Gawanab wins Windhoek Open

The Windhoek Golf and Country Club hosted the NAGU Windhoek Open sponsored by Momentum last weekend.

The tournament was held under windy and dusty conditions, especially on Sunday morning when players had to endure extreme gusts of wind and dust.

Players in the A and B divisions played 54 holes over two days (36 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday), whereas the C division only played 36 holes over the two days.

Only 43 players participated in total – 14 in the A division, 16 in the B division and 13 in the C division.

Unfortunately, the very popular and well supported annual favourite Tsumeb Open was held on the same weekend, which influenced the participation numbers considerably.

According to the NAGU representative, the responsibility of this clash lies firmly on NAGU's shoulder and will be avoided in the future.

The top results for the Momentum Windhoek Open were as follows:



OVERALL

Best gross (champion): 1 Stanley Gawanab (220), 2 Damien da Silva (221).

Best nett: 1 Michael Durant (213), 2 Helmut Ndjendja (214).

A DIVISION

Best gross: 1 Gabriel Shikodi (229), 2 Kevin Wentzel (230).

Best nett: 1 Chris Heunis (222), 2 Karl Swartz (223).



B DIVISION

Best gross: 1 Terus Burger (250), 2 Erastus Ndekalako (257).

Best nett: Ian Wood (217), 2 Corneels Jafta (221).



C DIVISION

Best gross: 1 George Gariseb (172), 2 Cuthbert Chipfupa (185).

Best nett: 1 Gerhard van Rooyen (147), 2 Gustav Jung (149).

Eight prizes for nearest-to-the-pin, sponsored Windhoek Lager, were also up for grabs. The winners on day 1 were Paulus Shimoshili (hole 3), Michael Durant (hole 9), Erastus Ndakalako (hole 13), Theo Saunderson (hole 17).

On day 2, the winners were Kevin Wentzel (hole 3), Janneman Brand (hole 9), Mervin Nangolo (hole 13) and Johan 'JP' Visser (hole 17).

The club captain thanked the sponsor that came on board at the eleventh hour and all participants for their support, especially the ones that came from afar.

“Thanks also goes out to Steve Basson for handling the starting, scoring and refereeing. Many thanks also to Gavin van Wyk having handled the draw and arranged all the prizes.”

The course is currently still in relatively good condition, considering that Windhoek hardly had any rain and the long winter period is always tough on the course. The warmer conditions are visible as the grass on the fairways shows good signs of growth.

The next competition, the last leg of the Windhoek Lager Monthly Medley, will be held on Saturday 14 September.

MAURITIUS

During his speech on Sunday the NAGU secretary, Mr Corneels Jafta, said: “We would like to thank the following Namibian golf team members for travelling to support the Windhoek Open: Kevin Wentzel, Grant Mather and the champion, Stanley Gawanab.

“They will also be part of the Namibian team competing in the All Africa Team Championship in Mauritius from 7 to 12 October.

“The full team is Kevin Wentzel (team captain, Walvis Bay), Grant Mather (Walvis Bay), Likius Nande (Rössmund), Stanley Gawanab (Walvis Bay) and Marco Swarts (team manager). NAGU wishes them all the best with this championship.”