CROSSROADS

Photos: EPA By: MICHAEL SHERMAN

GolfRSA needs former prodigy James Kamte to take the right turn

JAMES Kamte at one point during his career was playing practice rounds at the US Open with Tiger Woods, but his journey has been heartbreaking for a nation crying out for a black golf star.

Now aged 39 and ranked 1402nd in the world, Kamte misses more cuts than he makes these days and is a shadow of the player who seemed destined for greatness in the late 2000s.

Spectators watch as James Kamte tees off during the final round of the Indonesian Open in 2008.

Kamte won three times in just over a year on the Sunshine Tour starting in September 2007, with his breakthrough coming at the Seekers Travel Pro-Am.

In fact, he won his 2008 European Tour card at the gruelling Qualifying School – Final Stage, and in the process became the first black South African to earn full playing privileges since Vincent Tshabalala in 1976 and 1977.

With limited status on the European Tour, Kamte played the Asian Tour and won the first event of the 2009 season – the Asian Tour International. It would prove the biggest victory of his career.

A week later, he finished in a solid tie for 11th at the Maybank Malaysian Open, prompting a rise to a career high 174th in the world rankings. The golfing world was his oyster.

However, tragedy struck when the Eastern Cape-born golfer suffered a career-threatening injury in 2010 when he fell off a skateboard in Singapore and broke his hand and knee.

He underwent knee and wrist operations in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Subsequently, he had to go under the knife for a third time in 2015 for an operation to fix a detached retina in his left eye, which he still struggles with today.

Coupled were some dubious personal decisions made at the time, Kamte faced an uphill battle.

A move down to Cape Town in 2017, however, has brought a greater sense of calmness and clarity to Kamte’s life.

Kamte watches his tee shot during the 2008 Indonesian Open.

Nicknamed “the Cobra”, Kamte’s presence on the South African golfing circuit is essential for a number of reasons, primarily to inspire the next generation of young black players, for as much as GolfRSA remains a shining light in developing golfers from all backgrounds in South Africa, the fact remains golf in the Rainbow Nation is still a white elitist sport.

Kamte is particularly aware of this fact having launched a golfing foundation in his hometown of Humansdorp in 2019.

As for Kamte himself, he still has time to turn things around – here’s to hoping he does indeed manage to take the right turn.

At one point during his career Kamte was hailed as South Africa’s Tiger Woods by Gary Player.