The golf players showed little concern for the blistering temperatures when the seventh Lowvelder Golf Challenge was held on August 28, ensuring they were the second biggest field of golfers to date.
The Lowvelder Golf Challenge competitions are held at the Mbombela Golf Club one Wednesday every month. They are hosted in conjunction with Du Toit-Smuts & Partners Attorneys and Octopi Smart Solutions, who have come on board as sponsors for the inaugural Lowvelder Golf Challenge series this year.
With the first competition having been held in February, the series has proven to be a success thus far with the biggest field of competitors in the April edition.
Last week’s competition, the seventh in the series, made a strong attempt to take the crown. But with 74 competitors for the day, August had to settle for second place on the list of the biggest fields at a Lowvelder Golf Challenge this year.
The great turnout was in spite of some tough Lowveld weather as temperatures soared well into the 30s, making the going rather tough for those out on the course. This didn’t deter anyone, though, as the players were a determined bunch, hell-bent on making their mark at Mbombela Golf Club on August 28.
Some were able to do that in the best way possible, while others did so by leaving behind a few more divots they perhaps would have liked. Playing in the individual Stableford format, the best golfers on the day carded solid scores.
Chris Kock played his way into third place on the day with a total of 40 points. Danie Bezuidenhout found his way into second place courtesy of his 43 points. Peet Rabie, however, just pipped him to first place with a haul of 44 points for the day.
While every month is a competition in its own right, there is still a bigger picture to keep in mind. The finale of the 10-part series will be played in November, and in order to qualify for this, golfers must have played at least five of the monthly competitions, or in other words, half of the competitions throughout the year.
The overall top 10 following the seventh edition is:
1. Franchoa Giliomee: 181 points
2. Denise West: 181
3. Peet Rabie: 175
4. JJ van Rensburg: 171
5. Denis Paiva: 167
6. Corrie van Niekerk: 166
7. Chris Koch: 166
8. Hennie Venter: 157
9. Danie Bezuidenhout: 146
10. Henk Gerber: 145.
