Proteas
Boucher, Kallis tee off
2012-12-11 13:06
Mark Boucher (Gallo Images)
|
Malelane - South African cricket legends Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher
were two of the players who teed off in Tuesday’s pro-am ahead of the Alfred
Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club.
“I think I
looked forward to this week during the whole of the Australian tour,” said
Kallis, the world’s No 1 all-rounder who has just returned from a victorious
trip Down Under where South Africa cemented its status as the world’s No 1 Test-playing nation with a second-successive series defeat of the hosts.
“It’s nice
that the time has eventually arrived to play here on this gorgeous course -
it’s always nice coming up to Leopard Creek,” added Kallis.
“That’s why we
tried to finish that third Test off in four days - get back to South Africa and
get an extra day’s practice in.”
Boucher,
the world’s leading wicketkeeper who was forced to hasten his looming
retirement when he was struck in the eye by a bail ahead of the Proteas’
triumphant tour of England earlier this year, was not too sure of the quality
of his game, but was looking forward to his first round on a course of which he
became a member the previous evening.
Boucher,
who finished up with 999 dismissals as a Test wicketkeeper, was made an
honorary member of the club by Sunshine Tour board chairperson Johann Rupert after
he was promised it if he reached 1 000 Test dismissals.
Once it was
recalled that Boucher took a single wicket as a bowler in a drawn Test match
against the West Indies, the membership was awarded, and he was able to join
his great friend Kallis as a member of arguably the best course in South Africa - Kallis was awarded honorary membership when he finally made a Test
double-century.
“My game’s
been going, rather than coming on,” joked Boucher.
“I haven’t played a lot
since my injury so I’ll have to hit and hope. I’m finding reading long putts
difficult with just one eye, and I’m not getting the ball close enough to cut
long putts out, because the eye problem’s not that easy on the swing either.
“Unfortunately,
they don’t give you an extra couple of shots if you’ve only got one eye,” said
Boucher who plays off an eight handicap.
Kallis, who
plays off a seven, feels he doesn’t get to play that often when touring
with the Proteas.
“We got a couple of rounds in while we were in Australia, but
you never get enough in - unfortunately, the cricket gets in the way of the
golf,” he said.
“I’ve been hitting it alright lately, but around here, I think
you need to hit it straight, so I hope I can do that today.”
The
cricketers were playing with European Tour star Danny Willett, who won the BMW
International Open in Cologne, Germany.
“We’re
looking forward to that - we haven’t played with him before,” said Kallis.
“It
will be nice to get his thoughts and see how he does things. It’s always good
when different sporting codes get together, and you can share stories and learn
from one another.”