South African golfing talent Kelli Shean is becoming firm favourite of the Western Province Sportswriters Association, having won their Junior Sports Woman athlete award in 2005, and the Junior Sportswoman of the Month in 2006.
But nothing prepared Kelli for Monday evening at the Association’s prestigious annual awards evening, when she walked away with no less than four awards, following a sparkling season on South Africa’s best fairways.
Kelli’s great golfing form was recognised at the Western Province Sportswriters prize-giving evening on Monday evening, when she won:
• The Junior Sportswoman of the Month award for September 2006 (Having been selected as one of three golfers to represent South Africa at the World Amateur Team Championships in Stellenbosch);
• The Junior Sportswoman award for October 2006 (Having won the tournament’s Espirito Santo trophy with Ashleigh Simon and Stacey Bregman for host country South Africa, the first team to do so in 26 years);
• The Western Province Junior Sportswoman of the Year 2006 award; and
• The Western Province Senior Sportswoman of the Year 2006 award.
“I haven’t (previously won) the Senior Sportswoman of the Year (award) before, so that was the first time for me, and I’m very honoured to be included with names like Natalie du Toit, it’s awesome,” Kelli told gsport on Tuesday.
“Since winning the World Amateur Team Championships, it’s opened up so many doors for me,” said Kelli.
“Ever since then, everything’s been slightly different,” continued an elated Kelli Shean. “It was all about being a part of a team that are World Champions right now, and the three of us, whenever we see each other, we just burst out laughing!
“It’s just incredible how many doors it’s opened up for us. People are interested in how it was… I’m not sure if life would have been a hell-of-a-lot different, if we hadn’t won, but it’s definitely a lot sweeter!”
According to Jonathan Hobday, President of the Sportswriters Association, it is the first time in the history of the awards that a female has won both Junior and Senior awards in the same year.
The only other female to have come close was Natalie du Toit, the South African Paralympics swimming inspiration, when she won the Association’s awards for the Senior Sportswoman, and the Disabled Sportswomen of the Year, a few years back.
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