Santa says Ecstasy, agony, luck, bad luck and tears... this weekend had it all With Jeff and Liezl on their way to watch The Open at Royal Portrush, I have the pleasure of writing Jeff's newsletter this week. What an easy task after having a weekend like this one. We are blessed. | It all started on Saturday with our own Dr Lynn Slogrove winning her division of the BMW International Cup Qualifier at St Francis Bay Golf Club. Her 40 points was good enough to book her a spot at the Regional Final, and guess what, we are hosting it! Good luck Dr Lynn, we hope you go all the way. The Wimbledon Ladies Final was contested between all time great Serena Williams and Simona Halep. Simona thumped Serena within 1 hour, 6-2 6-2. She outplayed Serena without effort to win her first Wimbledon title. Sunday afternoon was set for a great Men's Final with Novak Djokovic taking on the GOAT Roger Federer. This match was so close it is sad that there had to be a result. They both played beautiful tennis. Federer had two championship points late in the game and Novak turned it around to clinch the title in the 5th set tiebreaker. They battled on court for 5 hours. The fitness level, mental strength and pure talent of both players was an absolute pleasure to watch. | Simultaneously, the Cricket World Cup was coming to an end. New Zealand taking on England at Lords. I kept my eye on the cricket score during the afternoon and it looked to me that New Zealand had it wrapped up. I had the TV on tennis and my phone was streaming cricket. The last over changed the whole game. The bad luck New Zealand received with the ball deflecting off Stokes' bat and yielding 6 runs was incredible. I saw my first super over in cricket. It was madness. I was stunned. The atmosphere before, during and after the game must have been incredible! After so much excitement during the afternoon and early evening, I planned to have an early night. I didn't watch much golf during the week and decided to see what was going on at the John Deere Classic. Dylan Frittelli was in contention. I had to watch. Dylan shot a final round 64 to earn his first PGA Tour title and secured a spot at The Open Championship this week. He earned an invite to next year's Players Championship and next year's Masters. Talk about a life-changing moment! Keep a close eye on him this week. The way he played and the way he was in control of his emotions was impressive. When I went to sleep I felt like a changed person, grateful to have seen so much history in one day. | | | In other news the British Grand Prix was on. I missed it, I only have two eyes. Lewis Hamilton from England was the fastest man. His 6th British GP triumph. The race will stay at Silverstone for the next 5 years and everyone is very happy about that. Incredible weekend for British sport. The Open Championship Golf Champs Pool The Golf Champs pool is open. You can find the St Francis Links Pool at https://www.golfchamps.net/. Our pool code is 21575725. Join in on the fun and make your picks. Men's Invitational The predicted weather for the Championship does not look nice. We currently have 92 players in the field, 20 more than last year. We really hope that Mother Nature will be kind to us, and if not we will keep you happy. Barry Hilton is here on Saturday, he is always keen for a good laugh, if you haven't booked a table yet, phone us on 042 2004 500 to avoid disappointment. | | | Book now > Growing the Game On the 27th of July we will be hosting the first ever Target36 junior tournament. We invite all junior golfers and juniors that are getting into the game to join us. For more info about Target36 follow the link. Enter now > Thinus Keller PGA Head Golf Professional Next week Jeff will be reporting back from the Open Championship at Royal Portrush (back in Northern Ireland for the first time in 50 years) | | Royal Portrush | Coming soon Be sure to put these in the must-do column Click to enlarge The St Francis Links Hotel by Mantis Show units are under construction The proposed St Francis Links Hotel by Mantis is being sold as a sectional title scheme. Now, three units are being built as show units to promote sales. There will be one two-bedroom show unit and two one-bedroom show units to be completed for the season. The Hotel will consist of 60 one and two-bedroom suites, modeled after the successful hotel development at Pearl Valley, where the 2nd phase was launched recently. The Clubhouse will be home to a reception manned for 24/7, Food and Beverage services, AquaSpa and of course, the home of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course! Pam Golding Properties are handling the sales for the Hotel. Neil Fox is the lead person. Contact Neil Fox at neil.fox@pamgolding.co.za. Saria Blaauw is assisting and they are dividing their time at The Links. Get ready to open your diaries! 9-Hole Competiton Once a month on a Friday Next up: 02 August, 2019 Click in the image to enlarge. Ernie and Linda Müller and their team from Selective Lighting are making Fridays extra special at St Francis Links. Once a month, they host the Selective Lighting/The Fireworks Friday Competition. We shotgun start the players for 9-holes. Starting times are based on the season: 14h30 in the "Cool Season" and 15h30 in the summer months. Be a part of growing the Club and join us for nine and some good times after golf! Please enter in advance for numbers. There is no way to celebrate a victory on the course! Enter now > Open Wednesdays (2nd Wednesday) | This event is sponsored by ITEC, providing meat and added prizes. Invite your friends to enjoy SA’s best, with special rates for golf, snacks after the game and great prizes. And, hey, sometimes Curry Night follows. So, why not stay or take away! Monday Roll-up! Pitch up and play (9 holes or 18 Par-3 from 14h00). Let's add you to the Whatsapp group. All-day Saturdays Morning and afternoon fields: the afternoon field will be booked from 12 noon backward, with emphasis on "ready golf" Monday Men's Book Club 17h00 in Jack's Bar (no reading required) Ladies' Tea (and coffee) Calling all ladies to come join is every Tuesday at 10h00 on the Veranda. Click here to view even more of our major upcoming events. Golf results 13 July 2019 IPS Saturday School Men: 1st – Deon Marais 34 Points 2nd – Dave Hart 33 Points 3rd – Christo van Loggerenberg 31 Points Ladies: 1st – Margot McGregor 33 Pts C/I 2nd – Sandra Marais 33 Pts C/O 4 Pointers: Sandra Marais - 13th Lynne McMillan - 17th Mario Nel - 13th Housekeeping Men’s Member/Guest - 20-21 July ITEC Open Wednesday - 14 Aug |