RISING Zimbabwean junior golfer Mbongeni Maphosa says he was happy with the experience he gained from his participation at the 2014 American Junior in St Augustine, Florida early this week.
SPORTS REPORTER
Maphosa put on a stunning display at the 54-hole tournament played at the Slammer & Squire Golf Course in Saint Augustine from Saturday to Monday, finishing in a tie for 15th position with compatriot Kieran Vincent.
With tournament scores of 76, 73 & 76 Maphosa finished with a 54-hole total of nine-over par-225 over the three days while Vincent carded rounds of 77-76 & 72 for the same total.
“Well it was a really nice playing the final Wjgs tournament of the year,” young Maphosa told NewsDay Sport from Florida, in the US on Tuesday.
“Was pretty disappointed with my last round considering how I started. I made a lot of unnecessary mistakes which cost me a few shots in the last hole. I felt I played smart golf but at times I lacked the confidence to attack certain flags. My putting was definitely shaky this week, I missed a lot of make able putts, but that’s golf I guess.”
“The course was in great condition and very challenging I need to work on the mental aspect of my game because I struggled in pressure situations but overall I’m still satisfied with my performance considering it was a strong field with some of the best players in the world.”
Top junior golfer Stuart Krog also took part in the tournament, initially getting off to a slow start before recovering to finish tied for position 23 after carding rounds of 88-69 & 74.
Another local junior golfer Tarisiro Fundira finished in a tie for position 36 with rounds of 89, 84 & 88.
The American Junior, which attracted some of the world’s talented junior golfers, was the final leg of the World Junior Golf Series.
The United States, Germany, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Malaysia, Thailand, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Ireland, Finland, Brazil, Puerto Rico and South Africa were all represented in the tournament.
American Andrew Alligood (70, 67 & 71) won the tournament with a 8-under 208 total, with Sweden’s Rickard Wallin seven shots off the pace in second position.
