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Friday, March 29, 2024


Almost 150,000 South Africans got a new Handicap Index this week. For most, the Handicap Index would have been slightly lower than their previous handicap, but when they swiped their card at their home club (or any other club), their Course Handicap would have been almost exactly the same as before.

Congratulations to Golf RSA, HNA, all the Provincial Unions and Eric Lefson and his team for the excellent communication job they did in the lead up to the changeover. It seems most golfers understand the change and the acceptance of it has been fantastic.

Soon the whole world will be using this system, which means that a South African golfer could travel to Pebble Beach in the US or Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand and get a fair course handicap for that days play. It has already shown that is works well closer to home. A Zwartkop member played at Silver Lakes on Thursday and his Course Handicap was two shots higher than his Zwartkop Course Handicap on Saturday. I would agree that Silver Lakes is two shots more difficult than Zwartkop, so now he’s going to have a fair handicap for that golf course.


FedEx Cup

Heavy rains in Pennsylvania caused the final round of the BMW Championship to be delayed to today.

Obviously the Tour would like to play the final round of the third play-off event rather than declare a winner after 54-holes. Only the Top 30 on the FedEx Cup Rankings go through to the Tour Championship at East Lake next week so there is a lot at stake for those players, especially those on the cusp, which includes Jordan Spieth and Keegan Bradley.

With more rain expected today though, the Tour have said that they will not start unless they believe half the field can complete their rounds. If they can get at least half the field to complete their rounds today then they are prepared to extend into Tuesday.

So we play the waiting game.

Justin Rose has a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele on 17-under. Tommy Fleetwood and Rickie Fowler (back from injury) are tied for 4th on 15-under. Keegan Bradley is lying 6th on 14-under and Francesco Molinari; Billy Horschel; Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama close out the top 10 in a tie for 7th on 13-under.

Louis Oosthuizen is tied for 62nd on 1-under.

Standings after 10th September: -

 Current  Name Points
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
*69
Bryson DeChambeau
Dustin Johnson
Justin Rose
Tony Finau
Justin Thomas
Brooks Koepka
Bubba Watson
Cameron Smith
Phil Mickelson
Jason Day
Louis Oosthuizen
5,617
3,289
3,191
3,169
3,084
2,551
2,277
2,231
1,969
1,935
826

*Outside of the FedEx Cup Top 100

Click Here for access to the Full Rankings list.



Matthew Fitzpatrick became the first player since Seve Ballesteros exactly forty years ago to win back-to-back Omega European Masters titles at Crans-sur-Sierre GC in Switzerland. Bjerregaard shot a 7-under 63 to set the clubhouse target at 17-under 263 and Fitzpatrick birdied the 18th in regulation play to force the play-off. He then birdied the 18th again in the play-off, for the win. There were a host of South Africans in the field. Darren Fichardt had a 6-under 64 to tie for 8th alongside Charl Schwarztel on 9-under. Haydn Porteous tied for 16th on 6-under; Christiaan Bezuidenhout tied for 23rd on 5-under; Thomas Aiken tied for 30th on 4-under, Justin Walters, George Coetzee and Erik van Rooyen tied for 35th on 3-under; Richard Sterne tied for 43rd on 2-under and Jaco van Zyl tied for 59th on 4-over.

Caroline Hedwall had a superb Sunday. She came from seven shots back, shooting a course record final round 9-under 62 to win the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at the Golf du Medoc - Chateaux Course. She finished on 12-under 272, two shots clear of South African Stacy Bregman, who shot a final round 66. Overnight leader Nanna Koerstz Madsen shot a 72 to tie for third on 9-under alongside Luna Sobron, Sarah Kemp and Lynn Carlsson. Lee-Anne Pace tied for 17th on 5-under and Nicole Garcia tied for 25th on 2-under.

