Having a disability has been everything but a setback for one Randfontein golfer.
Byron Calvert, a disabled 14 handicap golfer, recently won the overall nett 0 to 18 handicap category at the 18th annual Nedbank South Africa Disabled Golf Open held at Zwartkops Golf Club in early May.
The year 2016 marks the 11th and final year that Nedbank will be sponsoring the event, but golfers are confident the Open will find another sponsor to keep the contest alive.
The competition hosted 69 golfers including 10 international players. The Open ran for three days with the golfers playing three rounds of “medal” (another term for “stroke play”, which is a round of golf in which the score is kept by counting strokes and totaling them).
Byron’s three rounds went very well. He scored an 84 in the first round, 85 in the second and a whopping 80 in the final round. He finished his last three holes in the last round with two birdies and a par.
The overall winner was Chad Pfeifer, from the United States. Byron said Chad’s score was close to 71 every day, so he definitely earned the win.
Byron lost his leg three-and-a-half years ago in a shooting incident, while working with the police as a member of the Community Policing Forum (CPF). Suspects opened fire on them, shooting three of them with an R1 rifle.
Losing my leg was the best thing that could have happened to me.
“It changed my mindset. I enjoy everything so much more now,” Byron said. A year after losing his leg, he started golfing and has been succeeding stroke after stroke.
Byron would like to thank Eugene Vorster and Lilly Reich, organisers of the 18th annual Nedbank South Africa Disabled Golf Open, for all their hard work.
Want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us an SMS/ WhatsApp message with your name and cellphone number to 079 413 8726.
Familiarise yourself with our WhatsApp service disclaimer.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Roodepoort Record, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
