Bafana Bafana’s football legends made the Springboks work for it. The two sides finished level on 11½ points apiece after two days of Ryder Cup style golf at Pearl Valley, with the rugby legends awarded the inaugural TWH Legends Cup: Clash of the Codes, brought to you by Compleat Golfer, on a count out. The Proteas, captained by Pat Symcox, finished third on 10.
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Fredericks led a Bafana line-up packed with household names. Neil Tovey, Brian Baloyi, Mark Williams, Shaun Bartlett, Jimmy Tau, Fabian McCarthy and Bongani Khumalo all featured at the Jack Nicklaus designed course in the Cape winelands, going toe to toe with the Springbok and Proteas legends across the two days.
The big prize on offer went unclaimed, with Springbok captain John Smit coming closest of anyone in the field, his tee shot at the par-3 13th finishing just a few feet from the flag and missing out on the watch, sponsored by Peter Machlup Jewellers, worth R1.8 million on offer for an ace.
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Off the course, the mood was every bit as good as the golf, with Fredericks, Tovey, Baloyi and Williams all thanking organiser Paul Stubbs for the two days and already talking up a return next year.
More than a dozen amateur activations ran alongside the legends’ contest, including nearest-the-pin competitions on three of the par-3s and a long-drive challenge on the ninth.
TWH Bridging Finance was headline sponsor, with numerous other big-name backers on board, while the Marquee Group’s Beat the Pro hole, featuring Sunshine Tour pros Jordan Burnard and Cole Stevens, was the highlight of the par-3 activations.
Habari Media CEO Kevin Ferguson was full of praise for how the inaugural event came together. “A huge shout out to the Compleat Golfer team and headline sponsor TWH, who have had a strong association with other Habari properties like SA Rugby Magazine,” he said. “A big thank you to the respective team captains and their playing squads, who showcased their ability to be top golfers as much as they were soccer, rugby and cricket internationals.
“Pearl Valley was the perfect choice of course for our inaugural event. And the three squads were the perfect representation of legends in the South African sporting landscape.”
Full teams:
Bafana Bafana: Stanton Fredericks (capt), Neil Tovey, Brian Baloyi, Mark Williams, Shaun Bartlett, Jimmy Tau, Fabian McCarthy, Bongani Khumalo
Springboks: John Smit (capt), Fourie du Preez, Steven Kitshoff, Ryan Kankowski, Pat Lambie, Werner Greeff, Schalk Brits, Marius Joubert
Proteas: Pat Symcox (capt), Barry Richards, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Vernon Philander, Stephen Jeffries, Morne Morkel, Craig Matthews
Photo: Kyra Welch
