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PENNINGTON MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW

15/12/2020 01:22:00 BY SPORTS REPORTER

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MBABANE – Professional golfer James Pennington made it two times in a row when he won yet another edition of the Eswatini Professional Golfers Association’s (EPGA) Pro-Am competition.

At the tender age of 24, Pennington is riding the crest of a wave in the golf circles. He was a cut above the rest on both days of the competition played under intense heat at the magnificent Nkonyeni Bushveld and Links Golf Courses. He outclassed a star-studded field of 12 strictly local Pros and 15 amateurs.

carded

The Johannesburg-based local Pro carded a 105 gross to finish 3-under. For the second time in a row Pennington unseated highly-rated Raymond Mathonsi, who consecutively dominated three editions of this top of the range competition in the course of this year. Mathonsi carded a 110 gross to earn a 2-over. Position three was a tie between Peter Dlamini and Austin Mabaso with a 4-over from a 112 gross. The likes of Meshack Zwane, Oscar Dube and Robert Shiba were placed 5th, 6th and 7th, respectively.

Meanwhile, the alliance category was scooped by the trio of Meshack Zwane, Qiniso and Thulani Dlamini with a total of 125 points seized over the two days. They were four points clear of the quartet of Oscar Dube, John Fakudze, Andrew Mkhonta and Cosmo Mthethwa.

Remarking about his performance, Pennington said the victory this time around was very different to his previous one at the Royal Swazi Spa Golf Course last month.

“It was my first time playing the Links Golf Course in a competition, so they were very different tournaments in that aspect. I think what I did well at Nkonyeni was keeping the ball on the fairway off the tee, with so much bush around. I didn’t enter the bush or a bunker even once. So if you can do that at Nkonyeni, it definitely makes the golf course more playable,” he said.

He added; “My short game was very sharp, I made many ups and downs from just off the green which kept the bogeys off my card. I didn’t really make many lengthy putts, which could have been better but I was very solid on the short ones which keeps the card tidy.”

Pennington said he felt keeping hydrated was a priority as the heat was intense on both days. He said he knew that if he could drive well off the tee, the rest would fall into place and go a long way towards victory.

“The win is satisfying as an ESRIC brand ambassador at an ESRIC-sponsored event as it can put some extra pressure on, which I felt I handled well and I’m honoured to win whilst representing them,” he stated.

“I showed good mental strength and discipline, not always hitting the driver off the tees but irons to make sure of the fairway. Thank you to ESRIC for what they do for myself and the EPGA, and to the EPGA Committee for organising, as well as Nkonyeni for providing a great golf course for us to play.”

On the other hand, the runner-up Mathonsi said; “My performance was good, especially on the second day. I will work on my golf during the holidays. The tournament was well run, thanks to Frans.