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Understanding the Challenges Facing South Africa's Youth in 2025
Understanding the Challenges Facing South Africa's Youth in 2025

IOL News

time7 days ago

  • Politics
  • IOL News

Understanding the Challenges Facing South Africa's Youth in 2025

Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Sunningdale). Picture: Supplied Image: Supplied THE month of June brings South Africa's youth to the fore. Youth Month is all about understanding the role youth play in society and determining how we can meet their needs as a society and community. The youth of South Africa constitute approximately one-third of South Africa's population and comprise individuals who are between the ages of 15 and 34 years. Recent years in South Africa have been difficult for youth in our country. We have had a staggering ratio of youth unemployment coupled with schools being poorly resourced with teachers and materials for effective teaching and learning to take place. In addition, many of our youth have become victims of sexual harassment and various forms of violence on school premises. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ The sense of belonging and safety within the school community has been eroded and further exacerbated by the increasing number of teachers who have been the perpetrators and or have been witnesses to these incidents but have opted to be silent. Parents and children now question their safety on the premises, and amidst school teachers and principals. Schools in particular have no longer become safe spaces for our youth and it is overwhelming for many. Also, these children have to focus on improving academic focus and achievement and try to identify their academic strengths and weaknesses to facilitate the development of a career after schooling years. Our youth are constantly struggling with developing careers post-school and university as many graduates are not absorbed by the formal economy. During research encounters, I have met young unemployed graduates who seek to create a livelihood in entrepreneurship as a means of survival and in some cases have no correlation with their qualifications. But more importantly, university pass rates are low nationally, and in present times, the university student drop-out rate is high. It has been reported that approximately 50% of first-year level students drop out and the reasons are multiple. In 2023, it was reported that only 7.3% of South Africans between the ages of 25 and older have a degree, despite the numerous efforts of the government to fund education at tertiary educational institutions. Statistics South Africa has reported that the unemployment rate among young females was estimated at 49,4% in 2024, and the reasons varied. Central to the motivation as to why women also choose to be unemployed during their years of youth is that they may be young and new mothers as aligned with the female biological clock and other family responsibilities. These responsibilities can impede their educational attainment and, subsequently, their advancement within the South African labor market. Other reasons include a lack of appropriate career counseling, lack of financial and academic support as well as poor academic performance which are often associated with work or family commitments. The need to address the high student dropout rate should be prioritised and it can begin by understanding why. It was also reported that approximately one in two Technikon first-year students tend to drop out and in the majority of cases they have not had appropriate and encouraging career counseling. The need for youth to empower themselves through educational and social upliftment has to be reinforced through mass media engagements and public discourses. We have a huge drug and alcohol consumption problem among our youth too, and research has indicated that the consumption of drugs and alcohol contributes to poor academic performance, leaving schoolgoers feeling discouraged and leaving, whereas university students drop out. Career counseling should become a mandatory component of school curriculums nationally, especially at the onset of secondary school. Youth need to be guided appropriately and in detail. They need to be informed about how subject choices can impact the trajectory of their career and educational development after completing Grade 12. The majority of South African youth need to be fully informed of what it takes to build a career and understand the importance of setting goals for themselves. To complement this, learners need to be taught appropriate study skills so that their academic performance can be enhanced. Study skills are a lifelong tool that is required by every individual to learn and develop through educational systems. Often youth are left to develop these skills independently and somewhat struggle to identify a study approach that is best suited to their needs, challenges, and personalities. Youth need to be taught how to absorb, process, and retain information that they are taught in the schooling and tertiary education environments. These skills need to be taught and can be learned through specific exercises combined with time management skills.

