Trio of young champions crowned at Sun City
by Lali Stander
25 March 2022 – Stephanie Barbaglia, Lea van der Merwe and Zoey Rhoda celebrated a victorious campaign in the 2022 Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl presented by Sun International at Sun City this March.
Barbaglia broke through to claim a first national victory in a tightly-fought contest in the A-Division and reigning SA Women’s Stroke Play B-Division champion Van der Merwe lifted her second national B-Division trophy, while 12-year-old Zoey was victorious in the C-Division in her debut in the junior flagship event.
Barbaglia fired a solid round of level par 72 to share the lead with fellow GolfRSA National Squad members Whateley and Zane Kleynhans, who racked up five birdies coming home to set the early clubhouse target.
The Bryanston junior followed that up with a second-round 73, matched by Whateley, to hold on to a share of the 36-hole lead. The duo began the final round a stroke ahead of Kleynhans and Kyra van Kan, who posted successive rounds of 73,
Glendower’s Van Kan quickly made it a three-horse race with a brace of birdies on the second and third holes, but while first Whateley, with a triple-bogey on the ninth and then Van Kan, with a triple on the 11th, fell away, Barbaglia was steady and turned level for the day.
An eagle from Whateley on the 11th brought her back into the contention, but Barbaglia was able to hold her nerve down the closing stretch to close out a one-stroke victory.
“My iron play was really solid this week, and it helped me stay consistent and out of trouble,” she said. “I could feel the nerves coming on towards the end, so the birdie on the par-three 15th was key, as it gave me some breathing room.”
Barbaglia dropped shots on the 16th and 17th holes, but a solid par on the closing par-five – as Whateley’s long birdie attempt agonisingly lipped out – was enough to secure the biggest title of her career.
“I’ve been working really hard on my game lately,” she said, “so for everything to finally come together for me to get my first big win is amazing.
“I want to thank Nomads and GolfRSA for everything they do for junior golf in the country. And we are so grateful to Sun International for supporting junior golf. To be able to come here to Sun City and to play such a stunning golf course is a real privilege for us.”
Van der Merwe lagged one shot behind Anna-Isabel Scheltema in the B Section battle at the start of the final day after posting rounds of 80 and 81, but she birdied the first to draw level and when the Devonvale junior made eight on the par-five 11th she opened the door for Van der Merwe to pounce.
The Zwartkop Country Club junior took control and made it two national titles in a row when she edged Scheltema by a single stroke with a final round 81. Her twin sister Ame tied for third with Centurion’s Lourenda Steyn.
King David Mowbray Golf Club’s Rhoda was in the driver’s seat with an opening round of 31 points, and she stretched her lead with a final round 37 to lift the C-Division title by seven points from Randpark’s Danielle Chong.
Nomads National Chairman Neill Malherbe and Ken Payet, General Manager – Sport & Recreation Sun City Resort, watched the final action and were both impressed by the high standard of golf they witnessed.
“We, the Nomads Golf Club of South Africa, through our Furtherance of Golf program have been sponsoring the two flagship events on the women’s junior circuit for more than a decade and it is absolutely fantastic to see young talent coming through the ranks,” Malherbe said. “It was quite incredible to see young juniors play such high calibre golf, and really enjoying it out there, and I was delighted to see so many new players making the trip to Sun City to compete at national level.”
“Last year we launched the Nedbank Junior Challenge for the boys, and we were delighted to welcome the junior girls to our stable of sponsorships this year and join the strong development drive of women’s golf in South Africa,” Payet said.
“The Lost City Golf Course is not easy. If you hit fairways and greens and execute well, the birdies will come, but any errant shots are punished. So, it was wonderful to watch these juniors embrace the challenge over the two days and to see so many smiles and high-fives. Judging by the exceptional golf played by the A-Section, the future of women’s golf is very promising.”
A-DIVISION RESULT
- 218 Stephanie Barbaglia 72 73 73
- 219 Samantha Whateley 72 73 74
- 222 Kyra van Kan 73 73 76
- 224 Gabrielle Venter 78 75 71
- 226 Anika Smit 75 77 74
- 228 Kesha Louw 76 74 78
- 229 Jasmine Furstenburg 79 75 75; Zané Kleynhans 72 74 83
- 231 Olivia Wood 80 77 74; Chloe Malgas-Kelpin 78 78 75; Zara Le Keur 77 75 79
- 237 Jordan India Pillay 78 79 80
- 241 Tayla Howroyd 83 82 76
- 242 Jaden Visagie 88 78 76; Cheslyn Jacobs 83 81 78; Ineke Brynard 82 78 82
- 244 Kelly Hope 84 79 81; Gia Raad 82 82 80
- 247 Shannon Berry 89 81 77; Kaitlyn van de Vyver 86 74 87; Shivania Kalimuthu 85 79 83
- 250 Bea Breedt 87 81 82; Tebogo Lefifi 81 87 82
- 251 Lucia Mhlabane 87 83 81; Olivia Krige 79 84 88
- 254 Charlotte Millard 83 82 89
- 255 Nelia Swanepoel 90 82 83
- 256 Shani Van Rooyen 80 90 86
- 258 Amy Fletcher 87 87 84; Lisa Coetzer 81 84 93
- 263 Deanè Jansen 88 89 86; Kim Albertus 82 88 93
- 265 Ashley Huysamen 89 95 81
- 266 Orateng Maphake 97 86 83
- 267 Kamaya Moodliar 91 88 88
- 278 Lisakhanya Payiya 96 96 86
- 285 Lizerie Raubenheimer 93 91 101
- 293 Isabella Crafford 96 99 98
B-DIVISION RESULT
- 249 Lea van der Merwe 80 88 81
- 250 Anne-Isabel Scheltema 83 84 83
- 257 Ame van der Merwe 92 81 84; Lourenda Steyn 88 81 88
- 262 Sveva Yates 88 86 88
- 263 Zanè Fourie 85 89 89
- 266 Isabella Williams 92 89 85
- 269 Keira Howroyd 88 89 92
- 271 Lerato Mosiane 88 88 95
- 274 Zayaan Hendricks 88 93 93
- 277 Stacey-Lee van Gent 95 91 91
- 280 Ruah Payle 93 92 95
- 283 Alexis Toriani 100 91 92
- 299 Tamsen Skippers 97 103 99
- 303 Alexandria Botes 90 98 115
C-DIVISION RESULT
- 68 Zoey Rhoda 31 37
- 61 Danielle Chong 29 32
- 51 Gemma Huxham 28 23
- 40 Pia Daya 22 18
Ends
PHOTOS – credit GolfRSA:
- Bryanston’s Stephanie Barbaglia, A-Division winner of the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship, presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course.
- Lea van der Merwe from Zwartkop Country Club, B-Division winner of the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course.
- Capetonian Zoey Rhoda, C-Division winner of the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course.
- The 2022 champions of the Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl Championship, presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course – Stephanie Barbaglia (A), Lea van der Merwe (B) and Zoey Rhoda (C).
For further information, please contact:
Grant Hepburn (GolfRSA CEO) – granthepburn@golfrsa.co.za
Henk Smith (South African Golf Association Acting President) – henk@pillar.co.za
Sarah Braude (Womens Golf South Africa President) – sarah@wgsa.co.za
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA.
Lali Stander
Media Liaison – GolfRSA
TEL: +27 82 990 7150 / EMAIL: lalistander@gmail.com
