Photo: Winners L to R. were the Clifton team Santiago dos Santos,Tristan Smith, Harry Clayton & Dylan Bezuidenhout.

On Thursday 8^th February 2024, KZN Junior Golf hosted 80 players from 13 different KZN High Schools for the 2024 Nomads KZN High School Team Championship at Royal Durban Golf Club.  This 36 hole tournament serves as a qualifier for KZN High Schools to the GolfRSA National High Schools Championship to be played at Worcester in the Western Cape on the 22^nd and 23^rd July 2024.

Schools enter one or more teams of 4 players and the top 3 gross scores from each team in round one are added with the top 3 scores from each team in round two, the sum of these 6 gross scores is the teams gross total.

This year’s qualifier saw 2 teams each from Clifton, Kearsney, Michaelhouse, St. Charles, Hilton, Westville, and Northwood, along with 1 team each from Maritzburg College, Glenwood, Curro Salt Rock, Reddam Umhlanga, Crawford, and Ashton Ballito, 20 teams in total, contest for the 2 spots available to KZN Schools at Nationals.

Clifton’s relatively young A side, featuring Harry Clayton aged 14, Santiago dos Santos aged 14, Dylan Bezuidenhout aged 14, and Tristan Smith aged 17 emerged as the victorious team, finishing with a team total of 446.

Runners-up Westville A whose team comprising of Jamie Smith aged 15, Ryan Perumal aged 16, Ty Haynes aged 17, and Troy Wolter aged 17 , finished just 4 shots adrift of winners Clifton A, on a team total of 450.

The individual winner was Harry Clayton (Clifton A).  Clayton, one of KZN’s most promising up and coming young golfers fired back-to-back rounds of one under par 71, for a 36-hole total of 142, finishing just 1 stroke ahead of 15 year old runner-up Jamie Smith (Westville A) whose two rounds of 71 and 72 saw him finish on a 36-hole total of 143.  Third place went to 14 year old golfer, Ben Wilson (Hilton A). Ben’s rounds of 73 and 73 (146) saw him finish 1 stroke ahead of the fourth placed finisher and yet another 14 year old golfer, Santiago dos Santos, who scored 73 and 74 for a 147 total.

With the top 4 golfers in the individual standings of the Nomads KZN High School Team Championship all being aged 15 and under, the future looks very bright for KZN Junior Golf.