Understanding misinformation and malinformation in South Africa
Understanding misinformation and malinformation in South Africa

IOL News

time22-05-2025

  • General
  • IOL News

Understanding misinformation and malinformation in South Africa

Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Sunningdale). Picture: Supplied Image: Supplied MISINFORMATION and malinformation have become a norm within our society today. Yet many South Africans believe advice or any other information simply because it appears on a variety of social media platforms. Then there are numerous examples where we visibly note that correct and accurate information is communicated to citizens on these platforms. The combined blend of inaccurate and accurate information also gives rise to people believing unverified stories, the perspectives of an individual and the continual spread of malinformation. A recent example is the myth of white genocide in South Africa which has once again given the rest of the world a marred image of democratic South Africa which upholds fair and just principles and values. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ As Editor Ayanda Mduli points out in his article 'The myth of white genocide in South Africa: The US Knows the misinformation but doesn't care' the narratives of the past coupled with misinformation has overshadowed present day South Africa and the real circumstances around this controversy. Herewith we can now understand the numerous motivations behind the 'Afrikaner Trek' which include misinformation and malinformation. The present escalating crime rate is a challenge for every South African irrespective of class and age grouping, racial categorisation and ethnicity, but it is now widely believed that only the farmers are primarily the victims of crime and genocide in South Africa. During the year of 2024, there were approximately 26 000 murders in South Africa of people of all racial groupings. This amounted to approximately 72 persons per day being murdered. Of these 72 persons, South Africans of all races, ages and ethnic groupings have been murdered. The widespread dispersion of The Afrikaner genocide and related information has excluded the recent murder statistics of 2024 in South Africa. The intent was to exacerbate the prevalence and bring the timeliness of the Afrikaner genocide to the present. Understanding what malinformation is and how it is used is central to dividing information that is accurate and inaccurate and comprehending the information within reason. Malinformation is a description of information that is accurate and correct but taken out of its context. Often its personal perceptions that can enable this process and the information is then used to mislead, harm, or manipulate the mind of another deliberately. Misinformation on the other hand makes reference to false or inaccurate facts or information that is deliberately used to mislead and deceive people. Often misinformation is spread through informal channels such as conversations and messages which primarily aim to serve purposes that have no association or relevance to the facts. These purposes are usually social and psychological needs of an individual and can often serve to entertain people within social settings or be sued as conversation pointers. In these instances, we can confidently say that's where rumours derive from and how they are spread. Malinformation plays a central role in contributing towards rumours as well, as the incorrect context of accurate information can modify the information's value and originality. We now have to deal with a flurry of online falsehoods and often people do not have the time or skills to dissect the information. The challenge is greater when misinformation is used to instil fear within people within the communities and when real confusion is created. The other challenge is when people or even victims of crime misinterpret and mischaracterise their own experiences and the experiences of others, which also contributes to the spread of false information. People have to make a choice to be fully informed before deriving at their own conclusions, beliefs and opinion of circumstances, situations, and the hearsay that may influence their mindset.

School environments remain fertile ground for sexual harassment of children
School environments remain fertile ground for sexual harassment of children

