Folke forges to the front in George

Sweden’s Moa Folke shot a five-under-par 67 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s Dimension Data Ladies Challenge at George Golf Club.

Her seven birdies and two bogeys gave her a two-shot lead over Scotland’s Jane Turner and local Nadia van der Westhuizen, the winner of the SunBet Cape Town Ladies Open at Royal Cape last week.

Namibia’s Bonita Bredenhann shared fourth with South Africa’s Tara Griebenow and Norway’s Michelle Forsland, all of whom were on two-under.

The first two rounds will be played at George Golf Club, and the action in the 54-hole tournament will move to the Outeniqua course at nearby Fancourt to decide the winner.

Folke started out with three birdies in her first six holes, before encountering something of a speed-wobble as she bogeyed seven and nine to reach the turn in one-under 35. She got all of that under control one her homeward nine, with birdies on 11, 13, 14 and 18 and no dropped shots.

“I played great from the start,” said Folke of her debut round on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.”I hit the ball really well and I made a lot of putts, and that usually makes for a good combination.”

It helps that she found the course to her liking.

“I really like the course,” she said. “It’s a fun course, and a little tricky. You have to think where you put your tee shots. It’s in great shape and I really like the greens. I’ve not played this course, but I have been to South Africa before. I really enjoy the weather and it’s really pretty.”

Behind her, Van der Westhuizen showed what confidence can do after her maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour win last week, and, starting out on the 10th, she turned in two-under-par 34 with birdies on 15 and 18. She dropped her only shot of the day on the par-four first, but birdies on six and nine saw her home in three-under 69.

Rounding out the top 10 were Sweden’s Linn Grant, and Zethu Myeki and Cara Gorlei of South Africa in a share of seventh on level-par, and Romy Meekers of the Netherlands and 2017 champion Nicole Garcia on one-over.

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Written and released by Lali Stander & Mike Green on behalf of the Sunshine Ladies Tour.