GolfRSA No 1 Kyra van Kan and fellow national squad members Jasmine Furstenburg and Zané Kleynhans have been selected to represent South Africa in the All Africa Junior Team Championship in Uganda this April.
The Junior Protea Girls team will line up against the top talents from other African nations in the 72-hole tournament at the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa from 15-21 April.
“The All Africa Junior Team Championship is one of the premier events on the African continent’s annual schedule, as it serves as the African Qualifier for the prestigious Toyota Junior Golf World Cup, which will be held later this year in Japan,” said Womens Golf SA President Sarah Braude.
“The winners of the boys and girls competition will compete against teams of top-ranked juniors from all over the world. We relish the privilege for our juniors to have this wonderful development opportunity to test themselves against the best young golfers in Africa.”
Van Kan rose to No 1 in the GolfRSA Open and Junior rankings at the start of this year after capping a 2022 strong season that included six runner-up finishes with her fifth victory in the KwaZulu-Natal Junior Championship in December.
The Gauteng North junior continued her dominance with a tie for second in the South African Women’s Stroke Play Championship and victory in the South African Amateur Championship in February. She was the only amateur to make the cut in the Ladies European Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour co-sanctioned Investec South African Women’s Open in early March, and most recently, won the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship, presented Sun International, with a runaway 13-shot victory at Sun City.
Furstenburg made an equally fast start to the 2023 season, winning the Eastern Province & Border Championship and racking up runner-up finishes in the SA Women’s Stroke Play Championship and the Nomads South African Junior International.
Kleynhans, a member of the victorious Gauteng North team in last year’s South African Women’s Inter-Provincial, has consistently performed well to maintain the No 3 spot in the Junior Rankings and top five in the Performance Rankings.
South African Amateur Championship finalist Ellandri van Heerden is the non-travelling reserve.
“As a member of the victorious GolfRSA Junior Protea team in Egypt last year and having represented South Africa in Japan, Kyra’s experience will be invaluable to guide Jasmine and Zané in their debut for South Africa,” Braude said.
“South Africa has a very proud track record in this prestigious tournament and high expectations are part and parcel of the team representing GolfRSA in the All-Africa Junior Team Championship. All three players performed exceptionally well last year, both in the individual national and provincial events, and in our national team events. They are deserving of this exciting opportunity to build experience and test themselves against the best junior golfers in Africa.
“Thanks to the incredible support our juniors receive from our GolfRSA National Squad, their unions, golf clubs and coaches, Kyra, Jasmine and Zané continue to excel. We know they will put it all on the line to keep South Africa’s winning streak alive. We are confident that they are up to the task at hand and will do themselves and the country proud.”
The GolfRSA Junior Protea team will be accompanied by Women’s Golf South Africa (WGSA) vice-president Susan Andrew.
