James Kamte

James Bongani Kamte (born 20 July 1982), nicknamed "Cobra", is a South African professional golfer. He has played on the Sunshine Tour, Challenge Tour, European Tour, and Asian Tour. He earned his tour card for the 2008 European Tour season by finishing in the top 30 of the qualifying school.

James Kamte
Personal information
Full nameJames Bongani Kamte
NicknameCobra
Born (1982-07-20) 20 July 1982
Humansdorp, South Africa
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb; 12 st 8 lb)
Sporting nationality South Africa
ResidenceJohannesburg, South Africa
SpouseNicky (m. 2005)
Career
Turned professional2003
Current tour(s)Sunshine Tour (joined 2003)
Former tour(s)European Tour (2008–11)
Asian Tour (2009–11)
Challenge Tour
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
Asian Tour1
Sunshine Tour4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenCUT: 2009
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Early life

Kamte was a football player in his childhood and his nickname, "Cobra", comes from his football days.

He grew up in Kwanomzamo Humansdorp, and received a bursary through several Golf clubs in the St Francis area and Nomads Golf Club, to attend Woodridge College where he matriculated in 2000.

Career overview

James Kamte turned professional in 2003 after representing Gauteng in the Under-23 division, and subsequently in the Gauteng Seniors side.

Career highlights

2007 was successful for Kamte. On the Sunshine Tour, he started his run on 2 July by finishing second in the Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open, closely followed by another second-place finish at the Vodacom Origins Tournament in Pretoria a week later.

On the European Challenge Tour, Kamte's best finish has been second place in the Kenya Open in Nairobi, Kenya. He also had a fourth-place finish at the Vodafone Challenge in Germany.

After a good run of form, James went on to win his first Sunshine Tour victory at the Seekers Travel Pro-Am tournament at the Dainfern Country Club, Johannesburg on 8 September 2007.

On 8 June 2009, Kamte qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open through sectional qualifying in Columbus, Ohio.

He won his fourth Sunshine Tour event at the BMG Classic in 2011.

European Tour – 2008

Kamte came through the European Tour qualifying school, finishing tied for 22nd place, right on the cut-off line for the top 30 and ties who earn their playing privileges on the main European Tour for the 2008 season. This made him the first black South African player to earn European Tour playing privileges since Vincent Tshabalala in 1976. He ended the season ranked 138th on the Order of Merit, meaning Kamte would have limited playing opportunities for the 2009 season.

Kamte followed up his performance at the European qualifying school by winning the Sunshine Tour's Dimension Data Pro-Am in January 2008, becoming the first black South African golfer to win an event on the summer swing of that tour.[1]

Asian Tour – 2009

With limited status on the European Tour, Kamte entered the Asian Tour qualifying school for 2009 and finished fourth. He followed up this success by winning the first event of the 2009 season, the Asian Tour International in Thailand, thus guaranteeing Kamte starts in events co-sanctioned by the Asian and European tours for the remainder of the season.

Amateur highlights
  • Ranked 5th in South Africa before turning professional
  • SA Presidents Team Colours 2003 (Captain)
  • 2nd North Province Open Strokeplay (2003)
  • T3rd SA Amateur Strokeplay 2002
  • 2nd Nomads Central Gauteng Under-23 Open 2002
  • 1st Gauteng North Open 2002
  • 3rd Freestate/Northern Cape Open 2002
  • 7th Gauteng North Etonic Strokeplay 2002
  • Ernie Els Foundation Member 2000–2003
  • 2nd Gauteng Strokeplay 2001

Professional wins (5)

Asian Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 8 Feb 2009 Asian Tour International −16 (71-63-68-66=268) 2 strokes Japan Tetsuji Hiratsuka

Sunshine Tour wins (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 8 Sep 2007 Seekers Travel Pro-Am −13 (68-68-67=203) 1 stroke South Africa Albert Pistorius
2 27 Jan 2008 Dimension Data Pro-Am −11 (67-69-71-70=277) 3 strokes South Africa James Kingston
3 19 Oct 2008 Metmar Highveld Classic −20 (69-63-64=196) 5 strokes South Africa Desvonde Botes, Scotland Doug McGuigan,
South Africa Brandon Pieters
4 30 Oct 2011 BMG Classic −9 (72-71-64=207) Playoff South Africa Dawie van der Walt

Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2011 BMG Classic South Africa Dawie van der Walt Won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships
Tournament2009
U.S. Open CUT

CUT = missed the half-way cut
Note: Kamte only played in the U.S. Open.

See also

References
  1. "Kamte breaks through at Dimension Data Pro-Am". Sunshine Tour. 27 January 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
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