BSI Golf | R&A Africa Amateur Championship at Leopard Creek
I was privileged to be part of the inaugural R&A Africa Amateur Championship at Leopard Creek last week. It was arguably the most prestigious amateur event ever staged in South Africa, with a place in The Open Championship on offer for the men’s winner. With the presence of high-level dignitaries from the R&A, the TV cameras, the player’s lounge and gym, course branding on every hole, and every qualifying player being flown in for the event by the R&A from wherever they were in the world, it was next level stuff. The exciting part is that it is now an annual event, exclusively for players from the African continent.
I was there in my capacity as Project Manager for the Africa High-Performance Programme (AHPP). Mark Fairbank, our Mental Coach and Performance Director, was also there to run a pre-tournament prep camp for the 10 AHPP players competing in the event. Out of those 10 players we had a 4th place in the women’s event and 12th place in the men’s event.
We also had 2 BSI students who qualified for the event, with both making the cut. Adrian Andrade from the Seychelles finished T20th. Gilbert Chalwe from Zambia was in a similar position before having to withdraw through injury during the final round.
Gilbert Chalwe & Adrian Andrade
