Charnay Williams – Striving for Excellence! Charnay was born in George and has lived here her whole life. She has two older siblings, a brother and a sister. She is bilingual and is totally fluent in both Afrikaans and English.

Charnay’s first exposure to golf came when she was in Grade 4. Fancourt had been invited to make a presentation at her school on the game of golf and this ignited an interest in her. At the time she was a champion long jumper and although she on occasional tried her hand at golf she continued to focus on athletics and represented SWD (her province) at various age group levels.

At the beginning of 2012 her father Isaac approached KeNako Academy about the possibility of Charnay becoming a golf student at the academy and so her golfing and academic career blossomed. Within 18 months Charnay had gone from beginner golfer to the South African Strokeplay Ladies Championship, winning the B Division title by an impressive 8 strokes. She decided to pursue golf as a career option – being a smart young student, her alternative career choice was to become a medical doctor. Charnay is highly-driven young lady who has developed an undying love for the game of golf. It should be recorded that KeNako Academy did offer Charnay the option of training her to become an Olympic long-jumper, but she declined the offer!

Charnay’s first tournament was a Southern Cape Junior Tournament. She has improved drastically since those days! In 2015 Charnay was a reserve for the Southern Cape ladies provincial team. Her current handicap is 5 and her goal is to be a scratch handicap within the next 6 months.

A normal week includes 5 lessons with the KeNako coaches, 3 gym sessions and spending as much time as possible on the course. Her mental skills assist her to cope with stress when she competes in tournaments. Charnay recently adopted a more aggressive attitude towards competitions and tournaments and feels that this is further improving her game.

A course that Charnay hopes to play one day is Leopard Creek Golf Course near Nelspruit, bordering the Kruger National Park. Besides being a stunning golf lay-out, it has magnificent views and wildlife in abundance. Her favourite local course is the exquisitely conditioned Montagu course in Fancourt. Her favourite club is her sand wedge because it is reliable and she has confidence when hitting pitch shots with this club into the green.

The elite golfer that she most admires is Jason Day because of his inspiring journey to success. She respects the way that he has, through hard work and perseverance, overcome many setbacks and hardships.

She is about to complete her fifth year at KeNako Academy. Charnay’s thoughts on KeNako, “I joined KeNako because I knew that it would open many doors for me when it comes to education and golf. KeNako is an excellent sports academy which develops your physical fitness and your performance and talents in your respective sport. It also enhances your mental skills and life skills, elements which are fundamental to success in life on a broad basis, be it a career in golf or in some other field of business. I like the way they treat each student as an individual, developing everyone’s skills based on their individual abilities and talents. I enjoy the atmosphere; it makes it a lot easier to be away from home.” She views her peers as her family. She appreciates the different backgrounds of the students and being exposed to individuals from different cultures and she has built valuable relationships that she will treasure forever.

She was the Head Girl at Rundle College in her final year, the Class of 2015. She is currently completing Cambridge A Level Biology and AS Level Physical Science in the School Leaver Program. Her opinion of Rundle College; “Rundle is a fantastic school, offering truly international education, where students can strive to reach their full potential. A student receives a great deal of individual attention which is very beneficial.”

Charnay has accepted a scholarship to attend Tyler Junior College in Texas in the USA. She has enrolled to study Medical Lab Technology and she will be continuing with her golf dream whilst at College. Charnay will be taking up her scholarship in August 2017.

Keep staying as committed and focused as you are Charnay!