ALBERTON – Determination and hard work are the ingredients in 17-year-old Kyle Klopper’s success recipe on the golf course.
This gentle young man, a junior player at Reading Country Club, last week played the round of his life to be one of only eight players throughout the country to earn his SA High School colours.
The Inter-Provincial Tournament for High Schools in South Africa took place at Reading Country Club on Thursday and Friday, October 9 and 10. Scoring a blistering 70 gross on his first day, Kyle, a grade 11 learner at Marais Viljoen High School, set the stage for his first major achievement in his young golf career.
“I am motivated and driven enough to understand that talent alone cannot bring me the success I’m striving for,” he says in an interview with the Alberton RECORD. “That’s probably why I still look up to Tiger Woods as the greatest golfer we’ve ever had. He worked extremely hard at his game and he stayed focused, no matter what happened in his life. As a young child, he certainly didn’t have it easy and he was determined to be the first non-white number one golfer in the world. And he became just that.”
Kyle has three older brothers and an older sister and lives with his mom Anette and stepfather Uncle Peet, in Verwoerdpark.
“I suspect the golf bug bit me when I started playing golf with Uncle Peet on Sundays. I started playing seriously when I was 15 years old. My days today consist of school and then practice and more practice at the club,” he says.
He also contributes his success to the support system he enjoys, from his family to the resident pro at Reading Country Club to members at the club. “I have many people to thank, among them Donovan Main at the club, who continues to teach and coach me, and Mr Patrick Moroney, once a teacher at Marais Viljoen High School, who taught me how to stay humble and deal with disappointments.”
With a twinkle in his eyes he also mentions his girlfriend Quenita, herself a keen sportswoman who plays hockey for Marais Viljoen’s first team and a member of their Equestrian team. “She keeps me motivated and she understands my highs and lows.”
Kyle’s biggest dream is to one day play the Augusta golf course, home of the Masters and also known for its famous “Amen Corner”, Hole 11 named White Dogwood, a par-4 hole, Hole 12 named Golden Bell, a par-3 hole and Hole 13 named Azalea, a par-5 hole. “What I would give to experience that,” Kyle exclaims.
