230 play in charity drive

KNYSNA NEWS - The Rotary Club of Knysna held its 24th annual charity golf tournament from Thursday 23 to Monday 27 May.

The event spanned six golf courses and 230 golfers from around the country booked and played 784 rounds of golf.

The tournament started on the Thursday, with games being played at Pinnacle Point outside Mossel Bay and, for the first time, at Kingswood Golf Club in George.

Always popular, Pinnacle Point saw a full field, with Kingswood also enjoying a good turnout. The weather kindly held up and a great opening day was enjoyed by all.

Friday 24 May saw the entire group split over the Pezula Golf Club and Simola Country Club in Knysna.

Once again, great fun was had, despite the heavy skies and bouts of drizzle.

Goose Valley in Plettenberg Bay and Knysna Golf Club were the venues for Saturday, and the final games on Sunday were again played at Simola and Pezula.

A few of the golfers then stayed on to maximise their Garden Route golfing experience by playing at Kingswood on Monday.

This year seven golfers qualified to receive Ten-Year Caps. These were awarded to: André Rheeder, Wayne Hilton, Malcolm Knipe,

Harold Myburgh, Morné le Roux, Charl du Toit and Andrew Theunissen.

Floating trophy

A new award was created this year in honour of Knysna Rotary member, Peter Klews. Peter was the founding organiser of this event and apparently at one tournament, he was lauded for a fantastic long putt.

It was recently agreed by the club that a floating trophy and prize for the "Peter Klews Longest Putt Made" would be presented to the player who produced the longest putt over the weekend.

The 2024 inaugural recipient of this award was Pieter Strauss.

Said Knysna Rotary president Herb Hunter, "We would like to thank all the golfers who travelled to Knysna for our event, which is our club's major fundraiser.

"Proceeds enable us to continue to reach out to local communities through a variety of service projects that include dental care for school children, food security and food garden training, prevention of GBV, early childhood development and support to local NPOs.

"Sincere thanks must also go to the generous sponsors and the organisations who donated prizes, many of whom support the golf tournament year after year."

Participants gather before making an early start at the Simola golf course in Knysna on Sunday, 26 May. Photos: Elle Photo