IOL News

time07-05-2025

  • IOL News

School environments remain fertile ground for sexual harassment of children

Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Sunningdale). Picture: Supplied In recent years, the South African government has engaged in campaigns to alert us about gender-based violence and power imbalances between men and women. Despite their efforts, there are continual incidents of rape and various types of sexual harassment and violence that persists in South Africa. The alarming fact is that these incidents at schools are still very much prevalent, which indicates that we are still grooming future South Africans to be patriarchal and dismissive of respect for the female human being. More than often, it is girls who are often being targeted as victims of sexual harassment rather than males and the frequency of these incidents have normalised a notion that in South Africa, most women at some point will experience sexual harassment or a violence-related crime, based on their gender identification. The number of sexual harassment incidents reported have only escalated in recent years despite the fact that schools are meant to be safe spaces for our children within our young democratic society. Schools are also meant to play a pivotal role in developing the child holistically and teaching children about human rights, gender discrimination and the importance of human respect irrespective of race, gender and sexual orientation. The recent incident involving a male educator sexually harassing a girl learner via text messages also indicates that sexual violence in schools involve the educators and other key players. These are adults that children and parents supposedly need to trust as their caregivers whilst the school day is in progress. Girl child victims of school sexual violence have also contributed towards the high rate of girl and teenage pregnancies, which results in these young learners dropping out of school and fundamentally joining the high ratio of youth unemployment in South Africa. The impact of a schooling environment that is deemed unsafe because of violence in schools has a detrimental impact on learners that intend to complete their secondary school qualification, but opt to dropout because they do not have the skills, emotional maturity and coping mechanisms to cope with a variety of behavioural ills within school communities. Buildings that have been neglected and dilapidated on school grounds have given perpetrators of sexual harassment a space to 'corner or trap' their identified victims and it is in those quiet spaces where it has been reported that girls are inappropriately touched and spoken to whilst they are at school. These spaces have also become hubs for children that opt to utilise their break period to engage in drugs, bullying and other forms of violent activities. Girls have also reported being victimised and physically harmed if they opted not to engage in a sexual relationship with a boy learner that is older than them at school. In some instances, girls have opted to remain silent about their sexual harassment experiences as they are being financially supported by older male perpetrators. Herewith, we see the strong inter-dependency of permissive ills and poverty in our society. Violence and sexual misconduct becomes acceptable because victims of poverty and challenging socio-economic conditions opt to be acceptable to this behaviour for the purposes of monetary game. Young teenage girls sometimes are coerced to earn money in this manner because of the lack of resources within their impoverished households. The central problem lies in the way we perceive and normalise sexual harassment and why the boychild and young adolescent boys feel its is acceptable for them to be perpetrators of sexual violence. Schools need to make an ardent effort to ensure that there is a teaching and learning focus on gender respect, and appropriate behaviour. Children need to understand that there are dire consequences for inappropriate conduct and that there is a great impact on victims and the perpetrators of sexual harassment and related violent behavioural patterns. The department of Education has to engage with schools to address this amidst a flurry of other urgent issues that all seem to fall away because of the continual focus on the lack of funds. Yet again, it has been reported that Grade R teachers are yet to be paid salaries in KwaZulu-Natal and in addition, it was recently revealed that there is a cumulative debt in this sector. The reality is that if the financial woes within the Department of Education remain unaddressed, other issues will continue to be sidelined. We attempt to prioritise early learning development of every South African child, yet Grade R teachers go without being paid timeously and we still experience unclarified and unjustified fund mismanagement within these departments. The paradoxes continue despite the fact that educational plays a key in developing a society that is progressive, literate and economically functional. The Department of Education needs to address their multiple concerns that have culminated from the lack of good governance strategies and principles. DAILY NEWS

I'm the only golfer still alive from the first Open at Royal Portrush in 1951
I'm the only golfer still alive from the first Open at Royal Portrush in 1951

