29 Apr 2014

Fifteen years after claiming his first Botswana Amateur Open Golf Championship, Bolokanang Podise won the event again, for the second time.

He described this victory as his 45th birthday present and as a more challenging one as he had to do it over 54 holes at the just ended Botswana Amateur Open golf tourney that was held at Gaborone Golf Club.

Bolokanang was the dark horse in the 2014 championship and one of the most technically gifted and talented player ever to come out of this country to fulfill his potential.

The favourite at the start of this championship on Friday was Walter Seokemong, a player who has dominated the Botswana Amateur Golf scene this year by winning the first two national events.

After Friday, Walter Seokemong and David Masole led the field, each having scored 76, followed by the 14 year old, Morne van Wyk with 77 while Bolokanang was tied at 5th with a score of 80.

The Saturday rounds saw the youngest player in the field, Morne van Wyk, taking the lead with a score of 77 and a total of 153. Bolokanang’s victory is remarkable in that he was able to win after being six (6) shots behind the leader after day two.

Over the three days, the champion has played the first (front) nine holes well, where he averaged only 3 over, while the back nine proved to be his nemesis.

On Sunday, April 27, Bolokanang played to finish with 35 on the first nine holes and said that he was now going to tame the second nine holes to win this championship for the second time.

True to his intentions, he displayed a master-class rarity of the iron with his approach on the shots on the second nine, where the only blemish in his scorecard was the two bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes, after a birdie on the 10th hole.

The champion finished with the best round of the week with a total score of 230, followed by David Masole with 234 and Kesentseng Dube who finished third with the same score of 234 after losing a count back.

Over the years, the Botswana Amateur Open Golf Championship has been religiously patronised by the Swazi Golfers and this year was no different, as 30 golfers from Swaziland turned up.

In recognition of this loyal patronage, the Botswana Golf Union presented Alex Dlamini, the Swaziland Veteran Golfer with a certificate of recognition for having continuously participated in the Botswana Open for a record 32 years.

The Botswana Golf Union expressed its appreciation and gratitude to Swazi golfers.

In other categories, specifically the A-Division, Dikgang Lemogang walked away with the title, with a total score of 162, followed by Bonolo Ditirwa with 163 and Dikgang Mogolodi took third with 163.

Marvelous Shangare claimed the B-Division Championship with a score of 171, followed by Keagakwa Kerileng with 180 and Jasper Sematlho in position three with 183.

The Botswana Amateur Open Golf Championship is the last qualifying event for the Windhoek Lager Africa Jacket Golf Championship which will held in Windhoek, Namibia from June 12 to 16.

David Masole, Dikgang Lemogang and Sematlho will represent Botswana at the tournament.

Back in 1999, the Botswana Amateur Open Golf Championship was played over a two day period for only 36 holes.

The format was changed to 54 holes in 2005 by the Botswana Golf Union in order to align with other comparable championships in the world and to enable inclusion in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. ENDS