Seven new caps will make their debut for South Africa in two prestigious African team events, sponsored by The R&A and hosted by the Africa Golf Confederation, in April and May.
Dylan Kayne, Charl Barnard, Kesha Louw and Gia Raad have been awarded junior national colours for the All Africa Junior Teams Championship in South Africa, while Ben Weber, Oliver Goldhill and JP van der Watt have been named to the South African team who will compete in the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament in Lusaka.
Both the Boys and Girls Teams will be taking up the country’s title defence in the All Africa Junior Teams Championship against the top talents from other African nations in the 72-hole tournament, which will be hosted by GolfRSA at Benoni Country Club from 23 – 26 April.
The Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament will be hosted by the Zambia Golf Union from 27-31 May at Lusaka Golf Course in Lusaka.
“Dylan and Charl will line up alongside Pearce Lewin and Janko van der Merwe in the Boys Division of the All Africa Junior Teams Championship, while Ben, Oliver and JP will make their debut in the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament with Jordan Wessels,” said South African Golf Association President Henk Smith.
“Congratulations to all the players selected. All eight players enjoyed a strong run on GolfRSA’s Open and Junior circuits in the last 12 months and are very deserving of this opportunity to represent our country and GolfRSA on the international stage.
“In recent years, both of these prestigious team events have grown in stature and the standard of golf continues to improve. We relish this wonderful opportunity for our teams to showcase their skills and test themselves against the very best golfers in Africa and we are confident that all three teams are up to the task of making South Africa proud.”
Womens Golf South Africa President Susan Andrew is equally delighted with the selection of Raad and Louw, who will join Zane Kleynhans in the 2024 Africa Junior Teams Championship.
“The All Africa Junior Teams Championship is one of the premier events on the African continent’s annual schedule. We relish the privilege for our juniors to have this wonderful development opportunity to test themselves against the best young golfers in Africa,” Andrew said.
“As the qualifier for the prestigious Toyota Junior Golf World Cup, three players per team from the winning countries in the Girls and Boys divisions will compete against teams of top-ranked juniors from all over the world in Japan later this year.
“South Africa has a very proud track record in this prestigious tournament and high expectations are part and parcel of the team representing South Africa. All three our National Squad members performed exceptionally well last year, both in the individual national and provincial events, and on the international stage and their accomplishments have earned them this exciting opportunity to build further experience.”
The All Africa Junior Teams Championship boys team will be managed by Heinrich Lourens, and the girls team by Womens Golf South Africa Vice-President Madeleine de Wet. South African Golf Association Junior Vice-President Peet van Schalkwyk will accompany the Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament team.
GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn added his congratulations to the teams selected.
“The All Africa Junior Team Championship and Africa Region 5 Golf Tournament are both world-class events on the African golfing calendar and have become attractive propositions for all the African countries,” Hepburn said.
“Both events attract strong fields from across the continent and we are delighted to present our junior and senior rising stars with the chance to compete at this level. The players selected by the South African Golf Association and Womens Golf South Africa have acquitted themselves very well over the last 12 months and we have no doubt that they will represent the country with pride. We wish them well in their respective campaigns.”