SA amateur teams announced
2006-08-29 13:30
Cape Town - The South African Golf Association (SAGA) and Women's Golf South Africa (WGSA) announced on Monday the teams selected to contest the Eisenhower and Espirito Santos Trophies during the World Amateur Golf Team Championships (WATC) to be held in Stellenbosch in October this year.
The teams will be competing against a record entry of 75 men's and 51 women's teams from around the world, vying for the prestigious championship trophies. This is the first time the championships, held biennially around the world, will be held in Africa.
"As this is the first time that this great event is being played in South Africa, and possibly will not come back to South Africa in our lifetimes, the selectors were tasked with naming the strongest side possible to take advantage of local conditions," Neels Steyn, the President of the SAGA said. "The Executive has ratified their selection and it is now up to the teams to produce the goods."
The men selected to play in the team representing South Africa are Charl Coetzee (25), Christiaan Basson (24) and Dawie van der Walt (23), all from Cape Town.
The team will be captained and managed by Enver Hassen, the vice-president of the SAGA as well as a member of the successful bid team in Malaysia in 2002.
Dawie was a member of the team competing for the Eisenhower Trophy at the 2004 WATC and is a top ranked golfer on the American College circuit. Charl, the reigning Western Province Amateur Champion, and Christiaan are extremely excited to be representing their country at this level for the first time.
The women's team members are Ashleigh Simon (17), and Stacy Bregman (19), both from Gauteng and Kelli Shean (18), from Western Province.
Ashleigh was a member of the 2004 WATC team, but for Stacy and Kelli it will be their first appearance. The team will be captained by Sandra Winter, a member of the SA team in Puerto Rico at the 2004 Espirito Santo, and coached by Fancourt's Val Holland.
"Our management team, including sports psychologist Bev Mould, have done a fantastic job and we can confidently present a team to you who are ready to take on the world," said Caroline Kettlewell, president of WGSA. "I congratulate all three on their selection and I am sure that I speak for all South African golfers when I wish them the best of luck for a successful campaign against the world's top amateur golfers."
The 2006 World Amateur Team Championships will be played at De Zalze Golf Club and Stellenbosch Golf Club in Stellenbosch with the women's tournament being played from October 18-21 followed by the men a week later.
- SAPA