Kearsney’s Matt Gouws shines in Champion of Champions

11 September 2023

Kearsney College’s Matt Gouws was in action in the Champion of Champions Tournament at the Kloof Country Club this past weekend. Representing the Richards Bay Country Club, the grade 10 student produced an outstanding performance against the champions from clubs all around KwaZulu-Natal.

He fired a 68 on the first day in extremely hot weather. Then, he followed that up with another 68 on day two, which put him into a playoff for the title.

Conditions

Describing the conditions to Pinnacle Schools, he said: “They made the course quite long, but it was in really good condition. I know it from playing it quite often with the school.”

Gouws, aged 15, was by far the youngest competitor in the field, but he said he wasn’t intimidated by his competition. He is used to playing with older opponents.

Reece Brown and Matt Gouws continue Kearsney’s rich golf tradition | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)

Leaning on the short game

Of course, at 15 years of age, he is still growing, which means he isn’t as long as some off of the tee. He reckons he is anything from 15 to 30 metres down on the long drivers, but his short game is one of his strengths and it keeps him in the game.

In the lead-up to the event, Matt admitted his putting had been a little bit inconsistent over the past two months but, he said: “My coach and I changed it up a bit. I got some confidence, and I putted well this weekend.”

Playoff

The playoff, against Royal Durban’s Sebastien Terblanche, was decided in sudden death on the 18^th hole. “I hit the first shot and hit it into the bunker,” Matt said. “I was in front of the lip. He hit it onto the green, and he was going to make par. I had a really tough up-and-down. I couldn’t really hit it out of the lip, so I made bogey, and he won the playoff.”

Still, he described himself as happy with his achievement.

He doesn’t think Richards Bay Country Club has ever had as high a finish in the Champions of Champions.

In the mid-year holidays, when Kearsney toured the Eastern Cape, he competed in the Grey High School Junior Links Festival, played on the Humewood, Port Elizabeth Golf Club and Wedgewood courses, and also finished as runner-up.