All Africa Junior Golf Championship attracts record entry

A record entry is anticipated in this year’s All Africa Junior Golf Championship set for Benoni Country Club, Johannesburg, South Africa, from April 21.

Some 17 countries had on Monday confirmed participation in the event, hosted by Golf RSA and the Africa Golf Confederation (AGC).

“We are most grateful to Golf RSA for accepting to host this year’s edition of the All Africa Junior Golf Team Championship (AAJGTC) at Benoni Golf and Country Club. So far, we have received 17 country confirmations, and we are happy with this record entry," AGC president Johnson Omollo, the NTV Uganda boss, said.

He believes the record entry is a clear manifestation of the growing appetite to develop junior golf in Africa by all active golfing nations, and the continent's future in golf lies in the junior golfers.

“We continue to appeal for support towards the Africa Golf Confederation from the like-minded stakeholders and governments which are keen to develop golf in Africa," Omollo said.

"We can only better this journey through active mobilisation of affiliates participation in our regional and continental events played annually and bi-annually."

The countries which have so far confirmed participation in the event, which also acts as a qualifier for the annual Toyota World Cup of Golf, include defending champions South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mauritius, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi and Namibia.

The World Cup of Golf will be in Nagoya, Japan in June.

Of those countries, 11 will field boys and girls teams, while six countries will send boys' teams only.

Last year’s event was at the par 72 Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort in Kigo, Uganda, in April, where 15 countries participated.

South Africa retained the boys title for the 15th time, winning well ahead of Zimbabwe.

South Africa also won the girls' title ahead of hosts Uganda, while the Kenyan girls finished in third place.