The International Team competition — being played at the same time as the 36-hole qualifying round of the Glacier South African amateur golf championship — could turn out to be a closely fought affair.
Ten countries are participating, each represented by two players. The lowest aggregate of the two players’ 36-hole strokeplay scores will determine the winning team. Entries have been received from France, Finland, Canada, Uruguay, Mauritius, India and neighbouring countries.
The qualifying round is being played at Benoni Country Club, Ekurhuleni, starting on Sunday.
In all 144 competitors will tee up in the tournament, which includes those participating in the team event, which commences with the 36-hole qualifying competition. On conclusion the top 64 players qualify to compete in the matchplay, starting next Tuesday, which will determine the 2009 SA champion.
The South African team will be made up of local Ekurhuleni amateur Dean O’Riley and Western Province’s Adrian Ford. The two make a formidable pairing in that O’Riley is certainly South Africa’s inform amateur on the local circuit at the moment. The 19-year-old Benoni Lake Golf Club member last month won the Gauteng North Open and last week bagged the Free State and Northern Cape Open title to move to the top of the latest player rankings.
The 22-year-old Ford, of Durbanville Golf Club, has been a steady competitor over the last six months and is ranked second in the rankings. He has had three top-10 finishes on the local amateur circuit this year, his best being a second place in the KwaZulu-Natal Open.
The two Canadians appear to be a formidable pairing. They are Lindsay Renolds and Mathieu Rivard. The former is highest ranked, of the two players, on the world rankings (WAGR), at 240th. However, the biggest challenge facing the two is they are likely to be coming off a cold and wet winter and may be short on match practice.
France have selected two young players in Edouard Espana and Mayel Oueld Es Cheiku. The two faired best of the eight young French golfers in the country at present, in the Portuguese Amateur played last week. They finished 19th and 24th tie respectively. With the extensive international experience the French players enjoy, they are the team most likely to be near the top of the leaderboard come the final round.
Next Wednesday the matchplay commences, each match being decided over 18 holes, in which there will be 32 matches. The following day 16 matches will be played in the morning and 8 matches in the afternoon. Thursday will see the quarter- and semifinals played in the morning and afternoon respectively. The final of the match play will be played next Friday over 36 holes. — Sapa