This article was written by Craig Stirton.
Despite entering the event slightly undercooked, Cameron (Jabu) Price-Moor is targeting a top-10 finish at the Canon Kwazulu-Natal Disabled Open.
After being in a car accident as an infant, Price-Moor was placed in a full-body cast. Unfortunately, he spent too long in the cast as he and his family awaited an appointment with a surgeon. Consequently, scar tissue formed over the ends of the nerves, which had snapped off the spinal cord and left Price-Moor with paralysis of his right-arm.
Nevertheless, Price-Moor was a very happy baby, which prompted his dad to nickname him “Jabu” – short for Jabulani, which means rejoice in Zulu. The name stuck, and, today, people seldom, if ever, call him Cameron – his birth name.
Throughout his life Price-Moor exhibited a steely refusal to become bogged down by his disability. More to the point, he has thrived in spite of it. As a nine-year-old he held the Zambian U/10 400-metre butterfly national record among swimmers without disabilities.
Swimming was just one of a number of Price-Moor’s sporting pursuits and, in many ways, he feels his disability opened his eyes to his true capabilities.
“I definitely think leading an active lifestyle helped me cope with the disability incredibly well,” Price-Moor reflects. “Through living an active lifestyle of playing sport, swimming, hunting, farming, all that kind of stuff helped me deal with the disability and I wouldn’t change it.”
Given Price-Moor’s love of sport, it’s no surprise that when his friends gravitated toward golf in the latter stages of their school careers, he followed.
“As with any of my other sports, basically, a lot of my friends were playing golf at high school. I’d tried hockey and everything like that, so I decided that I’d like to try golf,” he explains.
Price-Moor’s talent for the game was readily apparent as he claimed victory in the Stableford division among Les Autres golfers at the 2016 South African Disabled Open though the triumph was not without a late hiccup.
“My dad was caddying for me and I think I played off 19 or 21,” he recalls. “I think I only won by one point. I missed probably a 30-cm putt on the last hole as well because I was so nervous to win. But, I still won by one point after that!”
While Price-Moor turned out for Team North at the SADGA Provincial Challenge earlier this year, preparations for the Canon Kwazulu-Natal Disabled Open have taken a back-seat owing to competitive equestrian riding commitments.
“I haven’t played as much golf as I would have liked to building up to it,” he says. “I’ve been training for the provincial championship for equestrian riding, which is happening a week before the KwaZulu-Natal Open. So, I haven’t played as much as I’d like to, but I’ve definitely put in some decent hours in terms of practice and just getting used to my new clubs.”
Price-Moor believes The Woods at Mount Edgecombe will be a fantastic host venue. He is of the opinion that the course won’t be particularly physically-taxing for his fellow competitors.
As for what will constitute a successful event from a personal standpoint, Price-Moor is striving for consistency with hopes of being in the upper-reaches of the leader board come the conclusion of the 36-hole event.
“A top-10 would be awesome, but, at the moment, I’m not really where I want to be in golf. My consistency is not there at the moment,” he says. “A successful tournament would be playing consistently over the two days and a top-10 would be awesome.”
The Canon Kwazulu-Natal Disabled Open was played at Mount Edgecombe’s The Woods course on August 23 and 24, 2021.
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