With Jeff and Liezl on their way to watch The Open at Royal Portrush I have the pleasure of writing Jeff’s newsletter this week. What an easy task after having a weekend like this one. We are blessed.
It all started on Saturday with our own Dr. Lynn Slogrove winning her division of the BMW International Cup Qualifier at St Francis Bay Golf Club. Her 40 points was good enough to book her a spot at the Regional Final, and guess what, we are hosting it! Good luck Dr. Lynn, we hope you go all the way. The Wimbledon Ladies Final was contested between all time great Serena Williams and Simona Halep. Simona thumped Serena within 1 hour, 6-2 6-2. She outplayed Serena without effort to win her first Wimbledon title. Sunday afternoon was set for a great Men’s Final with Novak Djokovic taking on the GOAT Roger Federer. This match was so close it is sad that there had to be a result. They both played beautiful tennis. Federer had two championship points late in the game and Novac turned it around to clinch the title in the 5th set tiebreaker. They battled on court for 5 hours. The fitness level, mental strength and pure talent of both players was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Simultaneously the Cricket World Cup was coming to an end. New Zealand taking on England at Lords. I kept my eye on the cricket score during the afternoon and it looked to me that New Zealand had it wrapped up. I had the TV on tennis and my phone was streaming cricket. The last over changed the whole game. The bad luck New Zealand received with the ball deflecting off Stokes’ bat and yielding 6 runs was incredible. I saw my first super over in cricket. It was madness. I was stunned. The atmosphere before, during and after the game must have been incredible.
After so much excitement during the afternoon and early evening I planned to have an early night. I didn’t watch much golf during the week and decided to see what is going on at the John Deere Classic. Dylan Frittelli was in contention. I had to watch. Dylan shot a final round 64 to earn his first PGA Tour title and secured a spot at The Open Championship this week. He earned an invite to next years Players Championship and next years Masters. Talk about changing your life. Keep a close eye on him this week. The way he played and the way he was in control of his emotions was impressive. When I went to sleep I felt like a changed person, grateful to have seen so much history in one day.
In other news The British Grand Prix was on. I missed it, I only have two eyes. Lewis Hamilton from England was the fastest man. His 6th British GP triumph. The race will stay at Silverstone for the next 5 years and everyone is very happy about that. Incredible weekend for British sport.
The Open Championship Golf Champs Pool
The Golf Champs pool is open. You can find the St Francis Links Pool at
https://www.golfchamps.net/ Our pool code is
21575725. Join in on the fun and make your picks.
Men’s Invitational
The predicted weather for our Championship does not look nice. We currently have 92 players in the field, 20 more than last year, we really hope that Mother Nature will be kind to us, and if not we will keep you happy. Barry Hilton is here on Saturday, he is always keen for a good laugh, if you haven’t booked a table yet, phone us on 0422004500 to avoid disappointment.
Growing the Game
On the 27th of July we will be hosting the first ever Target36 junior tournament. We invite all junior golfers and juniors that are getting into the game to join us. For more info about Target36 follow the link
https://target36.co.za/
Thinus Keller
PGA Head Golf Professional
Next week Jeff will be reporting back from the OPEN Championship at Royal Portrush
(back in Northern Ireland for the first time in 50 years)
Royal Portrush
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Coming soon – put these in the MUST DO column
The St Francis Links HOTEL by Mantis – SHOW UNITS are under construction
The proposed St Francis Links Hotel by Mantis is being sold as a sectional title scheme. Now, three units are being built as show units to promote sales.
The show unit, comprised of one, two bedroom unit and two, one-bedroom units will be complete for the season.
The Hotel will consist of 60 1 and 2-bedroom suites, modelled after the successful hotel development at Pearl Valley, where the 2nd phase was launched recently. The Clubhouse will be home to reception manned 24/7, the Food and Beverage services, AquaSpa and of course, the home of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course! Pam Golding Properties are handling the sales for the Hotel. Neil Fox is the lead person. Neil Fox neil.fox@pamgolding.co.za Saria Blaauw is assisting and they are dividing their time at The Links
Our events
Ernie and Linda Müller and their Team from Selective Lighting are making Fridays extra special at St Francis Links. Once a month, they host the Selective Lighting/The Fireworks Friday Competition. We shotgun start the players for 9 holes. Starting times are based on the season, 14h30 in the “Cool Season” and 15h30 in the summer months. Be a part of growing the Club and join us for nine and some good times after golf! Please enter in advance for numbers.
ITEC are our sponsors for OPEN Wednesday (2nd Wednesday) with meat and added prizes. Invite your friends to enjoy SA’s best with special rates for golf, snacks after the game and great prizes – Hey, sometimes Curry Night follows – stay or take away!
Monday Roll-up! Pitch up and play (9 holes or 18 Par-3 from 2pm) let’s add you to the What’s app group
All day Saturdays: Morning and afternoon fields – the afternoon field will be booked from 12 noon backwards with emphasis on “ready golf”
Monday Men’s Book Club – 5pm in Jack’s Bar (no reading required)
Ladies’ Tea (and Coffee) – Every Tuesday at 10am on the Veranda
Every Great shot starts (and ends) with a SMILE!
Santa and the Links TEAM
