Positive showing from SAGDB players at u/15 champs

Dylan Jacobs was the best SAGDB performer at the recent SA Boys u15 Championships

A total of 16 players from the SAGDB competed at the recent SA Boys Under 15 Golf Championships held in Somerset West. While six turned out for their respective provinces, nine youngsters entered the event as SAGDB players on invitation from the South African Golf Association's (SAGA) Junior Committee.

The best return came from 14-year old Boland player Dylan Jacobs, who finished 13th overall in the 115-strong field. Dylan, who is also a member of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation, carded rounds of 80, 80, 81 and 71. His final round of one under par was tied for the second best round of the tournament.

The second best SAGDB player at the event was 12-year old Keelan van Wyk from Central Gauteng. Keelan, playing as one of the SAGDB's invitational players, shot rounds of 84, 77, 81 and 75 to finish in a tie for 25th.

Other notable performances came from two Southern Cape players, Riaan Grootboom and Franklin Manchest. Both finished within the top 50.

In its efforts to support the growth of the sport at grassroots level, the SAGA Junior Committee is issuing invitations to the SAGDB to enter a team of players into every national order of merit tournament at age group level. This allows the SAGDB to give more of its players exposure to competing against the best of their peers.

"Most of the players we selected for this tournament were competing at their first national event," said the SAGDB's Manager of Communication and Projects, Andre Rossouw. "They need to see what it takes to compete at this level and how they compare to the top players in their age group."

The nine players entered under the SAGDB banner were drawn from a number of regions, including Western Province, Border and KwaZulu-Natal. Although the team finished eleventh out of fourteen, Rossouw believed there were a lot of positives to take away.

"We entered a young group of players in which there is a lot of potential," he said. "Some of them struggled a bit, but it was great experience for them and we know they will improve."