New student Julien Sale scores 66 after a first round 83!
The Southern Cape Open was played at Mossel Bay this past weekend and hosted a top field of amateur golfers from all around South Africa.  The Mossel Bay course, which is one of the few golf courses where one can see the sea from every hole, has over the past few years generally proved to be something of a challenge for the KeNako students.  This is the home course of Louis Oosthuizen who famously shot a 57 as a budding young golfer and ’57’ is now his brand logo!  The professional team at KeNako is going to have to convince the students that they too can score better than they historically have at Mossel Bay!

The best KeNako finisher was School Leaver Andre Nel in a tie for 14th place.  Andre continues to improve and had he not had a disappointing finish with a triple bogey 8 on the 17th hole he would have finished in the top 10.  Andre struggled on the front 9 of the final round and turned in 4 over par but 3 consecutive birdies at 11, 12 and 13 saw him back to just 1 over for his round and 2 under for the tournament before his “ugly 8”!  Andre said he had not struck the ball well in his first 2 rounds but the fact that he managed to shoot 73 and 72 on Friday and Saturday showed that he is learning that even when one is struggling one can still stay in contention.  His excellent 68 on Sunday morning had brought him firmly into contention.

16 Year old Franklin Manchest enjoyed a solid tournament to finish one shot clear of friend and peer Cameron Moralee.

French national Julien Sale, who joined the KeNako Academy at the start of the third term, scored a fantastic career best competitive round of 6 under par 66 in round 2 after struggling in the first round to an 11 over par 83.  This allowed Julien to make the cut.  He unfortunately aggravated a previous knee injury in round 3 which then hampered his ability to play.
Top 30 Finishers at Southern Cape Open
Andre Nel                           T14         73, 72, 68, 76
Franklin Manchest           T19         73, 72, 75, 72
Cameron Moralee           T22         73, 72, 72, 76
Jade Buitendag                 T27         73, 70, 72, 80