Yahoo

time25-03-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

I'm the only golfer still alive from the first Open at Royal Portrush in 1951

Brian Twite – the only surviving player from the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush – may be 98, but his recollections of the tournament that year are crystal clear. 'It was windy and wet, and I putted abominably,' he says. 'The first hole was straight into the wind, and I played a driver and a three-wood. I ended up shooting 81 and 81 and missed the cut by six shots. The fellow I played with in those two rounds, Eric Brown, had 59 putts for the 36 holes while I had 73 putts. 'I was very disappointed because I was a good putter. I had bought a George Nicoll putter a couple of weeks earlier for £2, which I still use. Eric chipped with a five-iron and hit it to three feet every time. I'll never forget the par-four fifth hole on the first day – we both drove well, then he chipped up and had a birdie while I took six.' Twite, dressed in a sports jacket, is speaking from the clubhouse of the Metropolitan Golf Club on Melbourne's famous Sandbelt, where he has been the senior professional for more than 70 years. One of 15 children, Twite was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk in 1927. He became assistant professional at Abbeydale before joining Sunningdale in 1953 as head teaching professional. After two years, he headed Down Under and never looked back. Twite laments the passing of all the players he competed against on the windswept links in County Antrim all those years ago, but acknowledges that their collective departure has made him the last of 1951's golfing Mohicans. 'Peter Thomson, who was only a lad at the 1951 Open, died a few years ago,' he says. 'Peter Alliss also died recently. Dai Rees, Flory Van Donck, Bobby Locke, Fred Daly – they were all wonderful players who played at Portrush, and they are all gone. It's hard to believe.' The Open that year was the first held outside England or Scotland and was won by Englishman Max Faulkner by two shots over Argentine Antonio Cerdá. Thomson and Locke, who tied for sixth, would end up winning nine Opens between them. 'Max Faulkner's confidence was sky high leading into the championship,' Twite recalls. 'In fact, he was signing autographs with 'Max Faulkner, 1951 Open Champion' before the event ended. I guess that's OK if you then deliver the win.' The 1951 Open was played over three days – Wednesday, Thursday and two rounds on Friday. Faulkner led by six shots with a round to go but things got tight in the final one. 'I went out to watch the closing holes and Faulkner nearly came undone on the 16th hole,' Twite says. 'His ball ended up against a barbed-wire fence, barely in play. He put on his wet-weather pants to protect his bottom, leant back against the barbed-wire and played a four-wood on to the green. 'It was the most fabulous shot I had ever seen and it won him the championship. A foot further to the left off the tee and he was out of bounds. Cerdá needed an eagle on the final hole to tie. He played his approach to the green and the ball ran over the edge of the hole. 'Is the b-----d in?'' he shouted. 'Faulkner won the Open because he kept the ball low, near the ground.' Faulkner won £300 and the next day returned to England to play in a father-and-son cricket match at his son's school. Twite's own entry to the Open that year was via a circuitous route and points to a much more laissez faire era of the golfing world. 'I was 24 and had just come second in a trainees event at Hoylake shooting 71, 71, which won me £15. I promptly lost this money playing cards on the train travelling home to Abbeydale Golf Club in Sheffield, where I was assistant professional. George Duncan, the 1920 Open champion, was at Hoylake and told me he thought I had the best pair of golfing hands he had seen and suggested I enter the Open Championship at Portrush.' Dr John Patterson, a member of both Royal Portrush and Abbeydale, sailed with Twite from Liverpool to Belfast, where they were collected by a driver and taken to the doctor's house, 300 metres from the Portrush clubhouse. Twite says the Irish were very welcoming and were excited to be hosting the event in Northern Ireland. 'When I first laid eyes on the course the next morning I couldn't believe it,' Twite says. 'It was spectacular. I had never seen a course like it. I had been playing at King's Lynn in Norfolk and had played St Andrews a few times, but I thought Portrush was something else. It had long carries from the tee, thick rough and very impressive duneland. I have since played all over the world, but nothing I have played since was as good as Portrush.' Twite played a practice round with Charlie Ward and Locke, who had won the last two Opens. 'During our practice round I was amazed that Charlie Ward was missing so many greens. When I quizzed him, he told me that he was doing it on purpose so he could practice his chipping. He was the best chipper in England, and said the best place to practice chipping was on the course.' Afterwards in the clubhouse, Ward said he had played the previous day with a 21-year-old kid who had the best swing he had ever seen, an Australian named Peter Thomson. He predicted big things from him. In the two days that followed – alongside 146 other hopefuls – Twite shot 71 at Portstewart and 'something in the mid-70s' at Portrush, to qualify for the Open. But his form deserted him in the wind the following day. 'The war had only just finished so golf's professional tours were just beginning again,' he says. 'There was a lack of depth and quality in those days. Despite the fact that Sam Snead had won the Open in 1946, the championship coincided with the US PGA, so many Americans didn't come. But Ben Hogan's win in 1953 and Arnold Palmer's wins in 1961 and 1962 really put the tournament on the map. Eventually all the Americans wanted to come. Of course, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson would become huge forces in the event.' The mid-1950s to the early 60s saw a host of international winners, including Thomson, Gary Player, Palmer, Hogan, Bob Charles, Tony Lema, Nicklaus and Roberto De Vicenzo. After 1951, international players would win the next 17 Opens, until Englishman Tony Jacklin won in 1969. 'The Open is the tournament that every professional wants to win, far more than the US Masters, which is an invitational, so doesn't have all the best players,' Twite says. And who will win at Portrush this year? 'I think [Shane} Lowry will win again. He is the best putter and has the perfect game for Portrush. I can't see Rory McIlroy, or Adam Scott or Justin Rose ever winning an Open Championship in the future. They are good at target golf, but they hit to ball too high for links golf. You can't hit it high at the Open. The best players play a low ball.' Away from his memories of Portrush, Twite also recalls playing with Alliss at Coombe Hill in Kingston upon Thames in 1950. 'He was six feet two inches and had wonderful hands. On the first hole I hit a good drive and he hit it past me by 50 yards with an iron. At the 1951 Open he played with Charlie Ward and Dai Rees, but didn't have his best rounds. He said it didn't matter because the BBC had offered him a job commentating on Friday for £50, which is more than he would have got if he played. The rest is history.' Twite has given thousands of lessons and made hundreds of friends over the years, and he has written two books: Rubbing Shoulders with the Greats and Just Magnificent. Of the many stories in these books, two stand out. Twenty years after moving to Australia, Twite returned to the United Kingdom and visited Sunningdale. A member, Captain Critchley, spotted him in the car park. 'Twite, have you been away?' asked the Captain. 'I've been in Australia for 20 years, Sir,' Twite replied. 'Oh, I see,' said the Captain. 'Get my clubs out of the car, would you?' Many years later, Twite played at Rosanna Golf Club in Melbourne's north. He hit a shank from the eighth fairway and his ball finished next to the 11th green. As he approached his ball a golfer on the green said: 'That was a terrible shot mate, where do you play?' 'I play at Metropolitan, Sir,' Twite replied. 'Well, you need to get some lessons from Brian Twite,' said the fellow. 'I am Brian Twite,' said the great man in response. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

