The Zimbabwe Junior Golf team to the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup named
The Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association has selected its team to the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup to be played at the Chukyo Golf Club, Ishino Course, Japan on 24 to 27th June 2014. The players are the top four reigning players Stuart Krog, Justin Kersten, Kieren Vincent and Mbongeni Maphosa. The players leave on 19th June and are busy preparing for what promises to be a career highlight for the youngsters. The participating countries are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Thailand, United States, Venezuela and Zimbabwe
Stuart Krog is the leading junior golfer in the country and was crowned The Junior Golfer of the Year at a national golf award ceremony last night at a function hosted by the Zimbabwe Golf Association. Stuart also recently represented the country at the All Africa Youth Games in Gaborone Botswana where he came third to win a Bronze medal. Stuart was also a star performer at the All Africa Golf Challenge where he was second in the final cumulative individual leaderboard after shooting 78, 71, 70, and 75 for a total of 294 and only two shots behind Jovan Rebula of South Africa. Also in the top 10 at the All Africa Junior Golf Challenge in Lusaka was Kieren Vincent who shot a total of 300 to be tied in 6th position for the individual scores. Justin Kersten a fortnight ago won the Matebeleland Amateur Championship played at the Bulawayo Golf Club. Mbongeni Maphosa made news in his last international outing when he was 11th at the Curro SA Junior International Tournament played in Langebaan in Cape Town, South Africa.
This world junior golf event brings together the best junior golfers from 15 countries around the globe to compete against each other in a team format. The Chukyo Golf Club course, which the championship is being played on, is a Par-71 mountain course.
The TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup 2013 supported by JAL is the world’s only junior golf championship in which 15 national teams – winners of regional qualifiers held across six continents and participated in by over 60 national teams – compete for the world championship.
The first tournament was first played in 1992 at the Taisha Country Club in the City of Izumo, Japan. The United States team won this three-day event. In 2002 Toyota Motor Company Japan announced a 5 year commitment as Title sponsor. From 2005 to this year, the event has taken place at the Chukyo Golf Club, Ishino Course in Toyota City. The tournament was however not played in 2011 due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
South Africa has been Africa’s lone participant since 2008 and has one victory to its name when it won the tournament in 2001. South Africa’s 2001 championship team featured Louis Oosthuizen who was to be a future British Open winner and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. The United States holds the most Junior Golf World Cup titles with seven but has not taken home the trophy since 2005.
The best Zimbabwe has achieved was in 1993 when it was position 7 and last participated at the tournament was in 2005, and was in last position. Only four African countries have ever participated in this prestigious tournament in its 22 year history. These are Zimbabwe (8), South Africa (16), Kenya (2) and Morocco (1).
In addition to Oosthuizen and Schwartzel, notable former participants include Bud Cauley (USA), Kevin Chappell (USA), Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe), Russell Henley (USA), Ryuji Imada (Japan), Trevor Immelman (South Africa), Anthony Kim (USA), Hunter Mahan (USA), Edoardo Molinari (Italy), Justin Rose (England), Kyle Stanley (USA), Henrik Stenson (Sweden) and Camilo Villegas (Colombia).
The TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup 2014, follows a four-players-count-three scores format, and is played over four rounds.
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