<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Durbanville Golf Club junior Jordan Rothman confirmed her
\nstatus as one of South Africa\u2019s future golfing stars when she knocked out two
\nof the country\u2019s top amateurs for the Sanlam South African Amateur Championship
\ntitle at Umhlali Country Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 15-year-old Western Province golfer made it to the final
\non Wednesday afternoon with a 2 and 1 victory over Michaela Fletcher in the
\nsemi-finals and faced former number one Kaleigh Telfer, who edged out reigning
\nSanlam SA Women\u2019s Stroke Play champion Casandra Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rothman sealed victory with a birdie putt at 18 to beat
\nTelfer 2-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m over the moon. It hasn\u2019t sunk in yet,\u201d said Rothman,
\nthe youngest winner of women\u2019s amateur golf\u2019s flagship event since Ashleigh
\nSimon, who was two months shy of 15 when she won her first title at Strand Golf
\nClub in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKaleigh and Michaela were definitely the favourites, and I
\nwas quite happy to come into the last day as the underdog. It took all the
\npressure off me. Even my dad told me after the quarter-finals to just go out
\nthere and enjoy myself. My dad said I\u2019d already done enough to make him burst
\nwith pride and that helped, plus I had the best caddie in the world to keep my
\nhead in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rothman had Talent Development Squad player Kim Turgutt from
\nRandpark on the bag for the two biggest matches of her short career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI only had enough money to pay for a caddie for the
\nqualifying round,\u201d she explained. \u201cWhen Kim got knocked out by Michaela in the
\nsecond round, she volunteered to take my bag because she had to stay for the
\nduration of the championship. She really helped me to stay focussed and it was
\ngreat to share this experience with her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rothman started strong against Fletcher and was 3-up after
\nfour holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fletcher started to find her stroke on the greens. The
\nMaritzburg golfer won the next two holes to close the gap to 1-down and squared
\nthe match with a birdie at 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really had to work hard to win,\u201d said Rothman, who edged
\nahead with a birdie at 12 and closed out the victory with another gain at the
\npar five 17th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy heart was all over the place on the back nine, but she
\nstayed very calm and she didn\u2019t show any emotion. That was definitely the
\ntoughest match of my life, but it prepared me well mentally to face Kaleigh in
\nthe final.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telfer drew first blood with a birdie at the first, but
\nRothman squared with a birdie at the third hole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI bogeyed six and seven, but I won the ninth with a par to
\nlevel the match again,\u201d said Rothman. \u201cI have to applaud Kaleigh for her sportsmanship
\nat the 13th hole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHer ball moved when she tried to remove a twig and she came
\nup to me on the green and told me about the penalty. She could have waited
\nuntil after I had putted, but I think it says a lot about her character that
\nshe told me straight away. That left me with two putts for par to win the hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKaleigh won the next hole, but I went 1-up again at 15.
\nKaleigh had hit her drive behind this silly tree and all she could do was punch
\nout. I knew I could win the hole with par, so I lagged my first putt close and
\ntapped in for the win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pair halved 16 in pars and 17 in bogeys, but the closing
\nhole belonged to Rothman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking too much about leading because I just
\nwanted to keep playing my own game, but when I stood with the 6-iron in my hand
\non the 18th tee, my heart was hammering in my chest,\u201d she said. \u201cI could feel
\nmyself trembling and I told myself to just get it on the green.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rothman\u2019s tee shot pitched a foot from the pin, leaving her
\nan easy birdie putt for the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can\u2019t describe what this means,\u201d said Rothman, a member
\nof the GolfRSA B Squad and the Womens Golf Western Province High Performance
\nSquad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful to GolfRSA and Womens Golf South
\nAfrica and to Womens Golf Western Province for the all opportunities they have
\ngiven me. Playing for Western Province in the IPT and 72-Hole Teams
\nChampionship and competing in the Himbara World Junior Golf Championships in
\nIndonesia last month definitely built my experience and my self-assurance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what gave me the confidence to face two really tough
\nopponents and wear them down. I still can\u2019t believe that I\u2019ve done it; this is
\na dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an all KwaZulu-Natal Plate Final, seasoned campaigner
\nLizzie Currie took on 15-year-old Senayah Moodliar from Umhlali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currie from Port Shepstone beat Elsune Roode 4 and 3 to
\nreach the final two, while Moodliar gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about
\nwhen she beat Kim Strauss 1-up in her semi-final. Over 17 holes, both players
\nwon five holes, but Currie broke the stalemate when she defeated the local
\nfavourite 1-up at the final hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Durbanville Golf Club junior Jordan Rothman confirmed her status as one of South Africa\u2019s future golfing stars when she knocked out two of the country\u2019s top amateurs for the Sanlam 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