found themselves in the semi-finals. Keelan Africa played Dylan Jacobs, while Nesville Croy was up against the Boland's top girl, Bianca Lohbeuer.

When Keelan and Nesville emerged victorious, it was an all-SAGDB final. The match was tightly contested, but it was Keelan who eventually emerged the winner, 2 and 1.

Keelan, Dylan and Trevor are all also members of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation.