Early season catch for Southbroom’s ‘Big Fish’
It was a battle of attrition, but in the end, patience prevailed over power.
IT came as “something of a surprise considering the lack of golf” to Gavin Sole of Southbroom Golf Club that he won the East Griqualand Open at Kokstad Golf Club last Sunday.
A surprise? Hardly, it’s now his sixth win at the tournament, which could be a record.
Lack of golf? Possibly. “I’ve been a bit rusty, hadn’t played for nearly two weeks before Kokstad,” he said with a grin.
“I can’t really put pressure on myself coming out of a busy holiday season,” he said.
This appears to be his annual go-to excuse at this time of year. It usually works, as he has now won the title six times. “Got to keep going till I get to 10,” he said.
He also won the San Lameer Open at the end of last year, so things are looking good in terms of wins for the “Big Fish”.
Conditions were not easy, despite the weather being cooler than it usually is in early February.
“It was pouring when we woke up and we thought ‘here we go’,” said Sole.
Fortunately the rain stopped and, except for a few showers during the day, stayed away.
Kokstad can be a bit like the US Open or a Boot Camp. Golfers have to take on and survive a course in a condition that they won’t experience very often.
The secret to doing well there is embracing that challenge. “The greens were difficult. I had to be patient, very patient,” he said.
Tournament convener Sean Baker thanked the players who made the long trek inland.
“The course was in much better condition that last year, although there is still a bit of work to be done to get it back to its ‘pre-drought’ standard,” he said.
He felt that the winning score on 1-under par reflected the difficulty of the course and that hitting fairways was premium.
“The first cut of rough was playable but anything wayward was punished properly,” he said.
A total of 58 players entered, 40 in the A division, which was an improvement on previous years.
“It ran smoothly and everyone who entered arrived on time. There was a huge lunch included in the entry fee which went down a treat.”
Top 10
143 Gavin Sole (Southbroom) 70 73
145 Corné van Deventer (Vryheid) 71 74
147 Robert Mavundla (Margate) 74 73
147 Jason Gilliver (Scottburgh) 74 73
149 Gitesh Maharaj (Maidstone) 79 70
149 Tom Lovett (Prince’s Grant) 72 77
151 Graham Fabricius (Port Shepstone) 75 76
151 Bubele Thibela (Kilbarchan) 78 73
153 Stephen du Plessis (Kloof) 74 79
153 Greg Smith (Umhlali) 74 79
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