Magnus P Atlevi won the StaySure Tour’s European Tour Properties Senior Classic at Lighthouse Golf and Spa Resort. He had a two-shot lead going into the final round after consecutive 66’s in round one or two, and followed that up with a 4-under 67 on Sunday, to win by three on 14-under 199. Stephen Dodd finished second on 11-under and James Kingston continues his good form, with a third place finish on 10-under. Chris Williams tied for 22nd on 2-under.

• England’s Tom Lewis returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2011 with his win in the Challenge Tour’s Bridgestone Challenge at the Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa. His 7-under 64 on Sunday saw him win by five shots on 23-under 261. Joint overnight leader, Dimitrios Papadatos, shot 1-under par to tie for second on 18-under alongside Sebastien Soderberg.

Blake Olson won his first Mackenzie Tour victory in a play-off at the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval at Elm Ridge Country Club. He entered the final round two shots behind Corey Pereira and then shot a 5-under 67 while Pereira shot a 3-under 69 to tie on 19-under 269. Olson won with a par on the first play-off hole. George Cunningham and Zach Wright tied for third on 18-under.

• Just short of going to the First Stage of the European Qualfiying School, Zimbabwe’s Ben Follett-Smith won his maiden Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour title in just his second start. He followed a second round 76 with a 4-under 68 at Kyalami Country Club to seal up a one-shot win on 7-under 209. Cameron Moralee (69), Ruan Korb (72) and DK Kim (70) from Korea tied for second on 6-under.

Denmark won the Eisenhower Trophy for the first time, beating the United States by one stroke on 39-under-par 541 at Carlton House in Ireland. Identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard shot rounds of 7-under 66 & 6-under 67 respectively in the final round. Spain finished third on 36-under while overnight leaders New Zealand finished fourth a further stroke back. Team South Africa had a few setbacks, with Jovan Rebula withdrawing at the last minute with a back injury. Malcolm Mitchell flew over to Ireland to join Wilco Nienaber and Matt Saulez and was struck with a tummy bug in round two. Despite that they rallied to finish 30th on 11-under-par 569 after Nienaber and Saulez had a 9-under 137 in round three and Mitchell and Nienaber shot 6-under in the final round. Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey won the Individual event by one shot on 23-under 267 after a final round 8-under 65.

• Heavy rains forced the 2018 Reply Italian Under 16 Championship at Golf Club Biella le Betulle in Italy to be shortened to 54-holes. Nicolas Fallotico won the Teodoro Soldati Trophy by two shots on 4-under-par 215. Western Province’s Sam Simpson tied for second on 2-under alongside Max Hopkins and Ben Schmidt from England. Defending champion, Martin Vorster finished ninth on 2-over; Yurav Premlall finished 11th on 4-over; Casey Jarvis tied for 16th on 7-over and Kian Rose tied for 23rd on 10-over. Simpson, Vorster and Casey Jarvis also finished second in the Team Competition on 291, one shot behind England.

• Great Durban Golf Club’s Basil Naidoo won the KZN Senior Spring Open at Durban CC. He shot consecutive rounds of 73 to win on 2-over 146, one clear of Morgan Phillips. Ian Smith and Johan Marais tied for third on 5-over.


• Durbanville Golf Club’s Jordan Rothman won the Ekhurleni Open at Germiston Golf Club on 11-over par. Woo Ju-Son and Kaylah Williams tied for second on 13-over and Sarah Bouch was forth on 16-over. Barbara Collet won the B-Division on 34-over and Veronica Tredoux won the C-Division with 70 pts.

• Victoria Country Club's Nikhil Gopal won yesterday’s Bridge Fund Managers Junior Series at Royal Durban Golf Club. He won with a round of 75, three shots clear of Munt Edecombe’s Cade Cryer.

• GolfRSA and SASCOC have announced that Gauteng juniors Kaiyuree Moodley and Cole Stevens will represent South Africa at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. Team South Africa will be represented in 19 different sports in Buenos Aires from 6th to 18th October. The golf will take place at Hurlingham and will be a Men’s Individual Stroke Play, a Women’s Individual Stroke Play and a Mixed Team competition. GolfRSA Elite Squad member Zethu Myeki will go along as the team manager.

