A few of the KeNako students were lucky enough to participate in the recent KeNako SA World Juniors tournament. All of the participants enjoyed a wonderful week and it was really great hearing them raving about their experience, even those who didn’t play their best. During the first term the students have learnt about ‘attitude’ so it was especially good to see their positive attitudes.
KeNako’s current number one ranked player, Cameron Moralee, had a slow start to the week shooting a 5 over par 77 on day one but he showed the quality of his game over the next two days, scoring two consecutive rounds of 2 under par 70 to finish the tournament at 217, one over par, which was good enough for him to share 12th position in the high quality field that included international players from 16 different countries and South Africa’s top junior players.
Caylum Boon was KeNako’s second best overall performer. Caylum experienced a bit of a slump in form in the second half of 2012, something that Head Golf Coach Roger Wessels suggested could have related to a huge growth spurt by this young teen. Caylum started with an excellent one under par 71 on day one in some tough conditions and after a second round 5 over par 77 he finished with a one over 73 for a total 221 and 23rd position. Caylum played some solid golf and he is one to watch in the coming year.
Hayden Garcia, who joined the academy at the start of this year and who has made some quite major changes to his game, played beautifully for the first 2 days and was in joint 12th position at the end of the second round after rounds of 72 and 74. He unfortunately endured a tough final day, falling all the way to a tie for 46th position. However, Hayden’s final day was highlighted by a hole-in-one at the 11th hole where he pitched a 6 iron just right of the hole and it spun left and trickled into the hole. Well done Hayden! This is Hayden’s second career hole-in one.
14 Year old Franklin Manchest was another boy who received a sponsor’s invitation into the tournament and he continued his excellent recent improvement, shooting rounds of 79, 76 and 73 to finish with a total 228 and a tie for 39th position. Frankiln’s progress since becoming a full time student at the beginning of 2012 has been remarkable and he has played very consistently over the past several months. His previous poorest score in his last dozen competitive rounds was 77, not bad for a 14 year old!
The Kingswood course played to its full length and proved to be a challenge for the field. Special thanks from the team at KeNako Academy to Kingswood for their continued support and contribution, not only to the KeNako Academy program but to junior golf on a broader basis.
It will surely not be too long before a KeNako student wins one of the NOOM junior tournaments in South Africa. The students are making excellent progress and the academy is confident that in 10 years time many of the current crop of players will be playing successfully on the major tours of the world. They are being exposed to a program that is unmatched in South Africa and one that was acknowledged by international academy coaches at last week’s KeNako SA World Juniors that has no equal overseas!