I'm the only golfer still alive from the first Open at Royal Portrush in 1951
I'm the only golfer still alive from the first Open at Royal Portrush in 1951

Telegraph

time25-03-2025

  • Sport
  • Telegraph

I'm the only golfer still alive from the first Open at Royal Portrush in 1951

Brian Twite – the only surviving player from the 1951 Open Championship at Royal Portrush – may be 98, but his recollections of the tournament that year are crystal clear. 'It was windy and wet, and I putted abominably,' he says. 'The first hole was straight into the wind, and I played a driver and a three-wood. I ended up shooting 81 and 81 and missed the cut by six shots. The fellow I played with in those two rounds, Eric Brown, had 59 putts for the 36 holes while I had 73 putts. 'I was very disappointed because I was a good putter. I had bought a George Nicoll putter a couple of weeks earlier for £2, which I still use. Eric chipped with a five-iron and hit it to three feet every time. I'll never forget the par-four fifth hole on the first day – we both drove well, then he chipped up and had a birdie while I took six.' Twite, dressed in a sports jacket, is speaking from the clubhouse of the Metropolitan Golf Club on Melbourne's famous Sandbelt, where he has been the senior professional for more than 70 years. One of 15 children, Twite was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk in 1927. He became assistant professional at Abbeydale before joining Sunningdale in 1953 as head teaching professional. After two years, he headed Down Under and never looked back. Twite laments the passing of all the players he competed against on the windswept links in County Antrim all those years ago, but acknowledges that their collective departure has made him the last of 1951's golfing Mohicans. 'Peter Thomson, who was only a lad at the 1951 Open, died a few years ago,' he says. 'Peter Alliss also died recently. Dai Rees, Flory Van Donck, Bobby Locke, Fred Daly – they were all wonderful players who played at Portrush, and they are all gone. It's hard to believe.' The Open that year was the first held outside England or Scotland and was won by Englishman Max Faulkner by two shots over Argentine Antonio Cerdá. Thomson and Locke, who tied for sixth, would end up winning nine Opens between them. 'Max Faulkner's confidence was sky high leading into the championship,' Twite recalls. 'In fact, he was signing autographs with 'Max Faulkner, 1951 Open Champion' before the event ended. I guess that's OK if you then deliver the win.' The 1951 Open was played over three days – Wednesday, Thursday and two rounds on Friday. Faulkner led by six shots with a round to go but things got tight in the final one. 'I went out to watch the closing holes and Faulkner nearly came undone on the 16th hole,' Twite says. 'His ball ended up against a barbed-wire fence, barely in play. He put on his wet-weather pants to protect his bottom, leant back against the barbed-wire and played a four-wood on to the green. 'It was the most fabulous shot I had ever seen and it won him the championship. A foot further to the left off the tee and he was out of bounds. Cerdá needed an eagle on the final hole to tie. He played his approach to the green and the ball ran over the edge of the hole. 'Is the b-----d in?'' he shouted. 'Faulkner won the Open because he kept the ball low, near the ground.' Faulkner won £300 and the next day returned to England to play in a father-and-son cricket match at his son's school. Twite's own entry to the Open that year was via a circuitous route and points to a much more laissez faire era of the golfing world. 'I was 24 and had just come second in a trainees event at Hoylake shooting 71, 71, which won me £15. I promptly lost this money playing cards on the train travelling home to Abbeydale Golf Club in Sheffield, where I was assistant professional. George Duncan, the 1920 Open champion, was at Hoylake and told me he thought I had the best pair of golfing hands he had seen and suggested I enter the Open Championship at Portrush.' Dr John Patterson, a member of both Royal Portrush and Abbeydale, sailed with Twite from Liverpool to Belfast, where they were collected by a driver and taken to the doctor's house, 300 metres from the Portrush clubhouse. Twite says the Irish were very welcoming and were excited to be hosting the event in Northern Ireland. 