As part of a six-person Scottish Golf team, Connor Graham will travel to South Africa with his older brother, Gregor.
Once again, the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation’s assistance of the governing body is making the trip feasible.
Having delivered no fewer than four Scottish victories in the South African Amateur Championship, it has been held for almost 15 years.
Michael Stewart of Troon Welbeck started it all in 2011 when he won that award, and the following year, Brandon Stone, who went on to win the Scottish Open at Gullane in 2018, was defeated by Brian Soutar of Leven.
Following that, Daniel Young of Craigie Hill and Craig Ross of Kirkhill won titles back-to-back in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Rory Franssen of Auchterarder reached the final two years ago, but he lost to Kyle De Beer, a local player, in the championship match.
Two tartan victories in the African Amateur Championship have also come from the trip in the past; the first came from Liam Johnston of Dumfries & County in 2017 and the second from Euan Walker of Kilmarnock (Barassie) two years later.
The players targeting Scottish glory on this year’s trip include the Graham brothers from Blairgowrie, Gregor Tait from Sussex, Matthew Wilson from Forres, James Morgan from Longniddry, and Jack McDonald from Schloss Roxburghe.
In terms of competitions, the Gauteng North Open will get things off on January 19–21 at The Els Club in Copperleaf.
The South African Amateur Championship is held at Royal Johannesburg and Royal Kensington Golf Club from February 4–9, followed by the South African Stroke-Play Championship at Mount Edgecombe Country Club from January 30–1.
After that, the journey will come to an end at the GolfRSA International Amateur, which is being held at Houghton Golf Club from February 13–16.
Connor Graham intends to continue on his incredible 2023 campaign, which includes making history as the youngest Walker Cup player in a competition at St Andrews and leading Europe to victory in the Junior Ryder Cup in Rome as skipper Stephen Gallacher captained.
Meanwhile, Gregor, the older brother, will try to replicate the kind of performance that made history the previous year when he became the first amateur to win on Paul Lawrie’s Tartan Pro Tour.
Regarding McDonald, a recalculation resulted in him winning the title of 2023 Scottish Order of Merit instead of Morgan, therefore he will be competing in the South African tournaments as that winner.
Apart from the South African competition, Jamie Mann of Carnoustie and Andrew Davidson of Crail Golf Society, the 2023 East of Scotland Open champion, will also be competing in the South American Amateur Championship. This week, it’s held at Colombia’s The Country Club of Bogota.
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