10 facts about Andrew Mlangeni the golfer

Struggle stalwart Andrew Mlangeni who passed away overnight at the age of 95 was also an avid golfer who started the sport at a young age.

He was admitted to 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Tuesday night following an abdominal complaint.

Mlangeni was the last surviving Rivonia Trialist – who spent more than 20 years on Robben Island after his conviction at the Treason Trial in 1964.

Below are 10 facts on his life as a golfer.

1. In 1937 at the age of 11-years-old Andrew Mlangeni first became involved in golf while working as a caddy at the Crown Mines Golf Course in Johannesburg after school.
2. Mlangeni stopped playing golf in 1953 for 40 years when he became “too involved in politics”.
3. In 1993 Andrew Mlangeni, a keen golfer, resumed his interest in the sport.
4. Andrew Mlangeni played with Ernie Els on the Erinvale Golf course in 1996.
5. In Parliament, Andrew Mlangeni monitored the progress of golf in the country with special interest.
6. In 1997 Andrew Mlangeni was interviewed by Anthony Johnson of the Cape Times interview about his passion for golf.
7. Andrew Mlangeni’s handicap had been cut to 11 in 1997.
8. The Andrew Mlangeni Golf Development Program has since been established
9. The programme aims to expose amateur golfers to a professional tournament and to give them the opportunity to play alongside professional golfers.
10. The programme is organised on an invitational basis only with a field of approximately 50 golfers. – Source SA History Online and Department of Sports and Recreation