'When I first laid eyes on the course the next morning I couldn't believe it,' Twite says. 'It was spectacular. I had never seen a course like it. I had been playing at King's Lynn in Norfolk and had played St Andrews a few times, but I thought Portrush was something else. It had long carries from the tee, thick rough and very impressive duneland. I have since played all over the world, but nothing I have played since was as good as Portrush.' Twite played a practice round with Charlie Ward and Locke, who had won the last two Opens. 'During our practice round I was amazed that Charlie Ward was missing so many greens. When I quizzed him, he told me that he was doing it on purpose so he could practice his chipping. He was the best chipper in England, and said the best place to practice chipping was on the course.' Afterwards in the clubhouse, Ward said he had played the previous day with a 21-year-old kid who had the best swing he had ever seen, an Australian named Peter Thomson. He predicted big things from him. In the two days that followed – alongside 146 other hopefuls – Twite shot 71 at Portstewart and 'something in the mid-70s' at Portrush, to qualify for the Open. But his form deserted him in the wind the following day. 'The war had only just finished so golf's professional tours were just beginning again,' he says. 'There was a lack of depth and quality in those days. Despite the fact that Sam Snead had won the Open in 1946, the championship coincided with the US PGA, so many Americans didn't come. But Ben Hogan's win in 1953 and Arnold Palmer's wins in 1961 and 1962 really put the tournament on the map. Eventually all the Americans wanted to come. Of course, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson would become huge forces in the event.' The mid-1950s to the early 60s saw a host of international winners, including Thomson, Gary Player, Palmer, Hogan, Bob Charles, Tony Lema, Nicklaus and Roberto De Vicenzo. After 1951, international players would win the next 17 Opens, until Englishman Tony Jacklin won in 1969. 'The Open is the tournament that every professional wants to win, far more than the US Masters, which is an invitational, so doesn't have all the best players,' Twite says. And who will win at Portrush this year? 'I think [Shane} Lowry will win again. He is the best putter and has the perfect game for Portrush. I can't see Rory McIlroy, or Adam Scott or Justin Rose ever winning an Open Championship in the future. They are good at target golf, but they hit to ball too high for links golf. You can't hit it high at the Open. The best players play a low ball.' Away from his memories of Portrush, Twite also recalls playing with Alliss at Coombe Hill in Kingston upon Thames in 1950. 'He was six feet two inches and had wonderful hands. On the first hole I hit a good drive and he hit it past me by 50 yards with an iron. At the 1951 Open he played with Charlie Ward and Dai Rees, but didn't have his best rounds. He said it didn't matter because the BBC had offered him a job commentating on Friday for £50, which is more than he would have got if he played. The rest is history.' Twite has given thousands of lessons and made hundreds of friends over the years, and he has written two books: Rubbing Shoulders with the Greats and Just Magnificent. Of the many stories in these books, two stand out. Twenty years after moving to Australia, Twite returned to the United Kingdom and visited Sunningdale. A member, Captain Critchley, spotted him in the car park. 'Twite, have you been away?' asked the Captain. 'I've been in Australia for 20 years, Sir,' Twite replied. 'Oh, I see,' said the Captain. 'Get my clubs out of the car, would you?' Many years later, Twite played at Rosanna Golf Club in Melbourne's north. He hit a shank from the eighth fairway and his ball finished next to the 11th green. As he approached his ball a golfer on the green said: 'That was a terrible shot mate, where do you play?' 'I play at Metropolitan, Sir,' Twite replied. 'Well, you need to get some lessons from Brian Twite,' said the fellow. 'I am

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