Brandon Stone has confirmed that he will take part in the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player at Sun City from 8th to 11th November. He will join fellow countrymen Branden Grace and George Coetzee in the field which also currently includes Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.

Who’s up this week? (Please note that this is the entry list as at Monday & is subject to change)
EUROPEAN TOUR – KLM Open – Haydn Porteous; Darren Fichardt; George Coetzee; Zander Lombard; Erik van Rooyen; Jacques Kruyswijk; Christiaan Bezuidenhout; Justin Walters; Jaco van Zyl
LET / LPGA – The Evian Championship – Ashleigh Buhai; Lee-Anne Pace

 

We complain about Slow Play all the time but never actually do anything about it.

Well, here are a few simple things that each and every one of us can implement.
Imagine what would be achieved if we ALL played our part.


On the tee
Tee off as soon as the group in front is clear.
Carry an extra ball in your pocket.
Limit conversation until you leave the tee.

On the fairway
Select the club and hit without delay
Watch your ball and mark it if it leaves the fairway.
Help search for lost balls AFTER you have hit your shot.
Limit your search for lost balls to 3 minutes and only the person whose ball is lost looks for it.
Drop your cart passenger and then drive to your ball.

On the green
Place your clubs between the green and the next tee.
Study your putt while others are putting.
Use continuous putting, especially if your second putt is a simple one.

From green to tee
Leave the green as soon as the last player has putted out.
Mark scores after you leave the green.
Hit your next tee shot without delay.


In general
Keep pace with the group ahead.
No golf lessons on the course.
Keep practice swings to a minimum.



 
 Drive for Show, Putt for Dough memories of a Golf Hustler by Leon Crump & John Stavinsky

This is the story about a golfer in the Southern States of America who has made a living gambling on the golf course.

Leon Crump realized early on that he had the nerve, the game and the imagination to hustle on the golf course and some have said that he is the best golfer they have seen, who plays for his own money.

He tells stories about all the inventive ways of playing golf that he had to come up with to encourage people to bet with him. He would play them just with a putter, or left handed, or with a hockey puck. Once he won your money, he had to come up with other ways for you to put up more money.

He talks about the great characters this type of life has allowed him to mix with, from Tour players to other gamblers like Titanic Thompson (who he describes as the greatest gambler ever), to Minnesota Fats, who has even been portrayed in movies.

There are many lovely anecdotes but one I really enjoyed was about a fellow called Crazy Cole, who was from North Carolina. Crazy Cole had lost $600 to Crump and Crump wasn’t sure if he was going to get paid, so when he was approached by Crazy Cole, who asked; “I’ve got a deal for you. Would you take $300 for the $600 I owe you?” “ Hell, yes," said Crump, “Pay me.” To which Crazy Cole replied; “Nah, that’s all right. But now I only owe you $300.”




Dale Hayes Golf appreciates the ongoing support of City Lodge & SkyNet.



Many golfers are trying to hit the ball further by creating lag. For lag to happen however, a few really important aspects need to be in place.

This week Elsabe Hefer discusses what effect hinging your wrists too early will have on lag.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooxrk51xHWA

Elsabe Hefer is a Fellow Member of the PGA; a former Gauteng North PGA Teacher of the Year and PGA Top 20 Teacher. She is the Head Teaching Professional at Zwartkop Country Club.




European Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA and LPGA Tour Schedules. Take a look at all the events plus the international golfing events coming up soon.




  The rare Hole in One, the perfect fluke ever, it’s the best feeling in golf.

Celebrate – get the certificate and have bragging rights forever! For further information and to join, contact Margaret on (012) 654-1144 or
Click Here to send an email.
 
Ryder Cup...

"I only played in three matches, and I hit three fairways the whole week, but I cleared out a lot of rough and all the branches on the golf course. I'm sure the members of Oak Hill aren't going to lose balls any more...'
- Seve Ballesteros, 1995


 

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