Namibiajuniorgolf

REPORT ON VISIT TO JUNIOR OPEN                      

JULY 11^TH – 17^TH, 2010 

Contestant: Stefanus BonafatiusAge:

 14Handicap: 3        

Background The R&A invites various countries worldwide to attend the Junior Open in Scotland every alternative year. In 2010 the Namibia Junior Golf Foundation were again invited. This also affords countries the opportunity to meet with and discuss the development programs and needs with the R&A Development Committee. This year the tournament was attended by 77 countries and 124 players. 

 Feedback: Attending Junior  Through the established process for election, Stefanus Bonafatius were selected to attend the tournament. Stefanus joined our development program during 2008 and subsequently have grown to a well accomplished golfer. Stefanus were also given the Most Improved player award during the 2009 awards evening.  

·        Friday, July 9^th, 2010  We departed on and arrived after a fairly long haul on Saturday, July 10^th, 2010 in Edinburgh. We were met by the appointed Chaperones and were taken by bus together with other contestants and delegates to St Andrews where we were accommodated for the duration of the tournament. 

·        Sunday, July 11^th, 2010 We departed at 06h30 from St Andrews to Lundin were the tournament was hosted for the practice round. Initially the weather was “OK” but as the day progressed, the weather changed and at close of play the wind blew at times 30mph gusting to 40 mph. in the admission of the organizers; it was the worst conditions experienced in decades in Scotland for this time of the year. Although the conditions were tough, Stefanus managed to put together a fairly good round. The worrying thing was that distances were in yards not meters.          

·        Monday July 12^th, 2010 Again the bus departed at 06h30 and the 1^st round kicked off with Stefanus teeing off at 08h10. The Scottish summer lived up to its name and offered wet and windy conditions to meet the players. The difference was that the wind had changed to the opposite direction confusing players totally. Stefanus were off to a bad start with 2 lost balls on the 1^st and never really recovered form the initial shock and finished with an 89 gross. At close of play he mentioned that he was rather tired but linked it to the travelling and climate change. 

·        Tuesday, July 13^th, 2010 On the 2^nd day Stefanus had a little better draw and then teed off at 10h10. The condition were a little dryer however the wind never subsided and although he played much better the 2^nd day score of 84 gross does not tell the true story. He was probably one of a few players that did not record numerous 3-putts due to the windy conditions that prevailed. Again the biggest problem for him was calculating the distances as the wind gusted and also changed direction a couple of times.

·        Wednesday, July 14^th, 2010 This was weather-wise, probably the worst day of them all due to the extremely wet and windy conditions. If you would recall the conditions were so bad that the Champions Challenge to be played at the open were called off. Stefanus teed off at 12h10 and although he pushed through; at the 11^th hole he was drenched, very cold and was shivering very badly. After consulting with the Marshalls, it was decided to allow Stefanus to go back to the clubhouse. On his return he complained that he was not feeling well and we arranged for him to see a doctor soonest. The soonest was only the next morning. Wednesday was also the final day of the competition, see final results attached.     

·        July 15^th & 16^th, 2010  The following 2 days the players and delegates were at leisure and were given the opportunity to have a walkabout at the Open Championships. However early morning Stefanus were taken to hospital and was subsequently diagnosed having chicken pocks. The doctor informed us that the worst was over and we then had to consult with the travel authorities to verify that we were able to fly back on Saturday as planned as the airlines initially refused to allow him to fly. Needless to say, fancy footwork and a lot of promises had us departing on schedule. 

·        Saturday, July 17^th, 2010 On Saturday morning we left St Andrews at 08h00 returning to Namibia and we arrived in Windhoek at 13h00 on Sunday, July 18^th, 2010.                              

RESULTS SHEET