Top honours for nine-birdie Ryan and come-from-behind Cara

On a Club Championships weekend of rain, lightning, long delays and yes – plenty of birdies – Ryan Wingrove and whizzkid Cara Ford, who is about to turn professional, defied the odds in remarkable fashion to emerge with the silverware.

“I didn’t arrive on the tee with any expectations as I’ve played hardly any golf this year – only about five rounds in the last four months because I’ve been so busy with work,” said Wingrove who made nine birdies in all after shooting 71 on Bushwillow and 75 on Firethorn for 146 to claim the men’s title, four clear of runner-up Franco Roos on 150.

“Also, I’ve been moving house and the new place is a bit of a shambles at the moment so before I teed it up I was going crazy hunting around at the last minute for golf balls and clubs and clothes to get myself ready.”

On top of this, Ryan attended his buddy Chris Scheppel’s wedding after Saturday’s first round (Scheppel, coincidentally, was last year’s Randpark club champion). “And after all the celebrations I only got to bed about three o’clock in the morning!”

So what was the key to the good golf in spite of the lack of practice and the very late night? “I think my strong mental game. I’ve turned 30 and they say when you hit 30 your mind’s stronger so maybe that has been key! But also my caddie, Richard Leballo, is an absolute machine and he was a great help out there keeping me calm and giving me excellent lines on the putts,” added Wingrove who won last year’s Graduate Club Championship.

Leballo is one of South Africa’s top bagmen who has caddied on the Sunshine Tour, working with – among others – Andrew McLardy who of course learnt his golf at Randpark and is back on the pro tour as a veteran and just a few days ago won a Blue Label event.

In a dramatic, absorbing battle for the ladies’ title Catherine Hammond, with a 76, edged in front of Cara, who shot 77, after day one. “And after nine holes in our second round (on Firethorn) I was now three back of Catherine who was playing some awesome golf,” Cara explained. “We came to the last hole of regulation play (Firethorn’s par-4 ninth) and I was still two behind. But she made bogey and I sank a huge 25-footer from off the green for a birdie three and a round of 72!”

This meant the two players were tied on 149 for the 36 holes, necessitating a sudden-death play-off. In fading light on Firethorn’s par-4 18th. Catherine unfortunately drove it in the river and Cara was able to once again snatch the title, something she has made a habit of in recent years as a young South African star to emerge from Randpark.

“I’m so pleased to win because this was my first golf in three weeks as I’ve been writing my PGA Diploma exams,” said the talented Cara who used her pin-point accurate, bump-and-run game to good effect to make a couple of crucial birdies and face-saving pars on route to matching Catherine at the top of the leaderboard, a feature of her game that should stand her in good stead in her expected move to the paid ranks in the very near future.

As an aside, best round of the weekend belonged not to an A Division competitor but a veteran 58-year-old five-handicapper, Eric Keveik, who shot a superb 70 gross on Bushwillow, which included five impressive birdies, to win the men’s B Division which was reduced to one round because of the storm delays.

“I only started playing golf when I was 30 and, to be honest, I’ve been struggling with my game for the last few months until this weekend when it all came together,” smiled Eric who hails from the Basque country in the western Pyrenees between France and Spain and has been living in South Africa for the past 11 years and is a proud Randpark member.

Eric works in the oil and gas industry. Maybe this is why he doesn’t suffer any power failures when it comes to golf!

Written by Randpark member Grant Winter.

For a complete list of results, please visit https://scores.scorecapture.com/leaderboard/519139.