Lifestyle/Community
Berger has the genes to be a special golfer
Occasionally a name pops up on a gold leader board and one gets asked whether that player is Jewish or not. We saw that at the Masters at Augusta, Georgia, at the weekend when Smylie Kaufman, playing in his first Masters, started the final round in second place and played alongside Jordan Spieth.
JACK MILNER
Both imploded in the final round to one degree or another and it was eventually Briton Danny Willett who took the title.
Investigations into Kaufman have not revealed much and there is no hint as to whether he is Jewish or not. Perhaps it will be investigated further and more will be revealed at a later stage.
While looking up details on Jewish golfers I came across another young golfer who seems to be “quite usefu”l and that is Daniel Berger. Berger, who is currently ranked 51 in the world but should rise after his run in the Masters, finished joint 10th with a score of one over par.
He is being touted as a great talent for the future and he is definitely Jewish. In fact, he is the son of former top American tennis player Jay Berger, who has been inducted into the Jewish Hall of Fame in Israel.
Daniel Berger celebrated his 26th birthday on the opening day of the Masters last week Thursday. He was born in Plantation and lived in Miami for about 10 years before moving with his family to Jupiter, Florida, where he began taking golf seriously.
He graduated from William T Dwyer High School in 2011 and went on to play golf at Florida State University, where he tied for second spot at the 2013 NCAA Division One Men’s Golf Championships. Later that year Berger decided to give up his amateur career and look to make his money on the professional tour.
In late 2013, Berger qualified for the Web.com Tour and played four events. The following year he finished in tied second place at the TPC Stonebrae Championship and his ranking of No 15 in the season-long Web.com Tour standings, earned him promotion to the PGA Tour for the 2014 and 2015 season.
In March last year Berger shot a six-under-par 64 in the final round of the Honda Classic to get into a sudden-death playoff, which he lost to Irishman Padraig Harrington. He began the final round nine strokes behind third-round leader Ian Poulter and had Berger won that playoff, it would have been the second-largest final round comeback in PGA Tour history.
During the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Berger scored an albatross, which is three under par, at the par-five sixth hole. That has put him on a very select list that includes names such as Gene Sarazen, Johnny Miller, Ernie Els and Louis Oosthuizen. No Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player…
In the 2015 season, Berger made the cut in 17 of 31 events, had six top-10 finishes, including two seconds, and was the only rookie to make the Tour Championship field. He finished 11th in the FedEx Cup rankings and 25th on the money list. He was also named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
His father, Jay Berger, who was known for his rather weird service action on the tennis court, was a contemporary of Aaron Krickstein. He is currently a coach and head of men’s tennis for the United States Tennis Association.
Jay also does tennis commentaries and apparently produced an entertaining interview with Daniel during the US Open.
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Dean’s long putt sinks brother Barry’s Maccabi Golf Nationals challenge
The Sundelson family have dominated the Maccabi South Africa Golf National Championships for many years and the 56th renewal of the tournament played at Plettenberg Bay Country Club from March 20 to 22, turned out to be no different.
The Men’s A Division came down to the last hole on the last day with Dean Sundelson going neck and neck with brother Barry, but it was Dean who won the day, sinking a 36-foot putt to beat Barry by one shot. This was Dean’s eighth win in this tournament.
As one would expect at a coastal course, the conditions were tough and considering it is not an easy golf course, the scores were good.
Barry Sundelson had a decent lead over his brother on the opening day, but the roles were reversed on day two in the fickle game of golf and the pair went into the final round all square.
Dean, by sinking that long putt, shot a final round 70 while Barry produced a 71.
Elaine Rubens successfully defended her 2015 title in the Ladies Division. Debbie Cloud was the runner-up in the women’s A Division.